Július Torma

Július Torma (born March 7, 1922 in Budapest , † October 23, 1991 in Prague ) was a Slovak boxer who started for Hungary and Czechoslovakia . He was Olympic champion in the colors of Czechoslovakia in 1948 in London in the welterweight division.

Career

Július Torma was born to Slovak parents in Budapest and grew up in this city. In Budapest he also started boxing as a teenager. He developed into a top European boxer during the Second World War . In the years up to 1945 he was a total of six times Hungarian champion in world terweight and middleweight (at that time up to 67 kg or 75 kg body weight). He also represented Hungary in several international battles.

In 1942 Július Torma started in Breslau at the so-called "European War Championships" for amateur boxers ( European Boxing Championships 1942 ). The allied with the German Reich and the neutral European states took part in these championships. However, these championships were canceled by the European Amateur Boxing Federation after World War II. In Breslau, Július Torma retired after a point defeat against the German Ferdi Raeschke after the first round.

After 1945 Július Torma moved to Czechoslovakia . He started there for the sports club FC Komárno , which was renamed "Škoda" Komarno after 1949. In 1947 he took part in the European Amateur Championships in Dublin and finished third in the middleweight division behind Aime Escudie from France and Wally Thom from England . Individual results from these championships are not known.

In 1948 Július Torma was sent to the Olympic Games in London . He started there in the welterweight division and was very well prepared for his fights. In his first fight in London, he beat Gustáv Bene from Hungary , whom he knew well from his time in Budapest, safely on points. In the second round he was knocked out in the second round over Clifford Blackburn from Canada , and in the quarterfinals he landed a disqualification victory in the second round over Aurelio Diaz Cadareda from Spain . In the semifinals, Július Torma defeated Alessandro D'Ottavio from Italy and in the final finally Hank Herring from the USA on points. With that he was Olympic champion .

In 1949 Július Torma was also European welterweight champion in Oslo. He defeated Guy Touppe from France on points in the semifinals and was the winner in the final in the third round over Victor Jörgensen from Denmark .

No Czechoslovak boxers took part in the 1951 European Championships in Milan . At the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 , however, they were there again. Július Torma started again in the welterweight division. He won there over John Patrick Maloney from Great Britain and Luis Gage from the USA with 2-1 judges' votes on points. In the quarterfinals he was defeated by Zygmunt Chychła from Poland with the same result. He was eliminated without winning a medal.

Július Torma's next start at international championships was only in 1955 at the European championships in Berlin . He was now 33 years old and had grown into light heavyweight (up to 81 kg body weight at that time). In Berlin he won the last sixteen over Paddy Lyons from Ireland and in the quarterfinals over Lennart Risberg from Sweden . In the semifinals he met Erich Schöppner from the Federal Republic of Germany , against whom he was clearly defeated on points. By reaching the semi-finals, however, he had already won an EM bronze medal .

In 1956 Július Torma took part in Melbourne for the third time in the Olympic Games. He had trained in the middleweight division and defeated Howard Richter from Australia on points in the first round . In the last sixteen he was defeated by Ramón Tapia from Chile and was eliminated.

After the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Július Torma ended his boxer career. In the years from 1945 until his retirement he had won ten times at the Czechoslovak championships in four weight classes (world, semi-middle, middle and light heavyweight). After 1956 he worked as a trainer for various boxing clubs in Prague.

International fights by Julius Torma

• 1942 in Budapest , Hungary against Germany , knockout loss 2nd round against Rudi Pepper , Dortmund ,
• 1942 in Budapest, Hungary against Croatia , points winner over Antun Ticic,
• 1942 in Zagreb , Croatia against Hungary, points winner over Antun Ticic,
• 1942 in Berlin , Germany against Hungary, draw against Herchenbach, Berlin,
• 1942 in Rome , Germany versus Hungary, KO winner 2nd round over Trittschack, Hanover ,
• 1942 in Rome, Italy against Hungary, knockout winner 2nd round over Vanani,
• 1943 in Zurich , Switzerland against Hungary, Disq. Defeat 2nd round against Horst Weidemann ,
• 1943 in Basel , Switzerland against Hungary, knockout winner 3rd round over home,
• 1943 in Geneva , Switzerland against Hungary, points winner over Hans Müller,
• 1943 in Budapest, Hungary against Spain , points winner over Jose Calpe ,
• 1943 in Madrid , Spain against Hungary, points winner over Miguel Perez Elustondo ,
• 1943 in Bilbao , Spain against Hungary, knockout winner 2nd round over Ximenez,
• 1943 in Geneva, Switzerland against Hungary, points winner over Hans Müller,
• 1943 in Zurich, Switzerland against Hungary, points winner over Stadlin,
• 1944 in Berlin, Germany against Hungary, points winner over Schilk, Trier ,
• 1944 in Munich , Germany against Hungary, points winner over Knödl, Nuremberg ,
• 1946 in Pressburg , Slovakia against USSR , draw against Sergei Tscherbakow ,
• 1947 in Warsaw , Poland against Czechoslovakia , point defeat against Antonin Kolczynski,
• 1947 in Prague , Czechoslovakia against Poland, points winner over Szymankiewicz,
• 1949 in Gottwaldov , Czechoslovakia against Poland point winner over Henryk Nowara,
• 1950 in Lodz , Poland against Czechoslovakia, points winner over Antonin Kolczynski,
• 1951 in Svit , Czechoslovakia against Poland, point winner over Gerard Musial,
• 1952 in Wrocław , Poland against Czechoslovakia, points winner over Henryk Nowara,
• 1953 in Prague, Czechoslovakia against Hungary, points winner over József Sipőcz ,
• 1954 in Sofia , Czechoslovakia against Poland, points winner over Tadeusz Grzelak ,
• 1955 in Budapest , Hungary against Czechoslovakia, points winner over Ferenc Szilvási ,
• 1955 in Helsinki , Finland against Czechoslovakia, points winner over Pekka Kokkonen ,
• 1955 in Prague, Czechoslovakia against Poland, points winner over Tadeusz Grzelak

swell

• Box Sport trade journal from 1950 to 1956,
• BOX ALMANACH 1920 - 1980 , published by the German Amateur Boxing Association, 1980,
• Daily newspaper "Völkischer Beobachter" sports section from the years 1942 to 1945,
• Website "www.sport-komplett.de",
• Website "www.amateur-boxing-strefa.pl",
• Website of the boxing club "Spartak" Komarno

Web links

• Július Torma in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Portrait of Julius Torma in Slovak