Pertti Ilmari Purhonen (14 June 1942 – 5 February 2011) was a Finnish boxer who won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics. Domestically he collected nine consecutive Finnish titles in lightweight (1960–61), light-welterweight (1962) and
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
divisions (1963–68); he was also a Nordic champion in 1961, 1963 and 1967. In 1969 he turned professional, but retired the same year after winning his both bouts, one by knockout.
[ He then founded a non-profit organization Kriisipalveluyhdistys (Crisis Service) that trains workers how to behave in crisis situations.][ During his last six years Purhonen suffered from ]Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. He died in 2011, aged 68, three years after being inducted into the Finnish Boxing Hall of Fame.[ He was buried in the ]Malmi Cemetery
The Malmi Cemetery (; ) is a large cemetery located at the corner between Ring I and the Lahti Highway ( E75) in the Malmi district in Helsinki, Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Euro ...
.
References
1942 births
2011 deaths
Boxers from Helsinki
Welterweight boxers
Boxers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers for Finland
Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
Deaths from dementia in Finland
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Olympic medalists in boxing
Finnish male boxers
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
20th-century Finnish sportsmen
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