Aleksandr Nikolayevich Koshkin (russian: Александр Николаевич Кошкин; 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 (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, 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 where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, and changed to boxing at the age of 11, following his elder brother. He first trained at

Spartak Spartak may refer to: In sports *Spartak (sports society), an international fitness and sports society that unites some countries of the former Soviet Union In Russia *FC Spartak Moscow, a football club *FC Spartak Kostroma, a football club *PFC ...

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

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

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