Career
Later after returning to Estonia he was arrested a few times for burglary and died in a prison hospital. Next year Stepulov narrowly lost the European final against Herbert Nürnberg. In 1938 he turned professional and fought in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany with a record of 5 wins (4 by knockout), 5 losses and 1 draw.
His career was cut short by World World War World War II He attempted to return to boxing in 1945, but retired after placing second at the Estonian championships.
During his boxing career Stepulov served in the Estonian Army as a private, and was promoted to corporal for his Olympic success. In 1937 he worked as a messenger at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
In 1940, when Soviet troops entered Estonia, he enlisted to the Soviet militia and was appointed as a group leader responsible for collecting weapons from the Estonian Defense League (EDL). On 21 June 1940, when an EDL group came to give up their weapons, he ordered to fire at them, killing 17 and wounding more than 12 people.
The order was condemned both by Estonians and the Soviet authorities.
Stepulov was arrested and spent most of the war in a Soviet prison. After that he returned to Estonia and took odd jobs as a factory worker, turf cutter, lumberjack and boxing coach and referee. He eventually became a heavy drinker and got involved with criminals.
In 1955, he was arrested for burglary and sentenced to seven years.
He was released after four years, but was later arrested a few more times for similar offenses. In the 1960s he developed the Parkinson’s disease and died in the hospital of the Tallinn central prison.