A Candidate Master of Sport in boxing and a silver medalist of the Ukrainian Championship, Stepan Hospodinov was born and lived in Mariupol, where from an early age he developed a passion for boxing that would later become his professional path.
He earned a degree in Physical Culture and Sports, yet his life extended far beyond training alone. Alongside the ring, there was another responsibility — his family. Stepan assisted his father, Oleksii, in the family business, which included several food establishments in Mariupol. He was his father’s steadfast support and, in many ways, his right hand.
Behind his outward strength, however, lived a remarkable gentleness. “He was a wonderful person. Kind, sincere… I have never seen so much kindness — and, in some way, even a childlike innocence — in anyone,” recalls his younger sister Anastasiia. Stepan knew how to be a true friend — loyal, dependable, someone you could lean on without the need for words.
The war cut his path short — suddenly and brutally. When the full-scale invasion began, the Hospodinov family lost their home: on March 3, their house was burned down following shelling. They were forced to move in with relatives in the Left Bank district of Mariupol, seeking refuge from the constant threat.
On March 13, 2022, as the enemy relentlessly devastated Mariupol, Stepan and his father were preparing food in the courtyard of a building on Peremohy Avenue. At that very moment, an airstrike struck — leaving no chance of survival. Father and son were killed together.
In four days, Stepan would have turned 24. He is survived by his mother, two younger sisters, and a brother.
Eternal memory.