Tarmo "Tare" Tapani Uusivirta (5 February 1957 – 13 December 1999) was a Finnish

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1982 to 1992, and challenged once for the European super-middleweight title in 1991.''Kilpakenttien sankarit''. Tammi. 1992. pp. 50–54. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1979 European Championships, and consecutive silver medals at the 1978 and 1982 World Championships; all in the middleweight division.

Amateur career

Besides the European title, Uusivirta won silver medals at the world championships in 1978 and 1982. He competed at the 1980 Olympics and lost in the second round to the eventual bronze medalist Jerzy Rybicki.

Professional career

In 1982 Uusivirta turned professional. In 1986, he had a draw with the then reigning European Champion Alex Blanchard in a non-title match. In 1987, he won against the future European champion

James Cook (boxer) James Cook (born 12 May 1959) Jamaican born, a former European and British super middleweight boxing champion. In 2007, he was awarded an MBE for "his outstanding work with the young people of Hackney's notorious Murder Mile". He also previousl ...

. In 1988 he had a second draw with Blanchard, contending the IBF European super-middleweight title. In 1992, shortly before the European super-middleweight title fight against

, Uusivirta suffered an injury and had to give up a close bout in the 7th round. He retired the same year with a record of 24 wins (16 knockouts), 4 losses, and 3 draws.

Retirement and death

After retiring Uusivirta grew bitter and regretted his move from amateur to professional boxing. He eventually lost his job as a fireman due to alcoholism, and committed suicide at the age of 42 in 1999.

Professional boxing record

References

External links