Juho Tolppola (born 5 October 1981) is a Finnish professional boxer who has challenged twice for the European super-lightweight title in 2008. As an amateur he is a three-time Finnish national champion and a bronze medallist at the 2000 European Championships. From 2015 to 2017, Tolppola served a two-year ban from boxing due to doping.[1]

Juho Tolppola
Born (1981-10-05) 5 October 1981 (age 43)
NationalityFinnish
Other namesTNT
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights33
Wins25
Wins by KO9
Losses6
Draws1
No contests1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Finnish national championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Helsinki Light-flyweight
Gold medal – first place 2000 Helsinki Flyweight
Gold medal – first place 2001 Helsinki Bantamweight
Silver medal – second place 1999 Helsinki Bantamweight
Representing  Finland
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Tampere Flyweight

Amateur career

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In his amateur career, Tolppola scored 135 wins in 175 fights,[2] including four consecutive medals at the Finnish national amateur championships: gold in 1998 (light-flyweight), 2000 (flyweight) and 2001 (bantamweight), and silver in 1999 (bantamweight).[3][4][5] At the 2000 European Championships, he won a bronze medal in the flyweight division.

Professional career

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Tolppola made his professional debut on 10 December 2001, winning a four-round points decision over Anton Vontszemu. His first opportunity at a regional championship came on 26 November 2004 against Michele Orlando for the vacant IBF International welterweight title. Fighting outside of Finland for the first time as a professional, Tolppola lost a narrow twelve-round split decision in Orlando's native Italy. Two months later, on 28 January 2005, Tolppola went on the road again, losing a ten-round points decision to David Barnes in Scotland.[6]

Between 2007 and 2009, Tolppola challenged for both the European and European Union super-lightweight titles twice each, but lost all of these bouts. In his fourth attempt, against Giuseppe Lauri on 30 May 2009, the fight ended in a highly controversial manner when Tolppola was first disqualified after ten rounds due to repeated fouls, after which his father stormed the ring and punched the referee.[7]

After taking a five-year break from the sport, Tolppola returned to the ring on 9 May 2014. He would score three consecutive wins by unanimous decision before challenging unbeaten Matias Laitinen for the vacant Finnish welterweight title on 23 May 2015. Tolppola won a wide ten-round unanimous decision, but in September the result was changed to a no contest after he failed a drugs test for the use of hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic to aid weight loss). The Finnish Professional Boxing Association subsequently handed Tolppola a two-year ban from boxing, effective from the Laitinen fight.[1]

In April 2016, Tolppola announced his intention to appeal the decision, maintaining his innocence and calling into question the Association's testing procedures.[8] This appeal was rejected by a court in June of that year, who determined that there were no sufficient grounds for lifting his ban.[9] Boxing promoter Joona Jalkanen announced in October that Tolppola would return to the ring immediately after his ban was lifted, on 13 May 2017, and would be looking to challenge for a European title at some stage,[10] but the fight did not take place.

