Boxer Yuri Alexandrov: biography and career

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Aleksandrov Yuri Vasilievich is an outstanding Soviet amateur boxer, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, who became the world champion at the age of 18. Until now, no one but him could do it at such a young age. Also among his achievements are bronze, silver and gold medals at the European and World Championships.

Athlete biography

Yuri Alexandrov was born on October 13, 1963 in the Sverdlovsk region (Kamensk-Uralsky). He got into the boxing section in his hometown at the age of 10. I went there after my older brother Sasha.

The talent of the young boxer was immediately visible, and his dedication and perseverance helped to achieve outstanding results.

Uri was lucky with the coach. Alexey Andreevich Dementyev, Honored Coach of the RSFSR and the USSR, helped the guy not only develop his boxing qualities, but also became a second father.

Career

Already at the age of 16, Yuri Alexandrov won the youth championship of the USSR, which was held in B alti. At the age of 17 he was a member of the men's team of the Soviet Union in Montreal at the cupMira.

Hand injury did not allow Yuri to win. He took third place and became an international master of sports.

Six months later, not yet becoming the USSR champion among adults, Yuri Alexandrov, having beaten the American Collins in the final, became the world champion.

The legendary Teofilo Stevenson, a Cuban heavyweight boxer, entered the locker room to congratulate the young champion on his victory. And returning to his homeland, Yuri received the title of Honored Master of Sports.

2 months after the world triumph, the young boxer became the champion of the USSR. In 1983, Yuri won the European Championship (in weight up to 54 kg), which was held in Bulgaria. There he became the best boxer of the tournament and received the honorary Nikiforov-Denisov Cup.

The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles were approaching. However, politics intervened, and Soviet athletes were deprived of the opportunity to compete for Olympic medals.

As compensation, athletes from nine socialist countries took part in the summer of 1984 in the Friendship-84 sports competition. Boxing took place in Cuba, along with water polo and volleyball.

Beating the Cuban in the final and knocking him down, Yuri Alexandrov won silver. Politics again intervened in sports, because Fidel Castro himself was sitting in the stands.

At the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, Yuri was prevented from going by an injury received during training. Having spent at that time 236 fights, of which only 9 were lost, the boxer won everything he could.

In 1989, YuriAlexandrov unexpectedly received an offer to try his hand at professional boxing, which at that time was just emerging in the USSR. One of the first he entered the ring of the Dynamo Sports Palace in Moscow and defeated the American Tony Cisneros. However, he subsequently suffered several defeats in the professional ring, and in 1992 he left the sport.

Yuri became a successful businessman. As soon as the opportunity arose, he fulfilled his dream. In 2001, he opened a boxing school for children and youth in Moscow. In the same year, he was invited to the position of vice president of the Russian Professional Boxing Federation, where he worked until his death.

Departure

Yuri Alexandrov died of a massive myocardial infarction on January 1, 2013 at his dacha, where he was vacationing with his family. The ambulance crew that arrived could not save the athlete - his heart stopped forever.

His early death surprised many. Indeed, at his age, Yuri did not complain about his he alth. He trained in the gym several times a week, sparred with students, liked to drive football, played tennis and chess.

He also had a diving certificate - he loved scuba diving.

Yuri Alexandrov passed on his love for sports to his family. The youngest son Yuri is fond of football, the middle daughter is tennis and is already playing at youth international tournaments.