Valeri Popenchenko

Who was Valeri Popenchenko?

Valeri Vladimirovich Popenchenko was an amateur boxer from the Soviet Union, who competed in the Middleweight division during his career, winning 200 of his 213 fights.

Popenchenko trained at Dynamo in Leningrad. He was the USSR Champion in 1959 and from 1961 to 1965. He became the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR in 1964 and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in the following year.

Popenchenko represented the Soviet Union at the Summer Olympics of 1964 beating Emil Schulz of the United Team of Germany in the final, after the referee stopped the contest. He was also named the Outstanding Boxer of the 1964 Olympics and given the Val Barker Trophy.