The legendary Uzbek boxer Rufat Riskiev has died
Rufat Riskiyev, the "Tashkent Tiger," Uzbekistan's first world boxing champion and 1976 Olympic silver medalist, has died. He was 76. He had been seriously ill in recent years, the Uzbekistan Boxing Federation reported.
Outstanding Uzbek boxer Rufat Riskiyev has died at the age of 75. The cause of death was a long-term illness, according to the Uzbekistan Boxing Federation.
Rufat Asadovich Riskiyev was born in 1949 in Tashkent, in the Kukcha district, to a doctor's family. At the age of 12, he began boxing in Tashkent under the renowned coach Sidney Lvovich Jackson. From the age of 14, Riskiyev continued training at the Tashkent sports society "Burevestnik." Since 1966, the renowned coach Boris Granatkin has been his mentor.
Rufat Riskiyev made history as the first Uzbek boxer to win a world championship title. In 1974, competing for the USSR national team at the first World Amateur Boxing Championships in Havana, he won the gold medal in the 75 kg weight class. The International Boxing Association (IBA) nicknamed him "The Tashkent Tiger."
Two years later, in 1976, Riskiev won a silver medal at the Montreal Olympics. He was the only Soviet boxer at those Games to reach the final. In the decisive bout, Riskiev faced American boxer Michael Spinks.
During his boxing career, Riskiev also won the USSR Championship four times: in 1972 and from 1974 to 1976. In 1974, he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. According to the IBA, he had 189 fights, winning 174 of them.
After retiring from boxing, Riskiev acted in films and later worked as a referee. In 1997, he joined the World Boxing Association (WBA) refereeing section, becoming the first international professional boxing referee in Central Asia.
In 2020, Rufat Riskiev was awarded the "Dustlik" Order. Since 2019, the award named after him has been presented to the best boxer of the Uzbekistan Championship.
In recent years, Riskiev had suffered serious illness. In 2016, he underwent surgery to amputate part of his right leg due to gangrene.