Professional boxing record

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33 fights 25 wins 6 losses
By knockout 9 1
By decision 16 4
By disqualification 0 1
Draws 1
No contests 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
33 NC 25–6–1 (1) Matias Laitinen UD 10 23 May 2015 PowerPark, Kauhava, Finland Originally a UD win for Tolppola, later ruled an NC after he failed a drug test
32 Win 25–6–1 Szabolcs Szabo UD 6 25 Apr 2015 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
31 Win 24–6–1 Emanuele De Prophetis UD 8 20 Sep 2014 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
30 Win 23–6–1 Suro Ismailov UD 6 9 May 2014 Urheilutalo, Helsinki, Finland
29 Loss 22–6–1 Giuseppe Lauri DQ 10 (12), 2:10 30 May 2009 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland For European Union super-lightweight title;
Tolppola disqualified for repeated fouls
28 Win 22–5–1 Maurycy Gojko UD 6 14 Feb 2009 Pyynikin Palloiluhalli, Tampere, Finland
27 Loss 21–5–1 Gianluca Branco TKO 9 (12) 19 Dec 2008 PalaLido, Milan, Italy For European super-lightweight title
26 Win 21–4–1 Walter Sergio Gomez UD 10 18 Apr 2008 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
25 Loss 20–4–1 Colin Lynes UD 12 25 Jan 2008 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England For European super-lightweight title
24 Draw 20–3–1 Alexander Saltykov TD 4 (6), 1:21 22 Oct 2007 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland TD after Tolppola was cut from an accidental head clash
23 Win 20–3 Arturs Jaskuls UD 6 18 May 2007 Urheilutalo, Helsinki, Finland
22 Loss 19–3 Michele di Rocco UD 12 30 Jan 2007 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland For European Union super-lightweight title
21 Win 19–2 Gabriel Mapouka UD 10 6 Oct 2006 Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
20 Win 18–2 Nikita Zaytsev UD 10 5 May 2006 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
19 Win 17–2 Arturs Jaskuls UD 6 25 Mar 2006 Tervahalli, Kemi, Finland
18 Win 16–2 Ariel Francisco Burgos UD 10 16 Jan 2006 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
17 Win 15–2 Vadim Gabrielyan TKO 4 (6), 1:21 30 Sep 2005 Studio 51, Helsinki, Finland
16 Win 14–2 Ivo Golakov TKO 3 (6), 2:16 18 Jun 2005 Porvoo, Finland
15 Win 13–2 Rozalin Nasibulin UD 6 4 Apr 2005 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
14 Win 12–2 Adam Zadworny KO 4 (6), 0:43 19 Mar 2005 Premi Nightclub, Helsinki, Finland
13 Loss 11–2 David Barnes PTS 10 28 Jan 2005 Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
12 Win 11–1 Deniss Aleksejevs TKO 4 (4) 10 Dec 2004 Niiralan monttu, Kuopio, Finland
11 Loss 10–1 Michele Orlando SD 12 26 Nov 2004 PalaSegesta, Calatafimi-Segesta, Italy For vacant IBF International welterweight title
10 Win 10–0 Alvaro Moreno Gamboa UD 8 4 Sep 2004 Levi, Kittilä, Finland
9 Win 9–0 Pavel Nemecek TKO 4 (6) 16 Jul 2004 Helsinki, Finland
8 Win 8–0 Leonti Vorontsuk UD 8 23 Apr 2004 Myyrmäki Sporthouse, Vantaa, Finland
7 Win 7–0 Patrik Prokopecz TKO 5 (6) 28 Feb 2004 Hotel Lapinportti, Rovaniemi, Finland
6 Win 6–0 Tibor Rafael KO 2 (6), 0:37 13 Dec 2003 Aladdin Bar & Night Club, Espoo, Finland
5 Win 5–0 Andrei Komiagin TKO 2 (6) 17 May 2003 Jatuli, Haukipudas, Finland
4 Win 4–0 Oscar Blanco UD 6 15 Feb 2003 Töölö Sports Hall, Helsinki, Finland
3 Win 3–0 Konstantin Flachbart TKO 2 (4) 13 Sep 2002 City Civil Defence Shelter, Kirkkonummi, Finland
2 Win 2–0 Sergei Lazarenko UD 4 7 Feb 2002 City Civil Defence Shelter, Kirkkonummi, Finland
1 Win 1–0 Anton Vontszemu UD 4 10 Dec 2001 Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland

References

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  1. ^ a b Mikola, Jouni (4 September 2015). "Juho Tolppola on kärynnyt dopingista – kahden vuoden kilpailukielto" (in Finnish). urheiluuutiset.com. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Tolppola kohtaa Valko-Venäjän Sergei Gulyakevichin" (in Finnish). boxing.fi. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ^ "SM-mitalistit 1951-1999" Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish). Suomen Nyrkkeilyliitto. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ "SM-Tulokset 2000" (in Finnish). Suomen Nyrkkeilyliitto. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ^ "SM-Nyrkkeilyt 2001 Töölön Kisahalli, HKI"[permanent dead link] (in Finnish). Suomen Nyrkkeilyliitto. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Barnes is a welter belter as Finn wilts". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. 30 June 2005. 5 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Juho Tolppolan isä kävi tuomariin käsiksi tappio-ottelun lopuksi!"[dead link] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Sanoma. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ^ Heinonen, Toni (5 April 2016). "Suomalaisnyrkkeilijän dopingtapauksesta raju riita – taistelu jatkuu käräjillä" (in Finnish). MTV3. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  9. ^ Uusitupa, Ismo (3 June 2016). "Ammattinyrkkeilijä Juho Tolppola ei saanut keskeytettyä kilpailukieltoaan" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Sanoma. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. ^ Stubin, Teemu (12 October 2016). "Dopingista kärynnyt suomalaisnyrkkeilijä palaa kehään: Aikoo kamppailla EM-vyöstä" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Alma Media. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
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