Aleksandr Nikolayevich Koshkin (; 13 June 1959 – 16 October 2012) was a Russian amateur light-middleweight boxer. After placing second at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

, he won a European title in 1981 and a world title in 1982. Koshkin typically kept a distance from the opponent and was known for his sudden knockouts. As a child Koshkin trained in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, and changed to boxing at the age of 11, following his elder brother. He first trained at Spartak under Boris Grekov, who previously raised the Olympic medalist Sergei Sivko. In 1978 Koshkin was included to the Soviet national team. In the 1980 Olympic final he lost to Armando Martínez, but avenged the loss in the world championship final in 1982. During his boxing career Koshkin fractured his hands 36 times. Hand injuries eventually forced him to retire in 1983 with a record of 180 wins out of 240 bouts. In retirement he coached boxers at

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

and later opened his own boxing school. He died aged 53 after suffering two

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

References

1959 births 2012 deaths Light-middleweight boxers Boxers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in boxing Soviet male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR {{USSR-Olympic-medalist-stub