Anton Raadik

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Anton Raadik

Real name	Anton Raadik
Nickname(s)	Rampaging Estonian
Rated at	Middleweight
Nationality	Estonian
Birth date	January 15, 1917
Birth place	Raikküla, Estonia
Death date	March 13, 1999
Death place	Chicago, Illinois
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	63
Wins	37
Wins by KO	26
Losses	25
Draws	1
No contests	0

Anton "Rampaging Estonian" Raadik (January 15, 1917 – March 13, 1999) was the most famous Estonian born Middleweight boxer of the 1940s and 50s fighting out of Chicago, Illinois.

1 Professional Boxing Career
2 See also
3 External links
4 Books
5 References

[edit] Professional Boxing Career

Anton Raadik was European Middleweight Champion in 1939. On May 13, 1939, he lost a 3-round decision to middleweight Jimmy Reeves at Chicago in the International Golden Gloves. In all, he had a reported 130 amateur fights, winning 118.

In 1940 and 1941 he had his first three professional fights in Moscow. In 1943 he won three more fights in Scandinavia, losing only to Oiva Purho in Goteborg in 1944. He was inactive in 1945, before moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1946.

In the USA, Raadik made quick progress and in December 1946 fought the formidable Jake LaMotta. In 1947 he lost to two famous and experienced opponents, Georgie Abrams and Al Hostak.

On October 31, 1947, he had his most famous fight, with future middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan, in Chicago. Cerdan was far ahead on points going into the tenth round, but then Raadik floored him three times and came close to stopping him, only to lose the decision.

Raadik boxed until 1952, winning some fights and losing more often than he won. He fought such highly regarded opponents as Carl (Bobo) Olson, Robert Villemain, Steve Belloise, and Harry (Kid) Matthews, but his greatest opportunity was in the past.^[1]