International Olympic Committee : News

Carrazana claims Fly Weight title - London 2012 - Boxing

8/12/2012 12:00:00 AM

Carrazana, 18, won this afternoon's first final by a score of 17-14 over his older Mongolian opponent in what was an excellent contest.

Nyambayar, 20, enjoyed the lion's share of support but Carrazana edged the opening round 6-5 and after a level second, was awarded the third 7-5.

Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev claimed the Welter Weight crown with a 17-9 win over Great Britain's Fred Evans.

European champion Evans overcame world champion and world number one Taras Shelestyuk in the semi-final to set up a final showdown with Sapiyev.

However, he was unable to make an impression against Sapiyev, who controlled the bout and won every round.

Lomachenko claims another title - London 2012 - Boxing

8/12/2012 12:00:00 AM

The champion from the now-defunct Feather Weight division secured a 19-9 victory over his opponent from the Republic of Korea.

The bout was all but over after world champion Lomachenko won the first round 7-2 and although Han did well to lose the second only 4-3, normal service resumed in the final round, which he lost 8-4.

Russia's Egor Mekhontcev claimed the Light Heavy Weight gold after the tightest contest possible against Kazakhstan's Adilbek Niyazymbetov.

The bout was scored 15-15 and the fighters could not even be separated by countback, with Mekhontcev winning courtesy of the judges' individual preference.

Niyazymbetov edged the first round 4-3, with Mekhontcev taking the next 5-4 to draw level.

And it was 7-7 in the final round, prompting what was a dramatic conclusion.

Golden day for Joshua - London 2012 - Boxing

8/12/2012 12:00:00 AM

Amid extraordinary scenes at ExCeL, Joshua blazed out for the final round against Italy's reigning champion Roberto Cammarelle, and after the pair had exchanged punches for three minutes, the decision for Joshua - after an 18-18 draw - brought the house down.

Joshua had started looking entirely undaunted by the reputation of the man in the opposite corner, and it was no surprise having beaten Cammarelle in their only previous meeting in the quarter-finals of last year's World Championships.

Still a relative novice in Super Heavy Weight terms, Joshua had improved enormously in every bout in the competition so far, and the left jab with which he dominated Ivan Dychko in the semi-final was once again in evidence here.

But if Joshua controlled the majority of the opener, he entered dangerous territory in the last 30 seconds when he was caught in the Italian's corner and clattered by four consecutive right hands by Cammarelle.

Chastened by the experience, Joshua started the second in more cautious fashion, allowing the bulkier Cammarelle to dictate the pace of the contest and once again land the cleaner shots in the final moments of the round to extend his lead to three points.

It was no surprise that both men went at it in the last, Joshua suddenly finding more success with big rights, one of which clearly rocked his opponent, and the crowd roared him through the final few seconds before the drama unfolded.

Youth Olympic Games boxer takes bronze at London 2012 and makes history

8/11/2012 12:35:00 PM

"Having won a bronze medal is an indescribable feeling,” the 20-year old, who was defeated by Korea’s Soon-Chul Han in his semi-final, said. “I can't find a word for it. Lithuania was without a (boxing) medal for 44 years so I think I made my country and myself proud.”

Also in the ring was Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana, who proved too much for Ireland’s Michael Conlan as he won his flyweight (52kg) semi-final. After winning every round the 18-year-old Youth Olympic champion made it comfortably into the finals and is guaranteed at least a silver medal. "I was really focused on the fight and the tactics we had decided upon and we stuck to the game plan. It was much tougher than I expected but overall it was a good match for me," he said. The final will be one of the last events of the Games on Sunday.

Over at the BMX track, the competition ended in true style with plenty of speed. Youth Olympian Twan van Gendt from the Netherlands finished in fifth place after a bad start and a near crash. Though for Twan, who’s been plagued with injury after injury, finishing fifth was a huge accomplishment.

"I'm with the last eight for the third time in my life, after all my injuries, it just went super. And I came fifth at the Olympic Games, for me that is not really a disappointment.” Next stop, Rio 2016.
There were even more Youth Olympic Games athletes in action at the Aquatics Centre as the men’s 10m platform diving qualifications got underway, featuring China’s Qiu Bo and Great Britain’s Tom Daley. Nineteen-year-old Qiu qualified in first place after performing to perfection, while Tom edged through in fifteenth place. They both perform in the semi-finals on Saturday morning.

