Rufat Riskiyev

Rufat Riskiyev took up boxing in 1961, and in 1971 won his first Soviet Championship medal, a bronze and in 1972 won his first Soviet title, the others coming in a row from 1974-76, after taking silver in 1973. In 1974, Riskiyev won the World middleweight title and in 1976, won Olympic silver, losing to American Michael Spinks in the final by TKO. Riskiyev retired from boxing after the 1976 Olympics with a record of 174 wins out of 189 bouts. After his retirement from boxing, Riskiyev worked as a boxing coach in his native Uzbekistan and also served as a boxing referee. In 1997, Riskiyev became the first WBO professional referee from Central Asia.