title: Erkki Pakkanen
text: # Erkki Pakkanen
  
  Erkki Olavi Pakkanen (19 April 1930 – 23 April 1973) was an amateur lightweight boxer from Finland who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics.
  
  Pakkanen took up boxing in 1947 and won the Finnish junior title in 1949. He never held a senior national title, and qualified for the Helsinki Olympics by winning the Olympic trials. At the Olympics, he lost in a semifinal to the eventual winner Aureliano Bolognesi. Earlier in 1950 he seriously injured his right hand. The injury recurred in 1953 forcing Pakkanen to retire from boxing. He later ran a taxi company that he founded in 1958. Shortly after his 43rd birthday, Pakkanen died of a heart attack at a horse racing track while watching his son Jarmo competing. In 2008 he was inducted into the Finnish Boxing Hall of Fame.
  
  ## 1952 Olympic results
  
  Below are the results of Erkki Pakkenen, a Finnish lightweight boxer who competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics:
  
  * Round of 32: bye
  * Round of 16: defeated Petros Nazarbegian (Iran) by decision, 3-0
  * Quarterfinal: defeated Vicente Matute (Venezuela) by decision, 3-0
  * Semifinal: lost to Aureliano Bolognesi (Italy) by decision, 0-3 (was awarded bronze medal)
  