Boxing legend Angehrn has an IQ of 142 "I know Trump personally and I'm a fan of his"
Stefan Angehrn knows Donald Trump personally, was once in prison, was shadowed, had high debts, an IQ of 142 and is now 60. blue News takes a look back at his eventful life and the low blows.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Today, Tuesday, the day the 60th presidential election takes place in the USA, Swiss boxing legend Stefan Angehrn celebrates his 60th birthday.
- He once sat next to Donald Trump at a table. "Donald was nice and I really liked him. Totally different to how he sometimes comes across on TV now," says Angehrn.
- In an interview with blue News, Angehrn doesn't mince his words and talks about his crazy life: He once fought for world championship titles, amassed a mountain of debt, was shadowed and even spent a night in prison.
Stefan Angehrn, it is said that you know Donald Trump personally. Is that true?
Yes, I met him a few years ago at a gala in New York when I was preparing for the fight against Rocchigiani. All the boxing celebrities were there apart from Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. As a big boxing patron, Trump was of course also there and happened to be sitting right next to me at the table.
What did you talk about with Trump?
Mostly about boxing and Switzerland. Donald was nice and I really liked him. Totally different to how he sometimes comes across on TV now.
Do you hope that Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected?
I'm a Trump fan. I always have been.
You're celebrating your 60th birthday on November 5 of all days, the day of the 60th presidential election in the United States.
Yes, what a coincidence. It would be a nice birthday present for me if Trump were to be elected.
But there are umpteen reasons not to vote for Trump: He discriminates against women, is racist, has quite a few lawsuits on his hands...
... yes, he's also a blatherer. But at least he's direct. I like it 'straightforward' and uncomplicated. That's how it should be for me. And the decisive factor is his performance during his last presidential term. No one has ever done it better in the last 40 years.
Is it true that your intelligence quotient was measured at 145?
Almost. It was 142. Because I wanted to become a pilot in the military, I had to take an IQ test before I started recruit school. I passed it, but because I got dizzy during the aerodynamics exercises, I had to bury my dream of becoming a pilot again.
Didn't you suffer any damage after all the hits to the head?
Nothing, thank God. But I do realize that every hit to the head is one too many. However, a few years ago I was on a program on ARD where a famous brain researcher said that a drunken stupor would kill more brain cells than being knocked out.
Were you reassured or rather worried after this program?
More worried. (Laughs). I've never been knocked out in my entire boxing career. I've been drunk a lot more often over the years, especially in my youth.
Sounds like a wild teenager.
I was a wild one, but a loving one. I was a "strategic cordwainer". But that was also my luck. I was able to talk my way out of everything as a teenager and never had any major problems.
Whatever you say. After all, you are said to have taken up boxing because you were beaten up by five men.
That's right. You should know that I was the founder of the "Töffklub Wildborn". In the end, I was even the president of the club. We had the Angels' license back then, but the members were a mixture of rascals like me as well as seasoned men. At some point I got fed up and wanted to leave. That didn't go down well. Five members then ambushed me and wanted to beat me up.
What happened then?
One man stepped in and helped me. He knocked out the biggest one, knocked out the second one and then they all ran off. I thanked him and said: "I want to be able to do what you can do." The man was Michael Oswald, the Swiss lightweight champion. He then took me into the boxing cellar and I was immediately fascinated. I didn't just want to make big speeches, I also wanted to deliver. According to the motto: 'Big mouth and something behind it'. Boxing made me happy and my self-esteem increased. That was in 1982, I was 18 at the time.
Although you started so late, you became a Swiss boxing legend. Statistically speaking, you and Fritz Chervet are the most successful Swiss boxers of all time. What are your highlights?
The two fights against Ralph Rocchigiani for the world title in 1996 and 1997 in the cruiserweight division, which I only narrowly lost. And then, of course, the victory against Thorsten May in Düsseldorf in 1997. A year later, I won the IBF Intercontinental title with a victory against Dan Ward.
In addition to your sporting successes, you also repeatedly made headlines in your private life. You had financial problems. The low point was when you had to raid your children's savings. Five years ago, you told "Blick" how painful that was for you.
That was the low point, but there was no other way. Because of our debts, an electricity box was installed in our house, and we needed every penny to operate it. Even back then, our motto was: "All for one and one for all".
Your mountain of debt is said to have grown to half a million francs. How did it get that far?
At the end of my career, I had debts of 434,000 francs. Only once in my career, after the fight with Thorsten May, in which I earned more than 600,000 francs, I was around 20,000 francs in the black. After that, I was injured again and again and had to cancel three fights. I had a house, a family, four children and fixed costs of around 10,000 francs. You very quickly fall behind again with 200,000. I had always hoped that I would eventually find someone who would invest in me. However, I also know that I was certainly often naive and resistant to advice back then.
Can you go into a little more detail?
I was advised several times to simply go bankrupt. But I always refused, I didn't want to. In the end, I certainly had to pay more than a million francs if you add up all the costs and lawyers. For example, a parking fine of 40 francs. If you don't have anything to eat at home, you don't pay it. At some point it adds up and the parking fine costs 840 francs, which you either pay immediately or go to jail at a daily rate of 40 francs, which was never an option.
You finally managed to get out of the debt trap and wrote a book entitled "PLAN B - How to reduce your debts to zero". Your tips?
Pay off regularly, but not too much. The stupidest thing you can do is not get in touch. You have no sympathy for people who owe you money and simply disappear into the ground. The best thing is to be honest. You should always seek contact with the creditor and communicate openly what the plan is. That doesn't mean telling robbery stories, but telling it like it is.
In 2012, you even spent time in prison because you were accused of being the mastermind behind a drug ring. Would you have liked to have done without this experience and the headlines?
I still don't understand how it could have come to this. A man I've seen maybe three times in my life accused me of this. Completely out of thin air. I've hated drugs for as long as I can remember. But then I had to spend a night in prison because the person who accused me dragged out the line-up so much that I couldn't make my statement on the same day. It wasn't a fun night. But in hindsight, it's an experience that you can't otherwise book.
The case against you was dropped in 2014.
And I had to sign to acknowledge that I had been followed for the last two years. All my phone calls and those of my family had been tapped. In addition, two and then four undercover investigators had been infiltrating my personal environment for over a year.
How did you react when you found out?
I thought: I'm crazy. The thought of that happening to me was absurd. But in the end, I didn't really care. The most important thing was that I was finally acquitted. I wanted to be left alone and the police have to investigate such accusations, I understood that.
Who were the people who infiltrated your environment?
I've often asked myself that, but I have absolutely no idea. That was a time when we organized events with hundreds of people. I had a lot of colleagues who disappeared from my environment. In any case, it's a very strange thought and we'll probably never find out.
Now that you're 60, the wild times are over. How are you doing?
I'm doing brilliantly. I have a fantastic wife, grown-up children, now seven grandchildren and things are also going very well professionally. Apart from a temporary health challenge with my sweetheart due to a tumor removal, we're doing super well and that always brings us closer together.
And do you still box?
A little bit. I've set up a training room next to my office where I train with friends for two hours twice a week. Then I hit the punching bag full throttle. That's usually enough for me. If not, I go for a run during the week.
