Former European Heavyweight Champion Steffen Tangstad Dies at 65

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

 Tonsberg Municipality, Norway (June 29th, 2024)– Norwegian former two-time European Heavyweight champion and world heavyweight title challenger Steffen Tangstad died on June 26, 2024, after a long illness of peripheral neuropathy, in Tonsberg Municipality, Norway. He was 65 years old. Fighting between 1980 and 1986, Tangstad compiled a professional record of 24-2-2 with 14 knockouts.

Tangstad challenged Michael Spinks for the international Boxing Federation World Heavyweight title on September 6, 1986, getting stopped in the fourth round in his final professional bout. His better performances included decision wins over Alfredo Evangelista, Ken Lakusta, Joe Bugner, John Westgarth, and Lucien Rodriguez, and a draw with future world heavyweight champion James Buster Douglas.

Boxing was prohibited in Norway in 1981, so Tangstad fought in the United States in Chicago, Illinois, and in Copenhagen and Randers, Denmark, principally, until his final bout with Spinks in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Hilton.

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Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert is the Head Boxing Correspondent for Real Combat Media Boxing since 2013. Robert is also a photographer and ringside reporter for the RCM Tri State region which includes NJ, NY and PA. Robert conducts exclusive interviews, provides historical boxing articles and provides editorial ringside coverage of major boxing events. You can contact or follow Robert on Facebook and by email at [email protected].