Cuban boxer Luis Ortiz, despite his 43 years old, still remains among the strongest heavyweights on the planet and is preparing to fight American Andy Ruiz on September 4th. Among the professionals of the former interim WBA world champion, only Deontay Wilder won, but in the amateurs, King Kong was not so good. The Russian confidently dealt with him at the World Cup, defeating his opponent in all respects.

But Romanchuk never became a great boxer, and his life was tragically cut short.

“Electrician came to Moscow”

Russian boxer Roman Romanchuk in the middle of the “zero” was a very promising heavyweight, made noise at the World and European Championships, was preparing to shine at the Olympic Games. By the way, the athlete, in theory, could defend the colors of the Ukrainian flag – he was born in the Lviv region and it was there that he took his first steps in boxing. But this is in theory, in practice, the athlete did not have any prospects in Ukraine.

– I tried to seriously engage in boxing, but it all ended after the only section in the city was left without a coach, who for some reason stopped paying a salary. The last training, I remember, took place in 1995, and in the spring of 2000, I, a graduate of a technical school, a certified electrician, came to Moscow, Roman said in an interview with Soviet Sport.

In the capital of Russia, Romanchuk initially did not think about resuming boxing, just hoping to get a well-paid job. He really didn’t want to work as an electrician, but, judging by the stories of the athlete himself, he didn’t have a job in principle, but the idea came to return to the ring. For the time being, he even managed to successfully combine two sports – boxing and kickboxing.

Having become the world and European champion in kickboxing, Romanchuk decided to focus on classical boxing. Things were going uphill – he won the silver of the Russian championship, got into the national team, with which he took the bronze of the World Team Cup in Astana. In 2004, he already won the national championship and even had a chance to loudly declare himself in the international arena. But Alexander Alekseev was taken to the Olympics in Athens, who, unlike Roman, had no problems with discipline. The boxer even complained to President Vladimir Putin about his difficult lot – it helped, but in a different area of ​​u200bu200blife.

– I found a second moment when Vladimir Vladimirovich was left alone, and showed him his sports diary. Write, I say, something in my diary, maybe my unfortunate life will change. He wrote only two words – “For luck!”. A little disappointed, in the evening I went to the shooting of the feature film “Mars” with Gosha Kutsenko in the title role. And what do you think? There I meet Veronica, who later became my wife, – said Romanchuk.

Beat the favorite of Fidel Castro

Luck in love still did not prevent Romanchuk from achieving some success in boxing. He won silver at the world and European championships, and at the home World Cup in 2005 he took gold, becoming the best boxer of the tournament along the way. The Russian finished three starting fights with early victories, in the final Luis Ortiz was waiting for him, who at that time was not yet a successful professional, but was Fidel Castro’s favorite.

The audience saw a bright fight between heavyweights, who killed each other with powerful blows, almost without thinking about defense. Romanchuk exploded already in the first minute, Ortiz hurried to return the debt to his opponent. Two left-handers knew their job perfectly, arranging a real felling.

Roman Romanchuk / Photo: © Viktor Chernov / Russian Look / Global Look Press

For the time being, boxers showed an equal duel, but now the Cuban knelt down – he stumbled, with whom it does not happen. Here Louis’s mouthguard flew out – also not uncommon in boxing. In the end, the Latin American collapsed on the floor, though as a result of fuss at the ropes. Nevertheless, episode after episode, Roman took away and led to the final gong in the account with a decent margin – 64:47. He beat the dangerous Cuban, his success marked the victory of the Russian team in the team tournament.

“Hopes are over”

A brilliant victory over Ortiz could be the starting point for turning a promising boxer into an elite one. Roman could well make some noise at the Olympics, shine in the professionals. Unfortunately, it did not work out – problems with discipline have not gone away. On the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the boxer lost, probably, his most important fight in his career, as a result of which he lost his place in the national team to the future champion of the tournament Rakhim Chakhkiev.

It also failed to shine at a professional level. While at the pre-Olympic training camp in Vladivostok, where he helped prepare his compatriot for the Beijing triumph, Romanchuk got into an unpleasant incident. At the exit from the entertainment establishment, the boxer came into conflict with a local resident and as a result suffered from a shot from a traumatic pistol.

“I wanted to become a great boxer, go pro and become a world champion. These hopes are over. They want to give me a disability, – the Championship quoted the athlete.

Along the way, Romanchuk got a prison term. The clash was not limited to the injury of the boxer; as a result of the conflict, his opponent received injuries incompatible with life. Despite all the efforts of lawyers, Roman went to jail for a year and a half.

Roman Romanchuk / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Ankov

This most unpleasant episode of life did not yet mean the collapse of all hopes. After his release, Roman was going to return to the ring, and for starters, amateur. I dreamed of a trip to the Olympics in London, but for some reason did not come to the qualifying competitions.

Realizing that nothing would work out in boxing, he tried to work as a coach, for this he returned to Ukraine. Romanchuk could also realize himself in art – according to his wife, his paintings were exhibited and even enjoyed success. But it didn’t work out either – in the fall of 2016, when Ortiz, beaten by a Russian, was preparing to take the vacant WBA Inter-Continental champion title, Roman died of a heart attack. Unfortunately, he never became a great boxer, trainer or artist.