Along with Danas Pozniakas, Ričardas Tamulis is probably the most successful Lithuanian boxer. Tamulis took up boxing in 1953 and soon rose to be the top Soviet welterweight boxer. Tamulis won his first Soviet Championship medal in 1958, a silver in light-welterweight, but switched to welterweight after that and stayed in that class until his boxing retirement in 1967. As a welterweight, Tamulis won five Soviet titles (1959, 1961-62, 1964, 1966) and two Soviet Championships bronzes (1963, 1967). Tamulis won silver at the 1964 Olympics and was European welterweight champion three times in a row (1961, 1963, 1965). Tamulis also won six Lithuanian SSR titles (1957-1959, 1961, 1963-64). retiring from boxing with a record of 243 wins in 257 bouts. After his boxing career, Tamulis worked for a long time as a boxing coach with Žalgiris Kaunas and after Lithuania became independent again in 1990, he was also active in politics.