Professional boxers who find themselves on a losing streak may quickly find hopes of ever competing for a world championship dashed – after all, to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.
While many athletes have hung up their gloves after suffering consecutive defeats and tried their hand at something completely different, the same cannot be said for Latvian pugilist Dmitrijs Avsijenkovs. While not much is known about the light heavyweight boxer, one thing that is sure is that he has shown heart and determination through adversity over the years.
According to BoxRec, the combat sports enthusiast made his pro debut in May 2010 at the Technologijos Ir Verslo Mokykla, Raseiniai – losing via knockout to 1-6-1 journeyman, Kiril Psonko. Determined not to call it a day after a defeat on his debut, Avsijenkovs fought thrice more in 2010, suffering brutal KO losses to Jevgenijs Fjodorovs, Deniss Aleksejevs, and Jurijs Boreiko.
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After taking a year out and holding a professional record of 0-4 in the squared-circle, the boxer returned to the ring to face Vjaceslavs Zukovs at the Hai Centr in Riga, with hopes of turning the tide on his career in pugilism. His efforts were ultimately far from fruitful however, suffering yet another knockout loss to a man who was 0-3 himself at the time.
Fast forward to December 2024, and Avsijenkovs has had a grand total of 29 bouts in the world of pro boxing – failing to win a single fight and inactive since December 2015. Even more alarmingly, the Latvian has been on the receiving end of a knockout loss in each of his bouts.
And while many boxers with tarnished records fail to receive much attention, with fans of the highly-saturated sport instead investing time in the elite at the other end of the spectrum, Avsijenkovs has found himself as a fan favourite through his 0-29 record over the years.
Taking to social media in 2017, one person wrote: “My new favorite boxer is Dmitrijs Avsijenkovs from Latvia. Looks like he just woke up, put on some gloves and boxed in his underwear #boxing,” while sharing a snapshot of the pugilist’s profile and statistics. And others were quick to rush to the comments section to share their own admiration for the fighter.
One person responded: “He is a legend,” while another simply dubbed him “incredible.” A third added: “Respect to him tho for climbing back in the ring after getting knocked out every time,” while a fourth joked: “Can he make 135 [lbs]?I need a for sure win.”
While journeymen of the boxing world may not receive the same amount of respect as all-time greats like 50-0 Floyd Mayweather, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, or king of the ring Muhammad Ali, they play a pivotal role within the sport – helping introduce new fighters, make contests incredibly gripping to watch, and stepping in at short notice when another fighter is forced to withdraw.
While the highs of championship-level boxing can certainly be challenging to attain, a journeyman’s career is far more physically and mentally challenging – after all, who wants to continue to fight without the aspirations of fame and fortune at the highest level while seeing their reputation plummet with wins coming in scarce fashion if at all.
So we certainly salute you, Dmitrijs Avsijenkovs – regardless of your one-sided career!
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