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 fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed from 1982 to 1992, and challenged once for the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

super-middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

title in 1991.''Kilpakenttien sankarit''. Tammi. 1992. pp. 50–54. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

he won a gold medal at the 1979 European Championships, and consecutive silver medals at the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and 1982 World Championships; all in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

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 The 1980 Olympics may refer to: * 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York, United States * 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), wer ...

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 Alex Blanchard (born 3 January 1958) is a retired Dutch professional boxer who was active between 1979 and 1991. Between 1985 and 1987 he was rated as world's second light heavyweight boxer by the World Boxing Council. On 29 May 1984 he won the ...

in a non-title match. In 1987, he won against the future European champion

James Cook (boxer) James Cook (17 May 1959 – 7 June 2025) was a Jamaican-born European and British super middleweight boxing champion. In the 2007 Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services t ...

. In 1988 he had a second draw with Blanchard, contending the IBF

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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