Lucian Popescu

Lucian Popescu (12 January 1912, Bucharest- 9 December 1982) was a Romanian boxer who won European titles in three different classes.

Nicknamed Chocolate Boy ("băiatul de ciocolată"), he is considered to be the best Romanian boxer between the two world wars.[1]

Making his amateur debut on 23 December 1927, he became national champion in the flyweight class in 1928. When he was 17, he decided to turn pro and won his first match against a German boxer.

On 7 June 1930, in Bucharest, he challenged flyweight European title holder Kid Oliva, a Frenchman. Having Umberto Lancia as his cornerman, Popescu won his first European belt. Later, he would win two more European belts in 1931 in the bantamweight class[2] (cornermen Constantin Nour and Marcu Spankow),[3] and in 1939 in the featherweight class.[4]

After he retired as a boxer he became a trainer at the "Progresul" boxing club in Bucharest, where he had among his disciples European amateur champions Gheorghe Negrea and Aurel Dumitrescu.

He died on 9 December 1982.

Awards

  • National Sport Award ("Premiul național al sporturilor")[5]
  • Honored Trainer ("Antrenor emerit")

References

  1. ↑ "FIGURI DE LEGENDĂ: Lucian Popescu (1912 – 1982)" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "How Titles Changed Hands". The Straits Times. January 28, 1933. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lucian Popescu şi cele trei centuri europene" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Box: La a 85-a aniversare, boxul românesc se afirmă în lume prin pugilistii profesionisti" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pentru Lucian. După 73 de ani » Omagiul lui Ionel Teodoreanu pentru alt mare boxer, Lucian Popescu, publicat de Gazetă în 1939" (in Romanian). Retrieved April 10, 2014.
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