Igor Vysotsky
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Native name | Игорь Яковлевич Высоцкий | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth name | Igor Yakovlevich Vysotsky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 2 April 2023 | (aged 69)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Boxing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight class | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Trud Sports Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Igor Yakovlevich Vysotsky (10 September 1953 – 2 April 2023)
Early years
Igor Vysotsky was born to a family of
Vysotsky graduated from the Magadan Teachers Training Institute, where he studied to become a
Boxing career
"He have [sic] short arms, and he hits real hard."
—Muhammad Ali on Vysotsky.[4]
The first nation-wide boxing event for Igor Vysotsky was a matchup in
Vysotsky's first bout with Stevenson was in July 1973, he defeated the Cuban boxer in a 3–2 decision. Their second and final meeting was in April 1976. Vysotsky stopped Stevenson in the third round.[1]
Shortly before the 1976
In 1976, he stopped future WBA Heavyweight Champion Tony Tubbs in two rounds.[6] The following year, he fought another future WBA Heavyweight Champion, Greg Page, losing by a split decision. Both bouts were in Las Vegas, Nevada and were part of a series of matches between the American and Soviet teams.[7]
His prime years were in the mid-1970s, by November 1975 Vysotsky has won 98 amateur fights against just 13 losses. All of his losses by that time have been against other Soviet fighters, he said.
In June 1978,
Vysotsky's last fight was at the 1980 National Championships. He lost to Yevgeniy Gorstkov again due to a cut.[11] After retirement Vysotsky worked as a coach and sport functionary, particularly as vice-president of the Boxing Federation of Moscow Oblast.[1]
After his retirement from competition, he established Yakov Vysotskiy Memorial annual open boxing memorial (to commemorate his father) at his hometown of Yagodnoye.
Highlights
Notable bouts include:
Usov Memorial Tournament (+81 kg), Belarus SSR , October 1971:
VI Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament (+81 kg), Santiago de Cuba, Cuba , July 1973:
Black Diamonds Tournament (+81 kg), Katowice, Poland , June 1974:
Dutch Open (+81 kg), Amsterdam, Netherlands , October 1974:
Usov Memorial Tournament (+81 kg), Belarus SSR , April 1976:
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Golden Belt Tournament (+81 kg), Bucharest, Romania , April 1977:
X Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament (+81 kg), Matanzas, Cuba , July 1977:
Vaclav Prochazka Tournament (+81 kg), Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, September 1977:
Belgrade, Yugoslavia , May 1978:
International Tournament (+91 kg), Kazakh SSR , March 1979:
XII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament (+81 kg), Havana, Cuba , May 1979:
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USA–USSR Duels
External videos | |
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Vysotsky vs. Teófilo Stevenson (1973) | |
Vysotsky vs. Helton Willis (1975) | |
Vysotsky vs. Muhammad Ali (1978) |
- May 17, 1974, RSFSR: Defeated Clifford Stevens KO 1
- January 22, 1975, Caesars Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, Nevada: Defeated Emory Chapman RSC 3
- January 28, 1975, Felt Forum, New York City: Defeated Helton Willis KO 1 (0:25)
- November 15, 1975, Madison Square Garden, New York City: Lost to Jimmy Clark (41–5, 16 KOs) RSC 3 (Clark was knocked down in the 1st rd; by the 3rd, Vysotsky was badly cut, leading referee Vladimir Yengibaryan to stop the bout)
- November 27, 1976, Las Vegas, Nevada: Defeated Tony TubbsRSC 2
- December 3, 1976, Madison Square Garden, New York City: Defeated Jimmy Clark (60–5) RSC 3
- January 29, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada: Defeated Jimmy Clark PTS