While over at the Wembley Arena, Russia’s Ksenia Dudkina and Alina Makarenko and Canada’s Katrina Cameron all helped their teams into the rhythmic gymnastics group finals taking place on Sunday. Could another Youth Olympic medal be on the cards? We think so!

Murata is Middle man

8/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

Murata was seeded second in the draw, with Florentino fourth, and the bout was as close as may have been expected from two of the medal favourites.

The pair have met before, with Murata victorious in the semi-finals of the World Championships last year - a competition where he went on to claim silver while Florentino won bronze.

Murata was at his most active in the opening minutes, using his reach to penetrate and move into a 5-3 lead.

Florentino, so impressive in his win over Great Britain's Anthony Ogogo yesterday, responded impressively, dictating the tone in the second round with a consistent flurry of right jabs.

Murata was put on the back foot but his defence held firm and he remained 9-8 in front going into the final round.

Again, Florentino went on the attack and briefly forced his opponent into a dangerous position on the ropes before losing his footing.

Florentino made all the running but Murata was deflecting enough shots to draw the round and take the Olympic title.

Usyk takes Heavyweight title - London 2012 - Boxing

8/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

The reigning world champion showed his quality against Italy's Clemente Russo, who was looking to improve on the silver medal he won at Beijing 2008.

Russo landed a right hand for the first score of the fight and moved into a 3-1 lead after one round as Usyk failed to fire.

Things changed in the second, however, Usyk initially appearing to land a knockdown with a left hook only for the referee to rule that Russo had stumbled.

There was a big exchange of blows as the second came to an end but Usyk had the better of it and took the round 7-5.

He closed out a 14-11 victory in the final round as Russo, looking to force the win, missed with a series of big hooks only to be caught by his more measured rival.

Iglesias springs Light Welter surprise - London 2012 - Boxing

8/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

The judges awarded the bout to Iglesias by a score of 22-15, but it did not flatter the 23-year-old - who had lost to the same opponent in last year's World Championships.

Berinchyk went on to take silver in Baku and ended with the same medal here, as Iglesias - the bronze medallist at Beijing 2008 - made 11 scoring shots in a one-sided final round that saw the Ukrainian's defence penetrated.

Iglesias had done enough to edge the first two rounds by a point apiece but in the closing stages the reigning Pan-American champion kept connecting, mostly with a thunderous left-hand counter, to win in style.

For his part, Berinchyk did not seem too disappointed by defeat and celebrated silver with a mid-ring dance for his fans.

Adams claims historic gold - London 2012 - Boxing

8/9/2012 12:00:00 AM

Adams dropped Ren in the second round on her way to a comprehensive Fly Weight victory against an opponent who had beaten her in each of the previous two World Championships finals.

Adams made a superb start, producing much the cleaner work in the opening round, firing home a quick combination and a left hook and making it difficult for Ren to find her range as she bounced in and out of reach.

A beautiful straight left followed by a right hook towards the end of the round helped Adams into a deserved 4-2 lead, but it was far from over against the Chinese champion who stormed out for the second and landed a big right hand in a furious flurry of action.

Adams was completely unfazed, landing with a beautiful countering left, then a right as she bullied the Chinese fighter onto the ropes and unleashed a left followed by a chopping right which dumped Ren to the canvas for a count.

It was a staggering round by Adams, who took a 9-4 lead into the second half of the contest, but will have known to stay on her guard against an opponent who has dominated at the top of her division for four years.

In a quieter third, Adams proved a master at keeping Ren out of range, darting in to score with crisp counters, and at the end of the third the gold medal was almost hers after establishing a colossal 14-5 lead.

Adams continued to dominate the final round, moving around the outskirts of the ring and landing counters seemingly at will, celebrating with an Ali shuffle in the final 10 seconds to round off a stunning win.

Zou through as women reach a landmark - London 2012 - Women's Boxing

8/8/2012 12:00:00 AM

Zou defeated Kazakhstan's Birzhan Zhakypov to contest another gold in the men's Light Fly Weight quarter-finals.

