Rufat Asadovich Riskiev was born on October 2, 1949. He won the 75 kg weight class at the 1974 World Boxing Championship in Havana, becoming the first world champion among Uzbek boxers.
Riskiev reached the final at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and won a silver medal. In the decisive fight, he lost to American Michael Spinks.
His name holds a special place in the formation of the Uzbek boxing school. After concluding his athletic career, Riskiev also worked as a coach and referee. In 1997, he became one of the first international-level professional boxing referees from Central Asia.
Rufat Riskiev had been struggling with a serious illness in recent years.
We express our condolences to the relatives and family members of the deceased.
