i remember him beating glenn mc crory {i remember that from a boxing news report as it was on the same card as a gary mason fight who i was keeping a close eye on too at the time} and peka having an undefeated record...and then committing suicide....but i know little else about him...
I remember the unusual name, my Dads (Welsh!) mate used to rave about him and I'm pretty sure I have a program with his name on it somewhere other than that I don't remember too much about him. His fight with Bruno is on You Tube but I can't link to it in work.
I copied this article from a Boxing News issue I have about Pika's suicide: 'Unbeaten Cardiff heavyweight Rudi Pika has been found dead, at the age of 26. He was found on May 26th with wrist injuries in the bathroom of a house he was renovating in the Ely area of the city. He leaves a widow and two children, one of them a new-born baby. Pika, son of an Estonian father, was a schoolboy champion and twice won the Welsh ABA heavyweight title, losing the 1980 ABA final on a controversial points decision to the teenage Frank Bruno. He turned pro later that year with Mickey Duff, but never seemed to show much enthusiasm for the business, having only 13 fights - all wins - since then. His last contest was a points victory over Glenn McCrory, now Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, at the Albert Hall in April 1986.' Boxing News: June 3, 1988. Here is the Bruno vs Pika fight footage Gaz was talking about: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHc6Ty-PTwk[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOY1pGc1yaY[/ame]
Yep, what I remember is as Bruno was getting a name for himself in the UK my Dads mate would mention this Welsh lad who had nearly beat him. The bigger Bruno got the bigger Pika got by assocation but looking at his rpo record he never really got going.
Rudi's brother in law Anthony Feal was another stand out am claiming a bronze in the Commomwealth Games (76 ish i think ) but never went pro , I remember the weigh in at St Davids hall when Rudi fought Winstone Alllen kicking off back in the day .
Was reading through my Bruno-Smith programme and Pika was on the undercard. There's quite a decent write-up which explains a bit more about his career: "...The Welshman turned pro in November that year - nearly 17 months earlier than Bruno - but, surprisingly, has managed only nine contests. All have been against British opponents and Pika has won them all, five inside the distance. In his first ten months, Pika fought here [Wembley Arena] four times and twice at the Albert Hall, disposing of David Fry and Bob Young in the first round, Derek Simpkin and Reg Long in the third, and clearly outscoring Ricky James and Bob Hennessey. Then came a six-month break - and the effects showed, as Pika laboured rather to outpoint Steve Gee here in March 1982 - despite winning by a very clear margin (Frank Bruno was also on the bill, having his second pro contest). It was another 14 months before Pika boxed again - this time at the Royal Albert Hall, with Bruno topping the bill against American Barry Funches (Bruno having had another 13 contests since he and Pika had appeared at Wembley). Pika was facing Swindon veteran Eddie Neilson, and once again his inactivity told against him - Rudi well won the first three rounds but faded badly as Neilson refused to give up and kept throwing punches. A big rally by Pika in the seventh appeared to leave them both with everything to play for in the final three minutes - but, disappointingly, an eye injury sustained by Neilson at the close of the seventh worsened in seconds, and referee Harry Gibbs stopped the bout in the interval, with the eye completely shut. A bit of luck for Pika - who knows? Certainly he looked a lot sharper, and weighed nearly a stone lighter, when he stepped into the ring at Cardiff in September, and took a clear verdict over fellow-Welshman Winston Allen after eight rather bad-tempered rounds. The layoffs have been a nuisance but Pika is still only 22 and is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the domestic heavyweight ranks." Gives a bit more detail to his career I guess :good
I remember seeing him in a pub in Cardiff, not long before he killed himself. He was with a group of friends, and looked well and happy.
Good fighter, but at the time the publicity was all for Bruno, though pika was as good as him at the early stage. A great pity for a talented young person.
