Tarmo Uusivirta

Tarmo Uusivirta

Personal information
Born	5 February 1957 Jyväskylä, Finland
Died	13 December 1999 Jyväskylä, Finland
Height	181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	75–78 kg
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Medal record Representing  Finland World Amateur Championships 1978 Belgrade Middleweight 1982 Munich Middleweight European Amateur Championships 1979 Cologne Middleweight

Tarmo "Tare" Tapani Uusivirta (5 February 1957 – 13 December 1999) was a Finnish middleweight boxer who won the European amateur title in 1979 and fought professionally from 1982 to 1992.

Amateur career

Besides the European title, Uusivirta won silver medals at the world championships in 1978 and 1982. He competed at the 1980 Olympics and lost in the second round to the eventual bronze medalist Jerzy Rybicki.^[1][2]

Professional career

In 1982 Uusivirta turned professional. In 1986, he had a draw with the then reigning European Champion Alex Blanchard in a non-title match. In 1987, he won against the future European Champion James Cook. In 1988 he had a second draw with Blanchard, contending the IBF European Super Middleweight Title. In 1992, shortly before the EBU super middleweight title fight against James Cook, Uusivirta suffered an injury and had to give up a close bout in the 7th round. He retired the same year with a record of 24 wins (16 knockouts), 4 losses and 3 draws.^[2][3]

Retirement and death

After retiring Uusivirta grew bitter and regretted his move from amateur to professional boxing. He eventually lost his job as a fireman due to alcoholism, and committed suicide at the age of 42 in 1999.^[2]

References