Boxing Germany mourns the loss of Michael Timm. His former protégé Jürgen Brähmer has announced that the popular trainer, who was seriously ill, has passed away.
The boxing community in Germany mourns the loss of Michael Timm. The former boxer, amateur and professional trainer, affectionately called “Timi” by his companions, has died at the age of 62. This was announced on social media by his former protégé Jürgen Brähmer.
“Grateful for the time together”
“Today we lost a wonderful person. Timi enriched my life with his warmth, his laughter and his warmth,” Brähmer wrote on his Instagram channel. “I am infinitely grateful for the time we spent together and will carry you in my heart forever. Rest in peace, dear trainer.” Brähmer was once discovered by Timm: in 1994, the coach, then state coach in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, brought the future junior world champion to the SC Schwerin sports boarding school.
Ex-professional Alexander “Sascha” Dimitrenko was also shocked by the sad news of his former coach’s death: “I will also carry him in my heart. I remember our conversations and training under his guidance – I will never forget those moments.”
Major successes at Universum
Born in Hagenow in 1962, Timm became a successful amateur boxer. As an active member of SC Schwerin, he won national and international titles. Timm’s greatest success as a boxer was winning the 1985 European Championships in the half-middleweight division. He later worked as a coach for the German Boxing Association (DBV) for many years and led his protégés to numerous medals at international tournaments.
In 1997, the likeable man from Schwerin switched to the pros, where he was part of the coaching staff at the Universum stable in Hamburg under Fritz Sdunek. There, “Timi” shaped boxers such as Ruslan Chagaev, Felix Sturm and Jürgen Brähmer into world champions.
In mid-August, “Bild” reported for the first time that the successful and popular coach had been diagnosed with cancer, stating that Timm had to undergo an operation during a lengthy stay in hospital.
Text: Frank Schwantes