Greatest boxers from Nordic countries
Nordic countries have famously been quite ambivalent regarding boxing and other violent sporting events. Boxing was illegal in Sweden for a long time. It went so far, that the 1912 Stockholm Olympics didn’t include any boxing matches at all.
When Sweden eventually lifted the ban, the country was ready. During the decades that boxing was made legal, Sweden produced some of the best boxers the World had ever seen. We will discuss some of their names here.
The country banned boxing again in 1970. Sweden said it was due to concerns about the sport’s safety. This time the restrictions stayed in place for the entire 20th century. Sweden lifted the Boxing again in 2006. The sport was no longer illegal, but it was heavily regulated.
Note for readers: Article delivered by Per Rasmussen from NorskeCasino’s sports betting division.
Polarized opinions about the sport
Today, in Sweden, like in other Nordic countries, the public’s views on Boxing are quite contrasting. Norway lifted its boxing ban much later – in 2015. The Storting – Norway’s supreme legislative body made the decision to lift the restrictions by a thin majority of votes. Many members of the government still oppose deregulation.
This is particularly strange, as only professional boxing was banned in the country. You could still practice boxing legally. If you wanted to try out your skills in a professional arena, you would fight in Denmark. Norwegian boxers like Cecilia Brækhus did exactly that for years. Another way to prove yourself in a professional setting was in a cage. Surprisingly enough, practising professional Mixed Martial Arts was also legal in the country for reasons unknown.
In Iceland, boxing was illegal from 1956 to 2002. In fact, Iceland’s Boxing Federation was non-existent until 2015.
Some legislators and citizens of Nordic countries cite the unsafe nature of the sport as their main concern. Others also think that it’s unethical for fighters to burden taxpayers who have to pay for their healthcare. They cite this to be an issue since these countries employ a public healthcare system. In such a system the financial burden for everyone’s healthcare is distributed among the taxpayers. Others disagree, saying that the issue is not hard to fix and that banning the sport is not a way out.
The greatest Scandinavian boxers in history
Despite the lack of societal consensus, it’s safe to say that the Nordic countries have a great potential in the sport. They’ve “given birth” to some amazing fighters that were able to leave their marks on the history of the sport.
Cecilia Brækhus
Let’s kick off this list with an undefeated champion and a woman of colour – Cecilia Brækhus. Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus, born September 28, 1981, is the boxing undefeated, undisputed welterweight champion of the World. Cecilia holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. She’s the first woman in history to do so. She’s also one just five boxers in history who was able to hold these titles simultaneously.
She was also recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest reigning female boxing champion, the longest reigning champion, a four-belt undisputed boxing champion, and for being undefeated in most bouts among female World champion boxers. That’s quite a resume for the 37-year-old Colombian-born martial artist.
Cecilia was adopted at 2 by her Norwegian parents and has been fighting since she was 14. First as a kickboxer, since 2007 – as a professional boxer. Brækhus holds the professional boxing record of 35 fights and 35 wins.
Battling Nelson
Many consider Oscar Mathæus Nielsen as the best boxer Denmark ever produced. Nelson was a true pioneer of boxing. He emigrated to the US at an early age and was raised in Chicago, but the man was as Danish as they come.
Before dying from lung cancer at in 1954, “the Durable Dane” fought mind-boggling 135 professional bouts and won 73 of them. Nelson beat Jimmy Britt in 1905 by an 18th round knockout, winning the lightweight championship of the World and securing his place in the history of boxing.
Mikkel Kessler
The one Dane who could challenge “Battling Nelson” for the title of the most successful boxer born in the country is Mikkel Kessler. The 39-year-old fighter won 39 professional fights before finally losing to Joe Calzaghe, a Welsh boxer in 2007.
Before he retired in 2013, the man managed to become a WBA super-middleweight champion of the World three times and WBC super-middleweight champion two times.
Ingemar Johansson
Jens Ingemar Johansson is the last entry in our list. He was a Swedish boxer who was active throughout the years 1952 – 1963. Nicknamed “Ingo” and “the Hammer of Thor”, the boxer held 28 fights in his career, managing to score a victory in 26 of them. During his impressive life as a professional boxer, Jens became the European heavyweight champion twice and won the World heavyweight champion title one in 1959. The fighter also received a silver medal in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland.
Johansson received multiple honours during his career. Not the least of these honours was the Hickok Belt. In 1959, that was the first time a non-American fighter was awarded the belt. He was also hailed as the fighter of the year and made the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Read the full article by Per Rasmussen from NorskeCasino.casino on their website.
