Sergei Kobozev

Sergey Viktorovich Kobozev
Statistics
Real name	Sergey Viktorovich Kobozev
Nationality	Russian
Born	July 20, 1964 Kostroma, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	November 8, 1995 (aged 31) Livingston, New Jersey
Boxing record
Total fights	23
Wins	22
Wins by KO	18
Losses	1

Sergey Kobozev (1964–1995) was a Russian boxer who defeated John Ruiz and was later murdered by Russian mafia.

Early life

Kobozev had been a captain in the Russian army and was a chemical engineer in St. Petersburg before he made his name as a cruiserweight on the Soviet national boxing team.

Professional career

Kobozev's ring record was 22 wins and 1 loss in 23 professional outings.

Disappearance

Kobozev disappeared in November 1995, just 2 weeks after losing a close split decision for the WBC Cruiserweight title, his very first career loss.

Murder

The mystery surrounding his death was solved when his bones were found by the FBI in March 1999 in the backyard of the Russian Mafia's #2: Alexander Spitchenko in Livingston, New Jersey, USA where his body was buried in a shallow grave.

Kobozev was allegedly murdered by two reputed Russian mobsters, Alexander Nosov and Vasiliy Ermichine. Natan Gozman, a third defendant charged in the murder, remained a fugitive until February 2005, when he was arrested in Poland and extradited to New York, where he awaits trial.

Prosecutors said that the Russian mob allegedly turned against Kobozev because he worked as a part-time security guard at a Brooklyn restaurant from which Nosov was ejected after a fight with a musician. Several days after the fight, the defendants and a third member of the gang unexpectedly encountered Kobozev at a car repair shop, where they confronted him about the fight before Nosov shot him, authorities said. Still alive, Kobozev was put in a jeep and driven to the Livingston, N.J., home of a high-ranking member of the crime group, where his neck was broken by Ermichine after Kobozev asked to be taken to a hospital, prosecutors said.

Professional boxing record

External links

• Village Voice article about Sergei Kobozev
• Professional boxing record for Sergei Kobozev from BoxRec