Muslim Gadzhimagomedov achieved silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games where Lauren Price is also a finalist after an incredible comeback
06 August 2021Five bouts were held in the thirteenth competition day of the Tokyo Olympic Games and among them four were strongly affected the European boxers today. Russian Olympic Committee’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov claimed silver medal at the men’s heavyweight (91kg) while Great Britain’s Lauren Price made a superb comeback against her top rival, Nouchka Fontijn.
Altogether 24 European nations could send boxers to the Olympic Games to Japan where the continent have got 92 tough boxers including 33 women. Among them 19 earned medals after nine competition days and four new boxers joined to them. Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Ukraine, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Italy, Netherlands, Finland and Armenia claimed at least one medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The bout of the day
Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn earned her second Olympic medal after Rio de Janeiro in the women’s middleweight (75kg) and met in the semi-final with Great Britain’s Lauren Price. The Welsh girl defeated Fontijn in the final of the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships but in the preparations events this year, the Dutch has done revenge for that. The Dutch boxer started the bout with a nice hook but Price also adopted the rhythm very quickly. Fontijn was taller but worked hard in the first round and moved ahead more than in the preliminary round and at the quarter-finals. Fontijn tried to control the second round and using her longer hands she overcame Price’s attacks in most of the exchanges. The 27-year-old Welsh boxer received a warning in the second round therefore she felt that she has to do more in their tactical contest. Fontijn was patient in the third round and one of her highlights was an effective left-handed hook but she received punches from Price who finished their contest better. Great Britain’s powerful boxer has done a great comeback in the second part of the bout and advanced to the final of the weight class winning the bout by the narrowest possible margin.
The Round-up
Russian Olympic Committee’s Zenfira Magomedalieva won World and European titles at the light heavyweight (81kg) and at the heavyweight (+81kg) in the recent seven years. The 34-year-old Russian moved down to the middleweight (75kg) and she won two tough contests to win an Olympic medal in Tokyo. The Russian started aggressively against China’s AIBA Women’s World Champion and multiple ASBC Asian Champion Li Qian in the first round but received punches from counter-attacking distance. The Chinese boxer was better in their tactical game in the second round when Li stopped all of the Russian attacks. Both of them received a warning in the second but after six minutes of game play, the Chinese led on the scorecards with two points differences. Magomedalieva gave in everything in the third round but Li Qian was faster therefore the Russian claimed bronze medal in Tokyo.
Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov is European Games winner, EUBC European Champion and two-time AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist but he had to meet with United States’ Keyshawn Davis who is in top form at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The US lightweight (63kg) boxer, who claimed silver medal in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships, kept the fighting distance successfully in the first round and took the lead on the scorecards. Bachkov choose a fighting style for this contest but he received punches from longer range from the seven-years younger US talent. The Armenian had strong stamina, power and experiences but Davis won their semi-final contest with better tactic which meant Bachkov earned an Olympic bronze medal.
Russian Olympic Committee’s 24-year-old Muslim Gadzhimagomedov is the defending AIBA World Champion and European Games winner at the men’s heavyweight (91kg). He marched into the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games after beating New Zealand’s star David Nyika using his powerful jabs in the last four. The Russian boxer had to meet in the Olympic final against Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz who is four-times AIBA World Champion and gold medallist from the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Cuban moved up to the heavyweight (91kg) only in the end of 2019 but he proved his virtuoso style of boxing in Tokyo today. Gadzhimagomedov moved ahead, he tried to catch the fast Cuban but La Cruz used up his faults and landed effective counter-punches. The Russian was more aggressive in the second round but La Cruz continued his smart game play and won his second Olympic title after Rio de Janeiro.
