In the entire history of Soviet sports, there were a huge number of various champions. But even in their cohort there are those persons who, being on Olympus, nevertheless stood apart from other leaders, standing out for their individuality. And one of those, as is now customary to put it, charismatic athletes was Valery Popenchenko.
Birth and the first years of life
Valery Popenchenko was born on August 26, 1937 in Kuntsevo, Moscow. His mother - Rufina Vasilievna - was forced to raise a guy alone, since his father died at the front in 1941. Since she wanted to grow a real man out of a boy, she sent him to the Suvorov School in Tashkent.
Acquaintance with boxing
At the age of 13, Valery Popenchenko begins boxing. His first coach was the captain of the Armed Forces Yuri Matulevich. Training took place 4 times a week. At first, Popenchenko did not show any special results and did not stand out much, but after a few months he was among the best, winning his first awards at city competitions. And already in 1955, having won the thirtieth victory in thirty battles, the young cadet became the champion of the USSR among young men. The tournament was held in the city of Grozny. Popenchenko won all the preliminary bouts without much difficulty. And in the finals I met with the current champion - Kovrigin. In the first round, no special action took place. Boxers just kept an eye on each other. But in the second there was a real drama: Valery was knocked down twice, but a gong saved him. In the third round, a Muscovite, apparently believing in his unconditional victory, went on the attack and opened up. Popenchenko, on the other hand, did not miss his chance, inflicting his crown “cross” on the defense gap he saw. As a result, Kovrigin was knocked out, and Valery became the new champion.
Historical meeting
In the fall of 1955, Valery Popenchenko entered the Leningrad Higher Border Naval School. This period can be considered successful for him, because at this university the guy was lucky to meet a man with whom he later formed an ideal sports union. This person turned out to be boxing trainer Grigory Filippovich Kusikyants. It was this specialist who was able to discern an uncut diamond in Popenchenko and take it to a new level in sports.
Grigory Filippovich not only coaches Valery as a boxer, but also accustoms him to chess, believing that this game perfectly develops spatial thinking in humans. The ward and the coach could sit for hours at the chessboard. In addition, they also attended ballet together. Kusikyants often said to Popenchenko: “Look how a dancer has perfect control over her body, and the boxer's movements in the ring are also a dance.”
Boxing success
In 1959, Popenchenko Valery Vladimirovich became the champion of the Union in the second middle weight. But he could not go to the European Championship in Switzerland, as he lost to Gennady Shatkov in the qualifying match, which ultimately became the best in the alpine country. In the period from 1961 for 5 years, Popenchenko invariably won the championship of the USSR.
Looking back, we can unequivocally say - not to take Popenchenko to the team for a long time was a mistake. The fault was his non-standard technique, which was considered "clumsy." Valery moved around the ring with his head slightly tilted back and his arms lowered. He struck blows as if he were not boxing, but fought on the street - gallantly and sweepingly.
Triumphal procession
Everything changed the primacy of the European continent of 1963. In the final match Valery met with Romanian Ion Money and defeated him by knockout in the second round. And before him, the boxing genius from the Union passed an experienced representative of Italy and a veteran from Yugoslavia, who has behind him more than 400 fights.
It is not surprising that Popenchenko was traveling as a favorite at the 1964 Olympics. In the first fight with the Pakistani Sultan Mahmoud Valery wins an early victory. The second fight the Soviet boxer Valery Popenchenko wins on points. The third fight with the Pole Tadeusz Valasek was stopped ahead of schedule due to the clear advantage of our athlete. The final confrontation with the German Emil Schulz (who, incidentally, was the five-time champion of Germany) ended in the first round. At the same Olympics, Popenchenko was awarded the Val Barker Cup of Honor, which is awarded to the most technical boxer of these prestigious international competitions.
The year 1965 was also successful for Valery. He won the European Championship for the second time. A series of significant victories over the course of several years made Popechenko famous. His face flickers on TV screens, newspapers and magazines print his photographs. But still he decides to leave the sport. Over the course of his career, there have been 213 fights, in 200 of which he won. Despite all the persuasion to stay in boxing, Popenchenko Valery Vladimirovich was unshakable. It was easy to understand. After all, he was loaded above his head: a service at the Higher Engineering School, where he defended his dissertation, membership in the Central Committee of the Komsomol and the family, which is worth telling separately.
Family life
Valery Popenchenko, whose biography was full of various events, met his second wife at the Rodin exhibition in the Hermitage. She was a student of the shipbuilding institute Tatyana Vologdina.
The eminent athlete was able to conquer the young lady already on the first date, reading her poems and talking about art, but she could not understand why her face was so familiar to her. Three months after dating, the couple got married. A little later, the son Maxim was born, and the family moved to Popenchenko's mother in Moscow.
Life in the capital
Valery Popenchenko, whose fights were spectacular, had a rather complicated character and was very non-living. But at the same time, in the main city of the Union, he was offered several jobs. The famous commentator Nikolai Ozerov actively encouraged Popenchenko to join him and work during the broadcasts of the competition.
However, in the end, “Mr. Knockout” Valery Popenchenko chose teaching. He became the head of the Department of Physical Education MVTU im. Bauman. In the mid-1970s, there was an active construction of new university buildings, including sports arenas. Popenchenko quite often visited construction sites, supervising the work of builders. To this end, he dressed in work clothes and went to them. On one of these days, February 15, 1975, Valery died tragically and ridiculously. He ran down the stairs with low railings and at her next bend fell into the span. Moreover, at the time of the fall, according to eyewitnesses, Valery made no sound. The investigation qualified the incident as an accident.
The last refuge of the eminent athlete was Vvedensky cemetery.