Alexey Tishchenko is deservedly included in the cohort of unique Russian boxers. During his career, he managed to win all the prestigious awards in amateur boxing.

In the USSR and Russia, only three athletes have won Olympic gold medals twice. Among them is Tishchenko, who brought home awards of the highest standard from Athens and Beijing. And victories at the European and World Championships allow him to enter the unofficial Grand Slam club.

Unfortunately, a brilliant career as an Olympic champion at a fairly early age was interrupted by serious health problems. The famous athlete did not make his debut in the professional ring because of them.

But everything will change very soon!

Alexey Tishchenko / Photo: © Harry How / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Got to the Olympics thanks to an incredible sensation

Alexey Tishchenko could not go to the Olympic Games in Athens. In 2003, he won the Russian Championship, defeating the more experienced Raimkul Malakhbekov, who competed at two Olympics, in the final.

The fight between these boxers turned out to be very close. Despite the victory of Tishchenko, the coaching staff decided to send Malakhbekov to the European championship. This decision practically put an end to Alexei’s prospects.

– Malakhbekov needed to win only one fight to get to the Olympics. But he loses this duel by a small margin. At that moment, I didn’t even count on the fact that Raimkul could lose. My chances were close to zero, – Alexey spoke about the incredible set of circumstances in an interview with the Promotion channel on YouTube.

Malakhbekov, the owner of two world championship gold medals, stumbled in a fight with a little-known Georgian boxer Konstantin Kupatadze. The final gong recorded the victory of an athlete from Georgia – 29:28.

This fiasco of Malakhbekov sharply increased Tishchenko’s chances of winning a ticket to Athens. To do this, he needed to win qualifying competitions in Poland. Aleksey coped with this task brilliantly, completing all the fights ahead of schedule.

Photo: © Cameron Spencer / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Dark horse of the Athens Olympics

At the Olympics, no one seriously expected that 20-year-old Tishchenko would compete for gold. Given the complex grid of the Russian in his weight category up to 57 kg, even a medal seemed unrealistic.

Alexey took the starting fight effortlessly, destroying the Algerian Hadj Belheir with a score of 37:17 due to the explosive speed. And the Russians had their first problems in the 1/8 finals. The favor of the judges allowed the Azerbaijani Shahin Imranov to win by 10 points in an absolutely equal fight. But in the third round, the judge stopped the fight due to a severe cut.

After this, many experts were inclined to believe that the Russian boxer’s tournament path would end in the quarterfinals. There he was expected to meet with the reigning world champion from Kazakhstan Galib Jafarov. But a hail of blows in two starting rounds, brought down on the titled athlete, helped Tishchenko win – 36:26.

In the semi-finals, Alexey made a real cut with the South Korean Cho Suk Hwan. But if the Russian regularly hit the target, then most of the opponent’s blows shook the air. As a result, the fight ended with a huge advantage for Tishchenko – 45:25.

In the final, the Russian boxed with the representative of North Korea, Kim Sung Guk. The Korean significantly surpassed Alexei in height and arm span. The opponent tried to keep Tishchenko at a distance, as he did with other opponents, but the Russian boxer regularly reduced the distance due to explosive speed and delivered accurate punches, the force of which made Kim stagger. As a result, Tishchenko won gold in a super-convincing manner.

Alexey Tishchenko / Photo: © John Walton – EMPICS / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.ru

“Why don’t you know the words to your anthem?”

At the medal ceremony, Tishchenko showed himself as a true patriot. During the performance of the anthem, he not only stood on the highest step of the podium, but sang loudly, pronouncing all the words. At major competitions in those years, few athletes could boast of this, since the text of the anthem has changed not so long ago.

Already in Russia, at a meeting at the airport, Alexei was asked how he knew the words of the Russian anthem. This question caused a negative reaction from the Olympic champion. The response of the athlete turned out to be quite emotional.

– Everyone asks me: “How do you know the words of the anthem? Why were you singing? And how did it happen that you knew the words of the anthem? This is our anthem! Why shouldn’t I know these words? I’m amazed how you ask questions like this. Do you know the words to the anthem yourself? Tishchenko asked the journalist.

The reporter, after a little hesitation, replied that he knew, but not completely. This angered the athlete even more.

Why don’t you know the words to your anthem? When there was the Soviet Union, everyone knew the words. And now everyone is just wondering how I know the words, ”Tishchenko was indignant.

Photo: © Personal archive of Alexey Tishchenko

A shameful end to a career

Alexey got to the next Olympic Games without any problems. He moved up one weight category, but remained among the best boxers in the world. The Russian has acquired medals from the World and European Championships in four years.

The Beijing Olympics were held routinely for Tishchenko. None of the rivals did not deliver serious problems to the Russian. Only in the final, Dauda Sov fought to the last, but lost by two points.

Over the course of four years, Alexei’s style has changed a lot. In Beijing, viewers no longer saw that explosive 20-year-old boy who constantly arranged exchanges with opponents. Now Tishchenko aimed every blow. But even in this manner of fighting, he surpassed all rivals, having won the second gold of the Olympics and repeating the unique achievement of the legendary Oleg Saitov and Boris Lagutin.

No one then imagined that this triumph would be the last major success of an athlete in his career. After the Games, Alexei took a long break. A few months later, the athlete returned to training, but during the preparation for the London Olympics he became very tired. Also during the fights, he constantly experienced pain in the neck.

In 2011, the athlete decided to undergo a medical examination, which did not end well for Alexei. Due to irreversible changes in the cervical spine, doctors recommended that the athlete complete his performances at a high level. In the same year, Alexey officially announced his retirement.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Malgavko

Debut in the pros

For more than ten years, Tishchenko has been working with athletes at the Boxing Sports Training Center, combining this work with active social activities. Alexey lived in boxing, but there was no talk of returning to the ring. Two years after the end of his career, Alexei did not train at all.

– The injury does not bother me in general, but there are certain situations when it makes itself felt. I don’t feel much discomfort. It’s not forbidden for me to perform, but the damage does not allow me to perform the amount of loads in preparation for the competition in order to reach a certain level, ”the athlete said in 2016 in an interview with the Usachev TV Youtube channel.

The boxer repeatedly admitted during communication with the press that he was not going to return to the ring. But everything changed in 2022, when it became known that on May 27, Tishchenko would make his debut in the professional ring. The athlete explained his desire to return to fighting in an interview with Match TV.

– As for finances … My desires and requests were not fully satisfied. They offered a little less than I wanted. But I still went to meet the organizers, taking into account the fact that the event is taking place in Omsk. And it was this factor that was key in making the decision. I wouldn’t go to a fight in any other city. Omsk is my hometown, where they love and know me, – said the boxer.

Alexey Tishchenko / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Trefilov

Tishchenko’s opponent in the first professional fight will be Neomar Sermenho (27-8-1). The Venezuelan has a wealth of performance experience. He has repeatedly owned championship belts, but his best years are behind him. The athlete has already exchanged his fifth decade, but he is quite capable of causing problems to Alexei. In the last fight, he defeated his opponent by technical knockout in the first round.

The confrontation with Sermenho will be an opportunity for Tishchenko to demonstrate his skills in front of fellow countrymen, who, for the most part, have not seen a unique athlete in the ring with their own eyes. Let’s see how Alexey’s return to boxing will turn out.