- February 5, 1977, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Defeated Woody Clark KO 2
- December 10, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada: Lost to Greg Pageby split decision, 1–2 (Soviet Judge Boris Granatkin voted for Vysotsky 59–68. American judges Loring Baker and Jerry Dusenberry both had Page ahead)
- December 1977, New Orleans, Louisiana: Defeated Charles Garrett PTS
- March 31, 1978, Kazakh SSR: Defeated Mitch Green(40–1) PTS
Vysotsky won eight out of his first ten bouts with American boxers, six of them by knockout.[12]
Vysotsky said his most difficult opponents were Ángel Milián Rivero, whom he fought several times winning once, and Yevgeniy Gorstkov. After Cubans found out that Rivero posed a real challenge for Vysotsky, they brought him up to every event where Soviets sent or could have sent Vysotsky. Interestingly, Rivero himself met Stevenson ten times at various national match-ups, winning just one of them by
Rivalry with Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson was known for two fights with Vysotsky, who defeated Stevenson twice. Vysotsky later revealed in his interview to East Side Boxing:[13]
I fought Teofilo twice. We first met at the “Córdova Cardín” tournament in 1973 in Cuba. I took the first two opponents, both being Cuban, out early. In the third, I beat Stevenson on points. Although the score was 3:2, the pace of the fight forced Teofilo to take two necessary breaks to retie his gloves. We had a saying in the USSR, “It’s easier to win the World championships than it is to win ‘Córdova Cardín’.” The second time was at a class A International tournament in Minsk, in March 1976. In each stanza, Stevenson took a count, while in the final three minutes, I knocked him out.
— Igor Vysotsky, Interview with East Side Boxing, 2006
Vysotsky employed evasive infighting tactics during his standoffs versus Stevenson, by cutting distance and constantly ducking under Stevenson's left hand, thus escaping from his devastating jabs and straight punches, and then driving upwards, getting him with short, effective hooks. Jimmy Clark, an American heavyweight from West Chester, Pa., who once defeated Vysotsky, challenged Stevenson three times in 1978 in 1980, said: "If Vysotsky can do it, so can I," but did not succeed.[14]
Exhibition boxing record
1 fight | 0 wins | 0 losses |
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Non-scored | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
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1 | — | 0–0 (1) | Muhammad Ali | — | 2 | Jun 20, 1978 | Moscow, RSFSR, U.S.S.R. | Non-scored bout |
References
- ^ a b c Биография Игоря Высоцкого .vysotsky.web-box.ru
- ^ Rogers, Thomas (23 November 1976). "U.S., Soviet Heavyweights Set for Rematch". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Russian Boxers Meet Americans By Tim White (AP Sports Writer), Yuma Sun, November 14, 1975, p. 14.
- ^ Muhammad Ali comments his bout versus Vysotsky in retrospect.
- ^ MONTREAL (AP) — One of tile tangiest U S. Olympic boring teams ever, Lake Charles American Press, July 18, 1976, p. 34.
- ^ Bangor Daily news December 3, 1976
- ^ The Tuscaloosa News December 11, 1977
- ^ Interview with Igor Vysotsky, a Russian heavyweight boxer (AP), Winnipeg Free Press, November 12, 1975, p. 83.
- ^ Ali Puts On Boxing Show For Russians MOSCOW (AP), Fort Walton Beach Playground Daily News Archives, June 14, 1978, p. 19.
- ^ Lodi News-Sentinel June 15, 1978
- ^ Igor Vysotsky – The Man Who Had Teofilo Stevenson's Number! eastsideboxing.com
- ^ Sport in the Soviet Union, 2013, p. 89.
- ^ Komarnitzky, Gennadiy; Koza, Izyaslav (24 December 2006). "SOVIET LEGENDS: Igor Vysotsky – The man who had Teofilo Stevenson's number!" ESB EXCLUSIVE Interview!". East Side Boxing.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
Links
- Amateur career of Igor Vysotsky (in Spanish) compiled by Pedro Cabrera Isidron of the Cuban Olympics Committee. Last updated: August 13, 2006
- Amateur Boxing Results