It’s been 20 years since László Papp passed away

László Papp (25 March 1926 – 16 October 2003) was the first boxer in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals (London 1948, Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956).

The last amateur fight of the Hungarian boxing legend was against Jose Torres in the Olympic final in Melbourne.

After he got permission from the Communist Party, he turned pro in 1957.

He fought all his matches outside of Hungary, because during communism the professional boxing was banned in the country. He won the European Middleweight title in 1962, defeating Chris Christensen and he defended his title six time. He was close to get a chance to fight for the world middleweight title, but the Communist Party withdrew his passport in 1964, so he ended his professional career with 27 victories (including 15 KO) and 2 draws.

Papp died in Budapest on October 16 of 2023. He was 77-year-old.