If you asked your average boxing fan who the tallest pugilist of all time is, most would pick out Nikolai Valuev. The 7ft Russian giant famously fought the likes of Ruslan Chagaev, Evander Holyfield and David Haye during two reigns as WBA heavyweight champion. While Valuev isn’t far off the mark, there is a man who dwarfs him in size.Standing 7ft 4ins tall, with a monstrous 83in reach, Romania’s Gogea Mitu holds the distinction of being the tallest boxer in the sport’s long and distinguished history.Who was Gogea Mitu?Born on July 14, 1914, in Mârsani, Romania, Mitu was the oldest and tallest of eleven children.He suffered from gigantism, and by the time he was 3 years old, he was already the size of a child twice his age.Despite having never received a formal education, Mitu was said to be extremely intelligent and taught himself how to read as a toddler.His freakish height eventually caught the eye of a circus company from Prague, which took him on tour around Europe when he was 17.Billed as the ‘Goliath of Romania’, punters came from far and wide to marvel at his stature.Amidst the crowd was boxer Umberto Lancia, who took him under his wing as coach and manager.After four years of training, Mitu turned over as a professional in 1935.Fans flooded into the 15,000-capacity Stadionul Venus in Bucharest to watch the man mountain’s debut.GettyMitu towered over his opponents[/caption]His dance partner was experienced Italian boxer Saverio Grizzo, who sported a 13-4-3 record at the time.Mitu tipped the scales at a whopping 324lbs and blasted away his much smaller foe in the opening stanza.Exhibition bouts Finding opponents who would fight him in the paid ranks proved difficult for Mitu, so he was kept active through a series of exhibition bouts.Three of them came against his manager, Lancia, while he also locked horns with the great George Godfrey, a long-reigning World ‘Colored’ Heavyweight Champion who was shut out of the major world title picture due to his ethnicity.Mitu’s second official professional contest took place in October 1935 against fellow countryman Dumitru Pavelescu (4-12-3).The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds, but Mitu only needed one frame once again.GettyHe stood a remarkable 7ft 4ins tall[/caption]DeathSadly, Mitu wasn’t able to extend his unbeaten streak as eight months later, while returning from Istanbul to Bucharest by train, he caught a common cold, which hospitalised him.On June 8, 1936, Mitu passed away due to complications with tuberculosis. He was only 26 years old.