Domestic boxing is the pride of our country for all time. It is known for certain that boxers and trainers trained in the Soviet era are true masters of their craft and have always adequately represented their country in all world competitions. In the modern galaxy of Russian sports figures who have gone through all the difficulties of the transition period from the Soviet Union to today's Russia, I especially want to highlight the current coach named Alexander Lebzyak. His sporting fate will be discussed in this article.
Some facts
The illustrious boxer, and now the coach, was born in the city of Donetsk on April 15, 1969. But literally a year later, Alexander Lebzyak and his parents moved to the Magadan region (Burkandya village). The guy’s father worked at the mine and mined gold.
The village itself was removed from the regional center by as much as 900 kilometers and hid among the mountains and hills. Moreover, he was no different from other similar mining towns and had a population of about three thousand people.
Childhood
Lebzyak Alexander grew up an ordinary guy. Like many of his peers, he played hockey, climbed old mine workings, ran through the streets, where sometimes he had to fight. The young man especially waited for the summer to enjoy fishing and hiking for mushrooms and berries. It goes without saying that this situation was not very conducive to the fact that Sasha could quickly reveal any talents in herself, and indeed determine her life. But everything changed the case ....
Acquaintance with the master
So Sasha would have lived on as an ordinary yard boy, if a physical education teacher and part-time coach Vasily Nikolaevich Denisenko hadn’t come to their village. Thanks to his appearance in the town, the life of local youth has changed dramatically. Denisenko began conducting classes with children on karate, which was forbidden at that time, and all beloved boxing. Lebzyak also enrolled in his section.
The training took place in very harsh conditions. The gym had only two water bags and one mat. The coach was also strict: he introduced the rule according to which he checked the marks in the diaries of the children before training and could send him home or put him on a bench for poor study. It goes without saying that none of the guys, including Lebzyak Alexander, wanted to sit out his pants. Sasha's first major victory was third place at the regional championship.
Study in a boarding school
Amateur boxing in those days provided for the existence of special boarding schools in which promising athletes studied, trained and lived.
In 1985, Alexander had already established himself very well both in the region and in the region thanks to his numerous victories. In this regard, he received an invitation to Magadan Sports School No. 12. It was in it that he began to train under the guidance of the Honored Coach of Russia Gennady Mikhailovich Ryzhikov.
Studying at the boarding school was a heavy burden: every day after studying, extremely exhausting trainings were conducted. And this despite the fact that the guys were away from home, parents, relatives. Two friends Lebzyak could not stand the load and returned to their native walls. Sasha himself repeatedly rushed home, but still the love of boxing prevailed.
Major victories
Patience and perseverance did their job, and Lebzyak Alexander Borisovich won regional and all-Union competitions. These successes secured him a place in the youth team of the country.
In 1987, the Soviet boxer was able to taste the really important victory, as he became the world champion among juniors in weight up to 71 kilograms. And in the final, he defeated the Cuban - the trendsetter of amateur boxing. Thanks to this success, Lebzyak realized that amateur boxing was his way, he had not had such firm confidence before.
Army
The period from 1987 to 1989, Lebzyak spent in the army. Initially, he asked to go to Afghanistan, but he, as a talented boxer, was not allowed to go there, but was sent to serve in the tank regiment of Magadan.
After being transferred to the reserve, having on his shoulders shoulder straps of the ensign, Alexander was enrolled in the Red Banner Far Eastern District. He continued to box. And in 1991 he reached the finals of the European and World Championships. But, unfortunately, the first places eluded him.
Moving to the capital
In 1992, Lebzyak Alexander Borisovich, together with Oleg Nikolaev, moved to Moscow, where three years later they were both offered to transfer to the Moscow Military District.
After leaving for Belokamennaya, Alexander had to refuse to continue his studies at the Khabarovsk Institute of Physical Culture and devote five years to boxing. However, the desire to get a higher education did not leave him. In this regard, Lebzyak enters the Malakhov Institute of Physical Education and graduates in 1999.
Ups and downs
Alexander Lebzyak, whose biography can serve as a good example for the younger generation, after a victory in Havana was considered a very promising fighter. But at prestigious tournaments among adults, he could not rise above the second stage. Since 1992, he has been plagued by injuries, and in 1995, he did not get to the world championship at all because of the illness of his wife and daughter.
Before the Sydney Olympics, Lebzyak was already at two such competitions, and as a captain. But he was always haunted by elementary bad luck. So, in 1992, literally a few weeks before the Olympic tournament, his lung burst. The reason is weight loss. True, then he was able to return quickly to the ranks and even get into the team, but in Barcelona he made an unsuccessful result. The worst thing is that the athlete’s relapse with a lung rupture was repeated at the games in Atlanta, and directly during the battle. But even such a terrible injury did not stop the boxer, and he brought the fight to the end, though later he was forced to withdraw from the competition.
A series of problems cast doubt on his ability to be the first. Many experts have already given up on him, believing that he will never be the best. However, Alexander himself said that his problem was not psychology, but the so-called “physics”, because weight loss made itself felt and had an extremely negative effect on his health.
Together with his coach, Alexander Lebzyak, for whom boxing was then above all, decides to pursue a career and rises to the category above, starting to perform in weight up to 81 kilograms. Such a move was to the benefit of the athlete, and he began to win all the prestigious tournaments. In 1997, he became the world champion in Budapest, in 1998 and 2000 won the European Championship. He was deservedly recognized as the best boxer of the Old World.
It is worth noting that domestically, Lebzyak never lost to anyone. He was the champion of the USSR, he won the Olympics of the peoples of the USSR, he won the USSR Cup many times, was a six-time champion of the Russian Federation. Everything as a whole was not bad, but there was only one unconquered peak - Olympic gold.
Sydney 2000
As a rule, Olympic boxing champions are people who have won the award at a fairly young age. Therefore, when Lebzyak went to the games in Australia, everyone knew that this was his last chance to win, because the next Olympics was already inaccessible to him because of the "retirement" from a sports point of view of age.
And a miracle happened. Alexander was able to win gold. In the final match, he met with the representative of the Czech Republic Rudolf Kražek. Lebzyak boxed confidently, clearly, elegantly. He led the match with a score of 20: 6. In principle, another accurate blow from the Russian side - and the match would have been completed due to a clear advantage, but Sasha did not do this. Perhaps because he understood: the sports career was coming to an end, and I wanted to extend the time spent in the ring as a fighter.
After the victory in Sydney, Lebzyak was offered many times to start a career as a professional boxer. A tempting prospect opened up before him in Japan, Italy, Germany, England, and America.
As a result, he still spent one fight in the pro ring, which he confidently won by knockout. But still, he decided to abandon his performances as a professional and switched to coaching.
In the main post
Since 2013, the coach of the Russian national boxing team Alexander Lebzyak confidently leads the country's main team. However, this is not his first command of the best boxers of the Russian Federation. In the period from 2005 to 2008, he also studied with fighters of this level.
In 2010, he was president of the Boxing Federation of Moscow, and in 2012 even served as an adviser to the head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Moscow Government.
As for personal preferences and hobbies, Lebzyak is an avid motorist who loves hockey, tennis and football. He tries to spend all his free time with his family, especially since he already has grandchildren. In addition, he enjoys reading various encyclopedias, watching historical films, and often listening to Russian pop music and chanson.
He was awarded the Order of Honor, "For Merit to the Fatherland", has a medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow."
His family has a universal favorite - a German shepherd nicknamed Baster. The dog received this nickname from Alexander in honor of the famous American boxer James Douglas, who was the first in the history of sports to sensationally knock out the legendary Iron Mike Tyson and take away his champion title.