Hocine Soltani
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Hocine Soltani | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Algeria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 27, 1972 Thénia, Boumerdès | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | March 2002 (aged 29) near Marseille, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Boxing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | Featherweight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Hocine Soltani (December 1972 – March 2002) was an
Early life
Hocine Soltani was born in the Algerian town of Thénia on 27 December 1972.[1] He was introduced to boxing by his older brother Omar, who had already trained several other fighters. Omar later explained, "It is a school of life and discipline that allowed him not to drag, he quickly proved diligent and determined." Soltani fought right-handed in the southpaw stance, using his left hand as a low guard near his hip.[2]
Boxing career
Amateur career
He came joint third with Arnaldo Mesa at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships.[3] Soltani was selected for the Olympics for the first time for the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, competing in the featherweight division. He reached the semi-final, where he was defeated by eventual gold medallist Andreas Tews of Germany.[4] Omar said that "By the end of the Barcelona Olympics, the goal was to come back to win the gold this time. For us it was an even higher level. Nothing to do with the World Championships or the African Championships which was Hocine was each time medalist."[2]
Soltani returned to the Olympics at the
In the final of the Atlanta Games, Soltani faced Bulgarian Tontcho Tontchev.[6] After leading the Bulgarian 2–1 in the final round, Soltani was penalised by the referee by both his points, but soon leveled the score. With the score level at the end of the match, the victory was given to Soltani following a count back (where each hit scored by the two boxers are counted).[5][7] This was the first time any Algerian had won an Olympic gold medal in boxing.[5]
Professional career
Hocine turned pro in 1998, and made his professional debut against
Later life and death
Following his retirement from boxing following his four professional bouts, Soltani began working in the importing and exporting of cars in Marseille, where he had settled with his wife and child. On 1 March 2002, he left to meet with a man who wanted to have two cars exported to Algeria. It was the last time he would be seen alive by his family. During the course of the next two years, there were theories that he had relocated to the United States or Japan. When a body was found in September 2004, the idea that it could be Soltani was met with skepticism by his brother, but DNA tests demonstrated that it was the missing ex-boxer.[2]
Soltani's mother travelled to France from Algeria to provide the investigators with a baseline with which to compare the DNA evidence. The body was repatriated to Algeria,[2] and was buried in Boudouaou.[10] The man with whom Soltani met that day was arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison for kidnapping and the subsequent death of the victim;[2] however, rumours continued of an underworld connection.[10]
Career
Olympic Games
Olympic Games 1996 (Atlanta, USA) (- 60 kg )
Olympic Games 1992 (Barcelona, Spain) (- 57 kg )
World Amateur Boxing Championships
- World Amateur Boxing Championships 1991 (Sydney, Australia) (- 57 kg )
- Quarter-finals World Amateur Boxing Championships 1993 (Tampere, Finland) (- 60 kg )
- Preliminaries 1/16 World Amateur Boxing Championships 1995 (Berlin, Germany) (- 63,5 kg)
- Quarter-finals World Cup 1994 (Bangkok, Thailand) (- 60 kg )
African Amateur Boxing Championships
Johannesburg, South Africa) (- 60 kg )
African Olympic Qualifications 1996 (- 63,5 kg)
All-Africa Games
- All-Africa Games 1991 (Cairo, Egypt) (- 57 kg )
Mediterranean Games
- Mediterranean Games 1993 ( Narbonne, France) (- 60 kg )
International tournaments
- Italia Junior ( Santa Teresa Gallura, Italy ) 1989 (-51 kg)
- IItalia Junior( Alghero, Italy) 1990 (-51 kg)
- Balaton Junior Cup (Siofok, Hungary) 1990 (-51 kg)
- President's Cup ( Jakarta, Indonesia ) 1994 (- 60 kg )
- Golden Belt Tournament ( Bucharest, Romania) 1994 (- 60 kg )
- Trofeo Italia ( Mestre, Italy) 1995 (- 63,5 kg)
- Quarterfinals Giraldo Cordova Cardin Tournament (Camaguey, Cuba) 1996 (- 63,5 kg)
- Quarterfinals Giraldo Cordova Cardin Tournament (Cienfuegos, Cuba) 1994 (- 60 kg )
See also
References
- ^ a b "Hocine Soltani, le "golden boy" de la boxe algérienne". Ennahar TV. 20 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ Le Vif(in French). 4 August 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "World Amateur Boxing Championships". GBRAthletics,com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Boxing at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games: Men's Featherweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "Boxing at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Men's Lightweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ Buffery, Steve (26 October 2014). "Mike Strange still has fighting spirit". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "What is countback?". Irish Independent. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Hocine Soltani". BoxRec. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Mebarek Soltani". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b El Kadi, Ihsane (13 August 2016). "Benchabla face au Boxit et au sortilège caché de Hocine Soltani". Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
1904: 125–135 lb (56.7–61.2 kg) · 1908: 126–140 lb (57.2–63.5 kg) · 1920–1936: 126–135 lb (57.2–61.2 kg) · 1948: 58–62 kg · 1952–2008: 57–60 kg · 2012: 56–60 kg · 2016: 57–60 kg · 2020–: 58–63 kg | |
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