| Biography | Russian athletes· have always been prominent in the field of sporting endeavour and heavyweight wrestler Ivan Josef Zaranoff, who was born near Leningrad, is one who has found his fame and glory in between the four-ropes, a square they call a "ring".
The general conception of the Russian strongman is that he is a giant with bulging muscles, but Josef Zaranoff-or just plain "Jo" to his circle of friends-is not. He is, in fact, a smooth, lithe athlete who moves about the ring with the ease of a panther.
Brilliant in wrestling "knowhow", Zaranoff has been described as one of the best tactical wrestlers to turn professional since the war. He may have made his name in our rings, but "Jo" has been to many places in the world. He has both boxed and wrestled in the United States and Canada where he first went after fleeing from Russia. |