Charles Adkins (April 27, 1932 in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

– July 8, 1993) was a boxer from the United States.

Amateur career

Chuck Adkins was the Olympic Gold Medalist at the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

, in the

Light Welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

(140 lb/63.5 kg) class. In the final he defeated

Viktor Mednov Viktor Ivanovich Mednov (, 27 November 1927 – 22 June 2009) was a Russian Boxing, boxer from the Soviet Union who won a silver medal in the light welterweight division at the 1952 Olympics. He had a difficult second bout with Francisc Ambrus o ...

of the Soviet Union on a 2-1 decision. The bout was notable as being the first ever boxing match between the United States and the Soviet Union. At the time of the Olympics, Adkins, was a 20-year-old police administration student. Adkins also won the National AAU Lightweight championship in 1949. Adkins attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, and won a 1952

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

for his weight class.

1952 Olympic results

Below is the Record Of Charles Adkins, an American light welterweight boxer who competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics: * Round of 32: Defeated Leif Hansen (Norway) referee stopped contest in first round * Round of 16: Defeated Salomon Carrizales (Venezuela) by decision, 3-0 * Quarterfinal: Defeated Alexander Grant Webster (South Africa) by decision, 3-0 * Semifinal: Defeated

Bruno Visintin Bruno Visintin (23 November 1932 – 11 January 2015) was a Boxing, boxer from Italy. He was born in La Spezia, Italy. Visintin was a Light Welterweight (140 lb/63.5 kg) Olympic Bronze Medalist at the Boxing at the 1952 Summer Olym ...

(Italy) by decision, 3-0 * Final Defeated

(Soviet Union) by decision, 2-1 (won gold medal) Charles Adkins bout vs. Viktor Mednov was the first ever sanctioned world class boxing match between U.S. and Soviet boxers.

References

* ''The Complete Book of the Olympics'' * retrieved November 22, 2010 1932 births 1993 deaths Boxers from Indiana Boxers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana San Jose State Spartans boxers American male boxers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Light-welterweight boxers 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-boxing-Olympic-medalist-stub