The USA had not won an Olympic Gold medal for 12 years in men’s boxing and will have to wait a little longer.
Their talented 19 year old fighter Shakur Stevenson took on Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the bantamweight (56kg) final, as both speedy southpaws set out their stalls straight away with explosive work – right from the very first bell.
The more experienced and reigning Olympic champion Ramirez worked well in the first round to take it, with superior variety of punching and work rate in my opinion.
The second round saw a bit more success for the American Stevenson however. His footwork looked a little bit better and in general he began to come into the fight more.
The judges reflected this with awarding the man from the US round two, setting up an exciting final round.
Both men went at it in the third round towards the end, as they knew that it was going to be razor close on the cards. Stevenson made Ramirez miss well at times I thought, although the Cuban was the man on the front foot for the majority of the round.
The judges gave the round and ultimately the fight by split decision to Cuban Robeisy Ramirez, who became only the third man in history to win Olympic gold medals in the flyweight and bantamweight divisions.
The future still looks bright for American Shakur Stevenson however after Floyd Mayweather has said he wants him on his team as a professional when he does turn over to the pro ranks.
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