Budapest, Oct 17: Laszlo Papp who won three Olympic gold medals in boxing for Hungary has dies at the age of 78.
Laszlo Papp, Hungary's three times Olympic boxing champion and former national coach, has died in hospital after a long illness, aged 78, the national MTI news agency said on Thursday (October 16).
Papp won middleweight gold at the 1948 London Olympics, struck gold again at super welterweight in Helsinki in 1952 and then in Melbourne four years later.
In one of his finest bouts, Papp beat American Jose Torres, a future world professional champion, at the Melbourne Games. Papp was undefeated in 29 professional fights from 1957, and won six European professional middleweight titles, his first in 1962 when he beat Chris Christensen of Denmark in Vienna shortly after turning professional.

He was on the verge of a world middleweight title attempt against American world champion Joey Giardello in 1965 when Hungary's communist government revoked his foreign travel permit, bringing a premature end to his professional career.



In 1989, the World Boxing Council voted Papp "The world's best amateur and professional middleweight boxer." He coached Hungary's national boxing team in the 1970s and 1980s.


Bureau Report