Erkki Pakkanen took up boxing in 1947 and won the Finnish junior title in 1949. Pakkanen won his only Finnish Championship medal in 1952, when he took bronze, but two months later won the Finnish Olympic trials in lightweight and was selected to the Finnish Olympic team. At the Olympics, Pakkanen won two matches, before he lost to the eventual Italian gold medal winner Aureliano Bolognesi in the semi-final and won the bronze medal. In 1950, Pakkanen seriously injured his right hand and at the 1953 Finnish Championships, Pakkanen injured his right hand again and retired from boxing. After his boxing career, Pakkanen worked as a taxi driver, setting up his own taxi business in 1958. Pakkanen died of a heart attack while watching his son Jorma competing in harness racing beside a track in Kouvola. Pakkanen was selected to the Finnish Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.
Finland