1.
SV Victor Demyanenko (in red vest) boxing Vladimir Sorokin in round three, (at close quarters). Bell marks end of fight. Fighters return to corners (4 shots)
0.51

2.
CU Spectators
0.54

3.
SV Referee raising hand of winner Demyanenko
1.01

4.
SV Serik Konakbaev (in red vest) boxing Israel Akopyan landing blows in round two. Referee breaks fighters apart.
1.47

5.
SV Referee warns Konakbaev for holding, fight continues
1.56

6.
TV Final bell sounds, Konakbaev the winner
2.00




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Background: The Soviet Union's 46th National Boxing Championships ended on Sunday (11 May) with the winners of the eleven weight divisions earning the right to compete in the Moscow Olympics. The five-day championships were held in the Palace of Sports in Rostov.

SYNOPSIS: A lightweight contest, third and final round ... Victor Domyanenko, in the red vest, taking the fight to Vladimir Sorokin. Demyanenko, a twenty-one year-old student, has been boxing for nine years, and has lost only four of his two hundred and four bouts. Two of his defeats were in international contests. Sorokin has been boxing for ten of his twenty-four years. He has lost only two of forty six international fights. The two men, showing plenty of speed in feet and hands, were evenly matched, although Demyanenko had been tipped the likely winner. And the forecasts proved right. Demyanenko's tactical and technical skills, and his ability to keep his opponent at bay in the earlier stages, won him the Olympic berth.

Now Demyanenko will attempt to add an Olympic gold to his 1979 World Cup, European and U.S.S.R. titles.

In the light-welterweight finals, Serik Konakbaev, wearing the red vest, met Israel Akopyan. Both boxers are students with impressive records. Serik at twenty has been boxing for eight years, and has lot only five of his national and international bouts. He won two titles last year -- European and World Cup -- and took a silver medal in the Seventh Soviet National Games. His opponent, Akopyan has been boxing for seven of his nineteen years, and has won sixteen international fights. Last year, he beat Konakbaev for the Soviet games championship, and also won the Soviet championship and the national junior title. There was a lot of in-fighting, but Konakbaev scored points with strong counter-punching. Although warned for holding, Konakbaev looked more mobile and punched harder than the determined Akopyan. That extra year's experience gave him the edge, and a place in the Olympic Games boxing squad.