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| Event type

Middleweight (≤75 kilograms), Men

Date29 August – 10 September 1972
StatusOlympic
LocationBoxhalle, Olympiapark, München
Participants22 from 22 countries
FormatSingle elimination tournament.

At the start of 1972 Vyacheslav Lemeshev was not guaranteed a place on the Soviet Olympic team. Although he was European junior champion in 1971, the USSR also had Juozas Juocevicius, the European senior champion, and the highly rated Rufat Riskiyev to choose from. When Juocevicius’ Olympic dreams were thwarted by injury it was thought that Riskiyev would be chosen but instead the Soviet selectors chose Lemeshev. The choice of Lemeshev turned out to be a masterstroke and he proved unbeatable. Only one of the contests reached the final round and he secured gold with a brutal knockout of Reima Virtanen. The Finn was unconscious for a nearly a minute after the contest. Lemeshev was European champion in 1973 and 1975 but retired at the young age of 24 after failing to be selected for the 1976 Olympic Games. In his later life he battled unsuccessfully with alcohol problems and this contributed to his death at the age of just 43.

PosCompetitorNOC
1Vyacheslav LemeshevURSGold
2Reima VirtanenFINSilver
=3Prince AmarteyGHABronze
=3Marvin JohnsonUSABronze
=5Witold StachurskiPOL
=5Poul KnudsenDEN
=5Alejandro MontoyaCUB
=5Nazif KuranTUR
=9Titus SimbaTAN
=9Peter DulaKEN
=9José Luis EspinosaMEX
=9William PeetsISV
=9Ewald JarmerFRG
=9Bill KnightGBR
=9Hans-Joachim BrauskeGDR
=9Nat KnowlesBAH
=17Alec NăstacROU
=17Julius LuipaZAM
=17Abdel Wahab Abdullah SalihSUD
=17Wiem GommiesINA
=17Athanasios GiannopoulosGRE
=17Faustino QuinalesVEN

Round One

Date29 August 1972
FormatWinner of each match advanced to the second round.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorNOCResultCompetitorNOC
Match #129 AugReima VirtanenFIN
Match #229 AugTitus SimbaTAN
Match #329 AugWitold StachurskiPOL
Match #429 AugPeter DulaKEN
Match #529 AugPrince AmarteyGHA
Match #629 AugJosé Luis EspinosaMEX
Match #729 AugPoul KnudsenDEN
Match #829 AugWilliam PeetsISV
Match #929 AugEwald JarmerFRG
Match #1029 AugMarvin JohnsonUSA
Match #1129 AugAlejandro MontoyaCUBKnock-outAlec NăstacROU
Match #1229 AugBill KnightGBRDecisionJulius LuipaZAM
Match #1329 AugHans-Joachim BrauskeGDRDecisionAbdel Wahab Abdullah SalihSUD
Match #1429 AugVyacheslav LemeshevURSKnock-outWiem GommiesINA
Match #1529 AugNazif KuranTURReferee stops contestAthanasios GiannopoulosGRE
Match #1629 AugNat KnowlesBAHDisqualifiedFaustino QuinalesVEN

Round Two

Date4 September 1972
FormatWinner of each match advanced to the quarter-finals.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorNOCResultCompetitorNOC
Match #104 SepReima VirtanenFINDecisionTitus SimbaTAN
Match #204 SepWitold StachurskiPOLDecisionPeter DulaKEN
Match #304 SepPrince AmarteyGHADecisionJosé Luis EspinosaMEX
Match #404 SepPoul KnudsenDENDecisionWilliam PeetsISV
Match #504 SepMarvin JohnsonUSADecisionEwald JarmerFRG
Match #604 SepAlejandro MontoyaCUBReferee stops contestBill KnightGBR
Match #704 SepVyacheslav LemeshevURSDecisionHans-Joachim BrauskeGDR
Match #804 SepNazif KuranTURKnock-outNat KnowlesBAH

Quarter-Finals

Date7 September 1972
FormatWinner of each match advanced to the semi-finals.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorNOCResultCompetitorNOC
Match #107 SepReima VirtanenFINReferee stops contestWitold StachurskiPOL
Match #207 SepPrince AmarteyGHADecisionPoul KnudsenDEN
Match #307 SepMarvin JohnsonUSADecisionAlejandro MontoyaCUB
Match #407 SepVyacheslav LemeshevURSReferee stops contestNazif KuranTUR

Semi-Finals

Date8 September 1972
FormatWinner of each match advanced to the final match.
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorNOCResultCompetitorNOC
Match #108 SepReima VirtanenFINDecisionPrince AmarteyGHA
Match #208 SepVyacheslav LemeshevURSReferee stops contestMarvin JohnsonUSA

Final Round

Date10 September 1972
MatchDate/TimeCompetitorNOCResultCompetitorNOC
Match 1/210 SepVyacheslav LemeshevURSKnock-outReima VirtanenFIN