Name: Olli Johan Oskari Maki
Born: 22 December 1936
Died: 6 April 2019
Career: October 1960 to August 1973
Record: 50 fights, 28 wins (5 by KO/TKO), 14 losses (2 by KO/TKO), 8 draws
Division: Featherweight to Wedlterweight
Stance: Orthodox
Titles: European Super Lightweight champion
Major Contests
Scored wins over: Floyd Robertson*, Billy Calvert, Percy Lewis, Francesco Musso, Conny Rudhof, Franco Brondi, Aissa Hashas, Angel Robinson Garcia, Giordani Campari, Ray Adigun, Rafiu King*, Valerio Nunez, Fighting Mack, Leonard Tavarez,
Lost against: Howard Winston**, Davey Moore**, Willi Quatuor*, Paul Armstead*, Conny Rudhof, Maurice Cullen,* Domingo Barrera, Pedro Carrasco(twice)**, Rene Roque,* Sandro Lopopolo**, Miguel Velazquez**,
Drew with: Willi Quatuor*, Fernand Nollet, Giordano Campari, Vicente Derado*, Conny Rudhof, Preben Rasmussen, Borge Krogh, Enzo Petriglia, Lothar Abend,
**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title
* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title
Olli Maki’s Story
Maki was involved in three important “firsts” for Finnish boxers. He was the first Finn to fight for a world title in Finland and the fight was the first world title fight held anywhere in Scandinavia. He was the first Finn to win a gold medal at the European amateur championships and become European champion as a professional.
Maki started boxing whilst quite young and graduated to Senior level when only 16. He won four Finnish titles and was twice Nordic champion. His major achievements as an amateur came in European tournaments. He won a silver medal at the 1957 European Championships, losing to Pole Kazimierz who would win a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games, and gold at the 1959 European Championships where he beat Pazdzior. After his success at the 1959 European Championships Maki was considered to have a good chance of winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Finnish politics and Maki’s loyalty robbed him of that chance. There were two sports bodies in Finland and Maki did not belong to the one selected to oversee the Finnish representation at the Olympics and Maki was told he would have to switch his allegiance if he wanted to compete in Rome but Maki refused to do so and turned professional. His amateur record was reported as being 320 fights with only 13 losses so big things were expected of him
He had his first professional fight in October 1960 outpointing Frenchman Artide Amato in Helsinki. In his second fight in December 1960 he decisioned future European featherweight champion Alberto Serti.
There were signs in 1961 that he was being pushed too hard and too fast. After stopping Serio Milan in Italy he returned to Finland and in Helsinki fought and outpointed Ghanaian Floyd Robertson, who would go on to twice challenged for the WBA and WBC featherweight titles, and useful British fighter Billy Calvert. In November he was thrown in with 27-0 Howard Winstone and lost on points. Winstone, who at one time Angelo Dundee described as the nearest thing he had seen to Willie Pep , eventually won the WBC featherweight title.
In his first four fights in 1962 Maki went 3-0-1 with a victory over Percy Lewis and a draw with German Willi Quatuor in Aril. It do not seem a significant result but it was the third fight in a 26-fight unbeaten streak for Quatuor including a win over Maki in a return fight a few years later.
As with the over-ambitious fight with Winstone sense went out of the window again as with only an 8-1-1 record and without a win over any fighter remotely near the ratings Maki was given a shot at the featherweight champion Davey Moore on 17 August 62 in Helsinki. Helsinki held unhappy memories Moore . He had fought in Helsinki on 31 July 1952 losing in the quarter finals of the Olympic Games.
Maki had been fighting at super featherweight and lightweight and struggled to make the weight and although there was little to no chance of their local hero winning over 23,000 flocked to watch the fight in Helsinki ‘s Olympic Stadium. Maki boxed well in the first but was floored by a hard right in the second and although he made it to his feet he was down twice more and the fight was stopped.
Obviously as the first world title fight in Finland and Maki being the first Finn to fight for a world title it was a historic occasion and its fame was perpetuated by a 2016 film “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki “ written about the days leading up to the fight, Maki’s problems in making the weight, interaction with his manager Elis Ask and burgeoning relationship with his wife to be Raija. In the Finnish Jussi Awards the film earned ten nominations and won in eight categories,
After being seriously overmatched against Winstone and Moore Maki settled into a more structured career. He drew with experienced Frenchman Fernando Nollet in November and beat both 20-1 Italian Francesco Musso, a gold medallist at the Rome Olympic, and unbeaten Dane Teddy Larssen. Those wins earned him a shot at the newly instituted European super-lightweight title which he won with a victory over German Conny Rudhof in February 1964 to collect his only professional title.
A loss to 86-fight Italian veteran Giordani Campari was but a bump in the road as he outpointed future European champion Franco Brondi drew with tough Argentinian Vicente Derado, who came in ass a late substitute, and in October 1964 beat French Challenger Aissa Hashas in a European title defence.
The EBU took the title away from Maki in January 1965 for not defending against Rudhof but a busy 1965 saw Maki have mixed fortunes. A win over Angel Robinson Garcia was followed by a loss against Willi Quatuor in Germany then draws with WBA No 1 American Paul Armstead and Rudhof in a non-title contest. He then scored a revenge victory over Giordano Campari before ending 1965 with a unanimous decision over Nigerian Ray Adigun.
He beat Nigerian Rafiu King and Argentinian Valerio Nunez in his only two fights in 1966 and although not apparent at the time Maki was on the edge of a slide. In February 1967 He fought for his old European super lightweight title which had fallen vacant but lost to past victim Rudhof and at the end of the year lost a majority decision against British champion Maurice Cullen.
Interest in boxing had lessened in Finland and in 1968 he found himself taking fights against top quality opposition as the away fighter. He performed well in Denmark drawing with 23-1 Preben Rasmussen and 33-1-1 Boerge Krogh but lost in Spain against Domingo Barrera and in a challenge for the European lightweight title against 67-1-1 Pedro Carrasco.
He picked up a couple of wins in Helsinki but 1969 saw him beaten by Frenchman Rene Roque and Italian Sandro Lopopolo. Carrasco outpointed him in a non-title fight in Valencia in Maki’s only fight in 1970 and Spain was again a place of pain as he was outpointed in Madrid in April 1971 by future WBC super lightweight champion Miguel Velasquez, who at the time had lost only one of his forty-eight fights. A couple of wins in Helsinki held out some hope but after losing to Lothar Abend in Germany and on 1 August 1973 being defeated in Spain by Juan Flores he retired.
Lopopolo, Carrasco and Velasquez would all win world titles but from 1967 to his retirement Make’s record was 6-10-3. e urned in ngoois performkjances in Denmark drawing with 23-1 mPreben Rasmussen and 33-1-1 Boierge Krogh
Maki was a baker by trade so he had that to fall back on but he did not walk away from boxing. He was a founder member of a boxing club in Kiorkkonummi where he worked with young boxers and he trained his son Pekka. Pekka did not make it as a professional but he went on to be a successful trainer and manager, and from 1982 to 1991 Maki worked as both a judge and a referee.
Make died on 6 April 2019 from a long term illness and had been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.