Shamil Sabirov

Shamil Sabirov took up boxing in 1973 and won his first Soviet Championship medal, a bronze, in 1979. In the same year Sabirov also won the European title. In 1980, Sabirov won the Soviet title and went to the Olympics as the clear light-flyweight favorite. As expected, Sabirov won the Olympic gold easily, but in the next year, at the European Championships, Sabirov lost unexpectedly to Ismail Mustafov of Bulgaria in the semi-final and had to settle for a bronze medal. In 1982, Sabirov lost in the first round at the World Championships to North-Korean Go Yong-Hwan. In 1983, Sabirov won his second and last Soviet title and retired from boxing in 1985 with a record of 160 wins in 180 bouts. Sabirov graduated from the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Physical Culture with a candidate of sciences degree in pedagogy. After retiring from boxing Sabirov worked as a boxing referee and in 1993 he and his wife founded a successful company selling children’s toys. In 2000, Sabirov began work as a boxing coach in his hometown of Krasnodar and in 2006 became active in politics, as a member of the Russian party Rodina.