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14/01/2008
A history of boxing in Kazakhstan
With the Multi Nations taking place this week, the ABAE welcomes teams from four great boxing nations, including Kazakhstan.
Professor Maulenov Kassym Syrbaevich is a Doctor of Law at the British Technical University, Almaty, as well as a former boxing champion of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Here, Professor Syrabaevich explains how boxing has developed in his home country...
The first boxing club in Kazakhstan was at the Temp Sport Association in the city of Alma-Ata. Boxing expert Shokhr Bultek-Uly is responsible for much of the development of boxing in Alma-Ata, helping establish the boxing clubs of Dinamo, Spartak and Medik in Karagandy.
The Kazakhstan national team celebrating a victory
BOXING IN KAZHAKSTAN...
1937
The first individual-team competition takes place in Almaty, involving 50 boxers from three associations.
1946
The popularity of boxing in Kazakhstan is soaring, with the help of trainers such as Davletkerei Mulaev in Dinamo and Shokhr Bultek-Uly in Spartak. The most talented boxers of the region are trained under guidance of A. Infland.
1947
Kazakhstan begins to emerge as a strong boxing nation, with Mahmut Omarov and Askar Usenov gaining third and fourth places at the USSR championships. Gennadyi Rozhkov emerges as finalist.
1953
Gennadyi Rozhkov is awarded the bronze medal in the 1953 World Youth and Student festival in Bucharest; the first time a Kazak boxer has boxed internationally. In the same year, Rozhkov represents his country in the USSR boxing team in the European Championships in Warsaw.
1954
Igor Ivanov is a finalist in the USSR Championship.
1956
Vladimir Karimov takes the bronze medal in the USSR Nations Olympics.
1959
Anatolii Kadetov is champion in the USSR Nations Olympics, Maksut Omarov is a finalist, Abdusalan Nurmahanov takes bronze.
1967
Ex-boxer Khabdulmazhit Omargaliyev takes over as the national trainer of Kazakhstan.
1971
Oleg Gurov is champion in the USSR Nations Olympics. Zhandos Kokumov and Anatolyi Toropov take second place and Yuryi Khryanin, Viktor Grebenyuk, Abdrashid Abdrahmanov and Marat Zhaksibaev take third places.
1975
Sixth USSR Nations Olympics. Kazakhstan's team takes 5th place.
1979
Kamil Safin is champion in the USSR Nations Olympics.
1983
Erik Khakimov, Rashid Cabirov and Viktor Demyanenko are champions in USSR Nations Olympics. The national team comes 2nd.
1987
Igor Ruzhnikov is champion in the USSR Nations Olympics.
1991
The Kazakhstan team comes first place in the USSR Nations Olympics. Bolat Temirov, Kanatbek Shagataev, Igor Shishkin, and Nikolay Kulpin are champions.
B. S. Chvirashvili is honoured as coach for the Republic, having led and coordinated the coaching council for 15 years, from 1972.
1992
Kazakhstan joins AIBA and the Asian continental amateur boxing association.
1996
The national team enters the Olympic Games in Atlanta, taking 4 medals (1gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) and ranking 3rd after Cuba and the USA. V.Zhirov (81kg) wins the Val Barker Trophy fir the first time for Kazakhstan.
1999
Bolat Dzhumadilov wins gold in the World Boxing Championships in Houston(USA)
2000
Bekzat Sattarhanov, Ermahan Ibraimov win gold and Bolat Zhumadilov and Muhtarhan Dildabekov win silver in the Olympic Games in Sydney.
2003
Galib Zhafarov and Gennadiy Golovkin win the World Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
2004
At the Olympic Games in Athens Bakhtiyar Artaev from Taraz becomes Olympic champion and is the second boxer in the history of Kazakhstan, after Vasiliy Zhirov, to be honoured with the Val Barker Cup. Gennadiy Golovkin wins a silver medal in Athens and Serik Eleuyov wins bronze.
2005
Serik Sapiyev and Yerdos Zhanabergenov become world champions in Mianyang (China).
2007
Serik Sapiyev is world champion for a second time in Chicago at the World Boxing Championships. Bakhtiyar Artayev and Yerkebulan Shynaliyev take third places.
Professor Maulenov Kassym Syrbaevich in Chicago
SOME BIG NAMES IN KAZAKHSTAN BOXING TRAINING...
In the 1950s and 1960s, Mingerey Hairutdinov, Iskander Hasanov, Gennadyi Rekhert and Nikolai Lee lead the way in boxing training. Kazakhstan has some exceptional talents in the form of Viktor Bortnovskyi, Oleg Gurov, Viktor Minakov, Boris Kashevin and Abdrashid Abdrahmanov.
Stanislav Boldirev is one of the former Soviet Union's most revered boxing trainers. He is credited with preparation of World Champion Valeryi Rachkov (1978).
Iskander Hasanov led the Kazakhstan Republic team for more than 20 years.
USSR and Kazakhstan boxing team coach Yuryi Tshai was responsible for Serik Konakbaev, three-time USSR champion and twice European champion.
BOXING IN KAZAKHSTAN TODAY...
In today's Kazakhstan, there are 606 boxing clubs and 30,000 people taking part in training, led by some 563 coaches.
Boxing is more developed in the regions of Almaty, Karaganda, Shymkent, Taraz, Petropavlovsk, Kostanay, Aktubinskaya, Dzhambulskaya and Pavlodarskaya.
In the USSR and CIS Championships (until 1992), Kazakhstan boxers won 157 medals (36 gold, 44 silver, 77 bronze), coming 5th among seventeen boxing federations.
The Kazakhstan national team won 4 medals (2 gold, 2 silver) in six world championships.
Performing as members of USSR team in Olympic Games, the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation won 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.
FAMOUS BOXING KAZAKS...
V Rachkov - 1978 champion of the world
I Ruzhnikov - 1989 European and world champion
S Konakbaev - two-time European champion, winner of the World trophy and Moscow (1980) Olympic games finalist
V Demyanenko - 1979 European champion and Moskow (1980) Olympic games finalist
Thanks to Professor Maulenov Kassym Syrbaevich for his article.