Anton Raadik

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 Gothenburg in 1944. Raadik fled the Soviet occupation of Estonia during World War II and settled first in Finland, before moving to Sweden in 1945. 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