Aleksandr Miroshnichenko


Aleksandr Viktorovich "Alex" Miroshnichenko was a Kazakhstani professional boxer. As an amateur he represented the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division.
His other accomplishments included silver at the 1989 World Championships, as well as bronze at the 1983 and 1989 European Championships, and other international tournaments.

Early years

Miroshnichenko took up boxing at the age of 13, at the strong insistence of his mother, who thought that her son must be able to defend himself, and brought him to the gym at his hometown of Kostanay. Miroshnichenko shown little interest in boxing, but had a natural talent and considerable ability to compete both nationally and internationally, which he did during the 1980s. He was ranked world's #6 super heavyweight by the AIBA in 1984.

Amateur career

Aside from his Olympic performance, Miroshnichenko had a distinguished amateur career, winning 210 out of 233 bouts, including a win over future world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and 1984 U.S. Army and inter-service champion Wesley Watson. He won medals in the European Championships and the World Cup, and was a three-time Soviet champion. He represented the Dynamo Sports Society. At the 1988 Olympics semifinals Miroshnichenko floored U.S. Riddick Bowe momentarily in the first round, but Bowe managed to win by the decision. Despite Miroshnichenko's loss to Bowe, Lou Falcigno, a New York-based boxing promoter of Momentum Enterprises, Inc., expressed a particular interest in bringing him to the United States to fight professionally. Negotiations began between the promoter and the Soviet Boxing Federation and Sovintersport, the entity responsible for the commercialization of Soviet sports, but proven unsuccessful as the Soviet government dismissed the idea early in 1989.

Highlights

President's Cup, Jakarta, Indonesia, February 1982:
Friendship Tournament, Usti nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, July 1982:
European Championships, Varna, Bulgaria, May 1983:
World Cup, Rome, Italy, October 1983:
Giraldo Córdova Cardín, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, June 1985:
Goodwill Games, Moscow, Soviet Union, July 1986:
USA−USSR Middle & Heavy Duals, ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California, July 1986:
USA−USSR Exhibition, Houston, Texas, August 1986:
InterCup, Hemsbach, West Germany, April 1987:
USA−USSR Heavy Duals, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, June 1987:
Socialist Countries Police Championships, Pyongyang, North Korea, August 1987:
TSC Tournament, Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, Berlin, East Germany, September 1987:
InterCup, Karlsruhe, West Germany, April 1988:
Olympic SuperHeavy qualifications, Karlsruhe, West Germany, April 1988:
Pre-Olympic Tournament, Seoul, South Korea, March 1988:
USSR−USA Duals, Moscow, Soviet Union, 1988:
Summer Olympics, Seoul, South Korea, September 1988:
European Championships, Athens, Greece, May 1989:
World Championships, Moscow, Soviet Union, September–October 1989:
He had 233 fights as an amateur, finishing his amateur career with a record of 210–23.

Professional career

Miroshnichenko turned pro in 1990, at the very advent of professional boxing in the late Soviet Union, and had limited success. He began his career by knocking out Roberto Servin in the first round. In Miroshnichenko's third fight, he stopped future WBC International Champion, Ross Puritty.
In 1991, Miroshnichenko won the vacant Russian Heavyweight title from Nurlan Dzhanibekov. After vacating the Russian title in 1992, Miroshnichenko won a very close Split Decision against Samuel M'Bendjob by only one point. In 1993, Miroshnichenko beat former IBF Cruiserweight Champion, Ricky Parkey in an impressive third round Knockout.
After 21 consecutive wins against limited competition, Miroshnichenko was finally defeated by Oleg Maskayev in 1993 in Maskayev's first pro fight: a TKO in the third round. Miroshnichenko's cornermen later told that he entered the bout with his arm fractured. Miroshnichenko retired after the bout.

Retirement and later years

Upon his retirement from competition, he opened a state-sponsored boxing school for youth, and worked as a chief boxing coach of the Kostanay Region in 2000-2002. He also helped to establish the school of martial arts at the Kostanay State University which he headed as a dean until his death.

Death

Miroshnichenko died under unclear circumstances in 2003, age 39, after supposedly falling down nine flights of stairs at his apartment building in his hometown. Rumours initially circulated that his death was related to his testimony in the trial of a local judge, but local prosecutor's office later ruled his death was most probably accidental, and case was closed.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentOpp RecordTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
22Loss21–1 Oleg MaskayevTKO3 17 Apr 1993 Taraz, Kazakhstan
21Win21–0 Ricky Parkey22–15–0KO320 Mar 1993 Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany
20Win20–0 Michael Simuwelu18–4–1PTS819 Dec 1992 Berlin, Germany
19Win19–0 Samuel M'Bendjob6–3–0SD83 Dec 1992 Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis, Rotterdam, Netherlands79–77, 77–76, 76–78
18Win18–0 Oleg UshakovPTS818 Oct 1992 Almaty, Kazakhstan
17Win17–0 Carlos Pena0–1–0KO12 Oct 1992 Waregem, West Flanders, Belgium
16Win16-0 Mike Cohen30–18–0KO2 19 Sep 1992 Kassel, Hesse, Germany
15Win15–0 Nurlan Dzhanibekov0–4–0KO1 23 Aug 1992 Semey, Kazakhstan
14Win14–0 Yevgeniy TulenovKO2 8 Aug 1992 Rudniy, Kazakhstan
13Win13–0 Steve Garber18–16–1TKO1 8 May 1992 Waregem, West Flanders, Belgium
12Win12–0 Albert JohnsonTKO1 1 Feb 1992 Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
11Win11–0 Nurlan Dzhanibekov0–2–0KO4 7 Dec 1991 Rudniy, Kazakh SSRWon vacant Russian Heavyweight title
10Win10–0 James Holly3–23–0KO228 Oct 1991 Arnhem, Netherlands
9Win9–0 Nurlan Dzhanibekov0–1–0PTS826 Sep 1991 Karaganda, Kazakh SSR
8Win8–0 Vladimir Guguchkin0–1–0TKO6 4 Sep 1991 Almaty, Kazakh SSR
7Win7–0 Pyotr SkokTKO8 7 Jul 1991 Pavlodar, Kazakh SSR
6Win6–0 Igor ShklyarukTKO4 18 May 1991 Semey, Kazakh SSR
5Win5–0 Vazgen AyvazyanPTS817 Mar 1991 Kemerovo, RSFSR
4Win4–0 Viktor AldoshinTKO4 16 Jan 1991 Tokyo, Japan
3Win3–0 Ross Puritty3–1–0RTD6 29 Oct 1990 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
2Win2–0 Juan Hernández3–11–0PTS620 Aug 1990 Tokyo, Japan
1Win1–0 Roberto Servin1–1–1KO1, 2:2723 Jun 1990 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, JapanProfessional debut

Memory

Alexandr Miroshnichenko Memorial annual junior boxing tournament has been established in his hometown of Kostanay.