Aziz Salihu (born 1 May 1953 in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

) is one of the best retired

Super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Int ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of A ...

descent. He represented

Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics Yugoslavia competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States which took place from 29 July to 12 August 1984. Yugoslav athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since their official debut in 1920. The Yugoslav Olympic Co ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and won the bronze medal in the super heavyweight division (> 91 kg), after a loss in the semifinals at the hands of

Tyrell Biggs Tyrell Biggs (born December 22, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1998, and challenged once for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1987. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, havin ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Salihu also competed at the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

(

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Career

Salihu is celebrated in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and in amateur boxing circles for his more than 500 official matches among which he lost only 26. On club level Aziz had his best years while boxing for

. He was part of the so-called golden generation and won eight Yugoslav championship titles (five consecutive). He won international medals in many other championships, including first places in the Mediterranean games and the World Cup in 1987. In Kosovo, he received the Sportsman of the Century Award and now works as the coach and manager of Boxing Club Pristina.

1980 Olympic results

Below is the record of Aziz Salihu, a Yugoslavian heavyweight boxer who competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics: * Round of 16: lost to Pyotr Zayev (Soviet Union) by decision, 0–5

Opponents

He defeated world and European champion

Alexander Yagubkin Alexander Gennadiyevich Yagubkin (25 April 1961 – 7 August 2013) was a Soviet Boxing at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Boxing, boxer, who competed between Boxing in the 1980s, 1979 and 1988. The only Soviet boxer to become the 1982 World Amateur ...

in the tournament final in Belgrade (1980). In the tournament final in Belgrade (1984) he defeated the former world champion from Russia, Valery Abadzhyan. He beat world champion

Francesco Damiani Francesco Damiani (born 4 October 1958) is an Italian former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1993. He was the first WBO heavyweight champion, having held the title from 1989 to 1991, as well as the European heavyweight title from 19 ...

in an international tournament in Benghazi in Libya (1984). He beat

Craig Payne Craig Payne (May 22, 1961 – April 7, 2017) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2001, challenging for the IBO heavyweight title in 1992. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves super heavyweight title in 1983. ...

, Ferenc Somodi, Håkan Brock,

Marvis Frazier Marvis Frazier (born September 12, 1960) is an American former professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight division. The son of Joe Frazier, he challenged once for the heavyweight title. Early life Marvis was born September 12, 1960, in Phil ...

Peter Hussing Peter Hussing (15 May 1948 – 8 September 2012) was a West German heavyweight boxer. He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics and placed fifth in 1976 and 1984; he missed the 1980 Moscow Games due to their boycott by West Germany. Hussi ...

and Biaggio Chianese.

References

External links

databaseOlympics.com
1954 births Living people Kosovan male boxers Heavyweight boxers Boxers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Yugoslavia Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Sportspeople from Pristina Olympic medalists in boxing Yugoslav male boxers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Competitors at the 1987 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in boxing {{Kosovo-boxing-bio-stub