The three-time world champion won the bout by 13 points to 10 as Zhakypov could not match him.

Devendro Singh Laishram made an exit after losing to Irishman Paddy Barnes 23-18. Devendro was the last of the eight Indian boxers to bid farewell to the ring as the nation failed to claim a single medal in the men's Boxing.

Thailand's Kaeo Pongprayoon won a well-fought bout against Aleksandar Aleksandrov from Bulgaria.

Pongprayoon guaranteed at least a bronze as he booked his place in the semis, continuing his winning form on his Olympic Games debut.

In the men's Light Welter Weight category, world bronze medallist and third seeded Vincenzo Mangiacapre defeated Kazakh Daniyar Yeleussinov 16-12 with a bout ending in a tense finish.

British boxer Thomas Stalker missed out on a medal as he lost to Mongolia's Munkh-Erdene Uranchimeg 23-22.

Uranchimeg said: 'My soul is full of emotion. I have been in the Olympics three times now - Athens, Beijing and now London.

'It has been my long-standing dream to get a medal, which I have now achieved.'

Brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino caused another upset as he defeated top seed and reigning world champion Julio la Cruz Peraza from Cuba 18-15 in the men's Light Heavy Weight division.

After a tied first round, Florentino overpowered the Cuban champion giving him little time to recover from his aggressive jabs and hooks.

Despite the USA men going home without a medal for the first time in Olympic Games history, their women's team have a shot at gold after 17-year-old Claressa Shields overpowered Kazakhstans Marina Volnova 29-15.

She was one of the big winners on a day when history was made, as the first women's Olympic Boxing medals -bronzes - were won.

Shields will face powerful Russian Nadezda Torlopova in the final on Thursday after Torlopova, a former world champion at Super Heavy Weight, powered through 12-10 in a close fight with Li Jinzi of China.

Katie Taylor moved into the Light Weight final with a 17-9 win over Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva at the ExCeL.

Her final will be against Russia's Sofya Ochigava, who advanced from her semi-final against Brazil's Adriana Araujo.

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Nicola Adams will fight rival Ren Cancan of China for the women's Fly Weight gold after getting the better of five-time world champion Mary Kom in their semi-final.

Ren made it through following her victory over Marlen Esparza of the USA, who was guaranteed a bronze medal - along with all the other semi-final losers.

Coach drives Conlan on - London 2012 - Boxing

8/7/2012 12:00:00 AM

The 20-year-old Belfast man struggled to assert himself early against his more powerful opponent, but he turned on the style after heading into the final round of their Fly Weight bout to claim a 22-18 victory.

Conlan, who joins team-mates John Joe Nevin and Katie Taylor in their respective semi-finals with fellow Irishman Paddy Barnes still to come, said: 'My coach told me to put the boot in because I was a bit too quiet.

'Words can't describe what I'm feeling but I knew I'd be here on the day.'

Oubaali produced the better work in the first round, but Conlan ended the round well to earn a 5-5 tie.

They were level again at the end of the second, Oubaali's intensity keeping him level with the more adventurous Irishman. Conlan stepped it up in the third round, hitting home a fine left hand as the Frenchman's work lost its rhythm.

A fine finish from the Irishman, in which he landed with both left and right hooks, helped him to victory.

Conlan will face Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana, in the semi-finals while the second semi-final will see Russian world champion Misha Aloian take on Tugstsogt Nyambayar of Mongolia.

Aloian produced a superb performance of amateur Boxing skills to see off teenage Puerto Rican Jeyvier Cintron 23-13, while the Mongolian came on strong in the last round to defeat Uzbekistan's Jasurbek Latipov.

There was drama in the men's Welter Weight division when Frenchman Alexis Vastine was handed a two-point penalty in his bout with Ukraine's world number one Taras Shelestyuk, and was beaten on countback after an 18-18 draw.

Custio Clayton lost on a countback to Great Britain's Fred Evans, making an appeal which is thought to have been rejected, while the USA's Errol Spence was sent out 16-11 to Russia's Andrey Zamkovoy.

That means the USA men's Boxing team will fail to win a medal for the first time in Olympic Games history.