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The Hungarian rhapsody of Lazlo Papp
The Soviet invasion of Hungary took place when the athletes travelled to Melbourne. The sensation caused by those events, the popular uprising  against the Soviet paternalism and its violent suppression made the Hungarian athletes the most likeable delegation of the sixteenth Olympic Games. That was evident both in the sports village, where the symbols of the socialist regime had been removed from the flags of Hungary, and from the interest that the people who attended the Games had shown in the athletes of that country.
The manifestations of support were evident both at the parade of the teams during the opening ceremony, and at the various events in which participated athletes from Hungary. Because they competed under the pressure of uncertainty (personal, familial, social) brought about by the developments, especially in Budapest, the athletes from Hungary were not able to repeat the impressive accumulation of medals of the 1952 Olympics (42 medals). Many among them did not even gain any distinction, even though they ranked among the favourites before the Games. Nevertheless, Hungary gathered 26 medals: 9 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze.
Among those who stood on the top of the victory stand was Lazlo Papp, who excelled in boxing. With that victory he became the first boxer in the history of the Olympic Games to win a gold medal in three successive organizations: 1948, 1952 and 1956. Papp was born in Budapest on 25 March 1926 and is considered one of the greatest boxers of all times. His athletic activity as an amateur boxer began in 1948 in London, where he won a gold medal. The following year he won the European championship, a success he repeated in 1951. In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics he won his second gold medal, while in 1956 he became Olympic winner for the third time, contending with Jose Tores from the United States, an athlete who would soon go over to professional boxing and become world champion.
A year after the Games of Melbourne Lazlo Papp was given permission by the Hungarian authorities to go over to professional boxing, thus being the first professional boxer from a socialist country. As an amateur Papp had participated in 300 matches and had won 288. As a professional he achieved equally impressive performances. Therefore, in 1962 he became European champion, a title he had held six times.
Three years later, after having gained 26 victories as a professional without having ever been defeated, he was preparing to contend for the middleweight world title with Joey Giardelo. But the Hungarian authorities did not allow him to compete outside Hungary anymore, thus forcing him to retire from competitive activity.
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