British middleweight (75kg) boxer James Degale won the title at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday, beating Emilio Correa Bayeaux from Cuba 16-14 in the final.
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James Degale (red) of Great Britain competes against Emilio Correa Bayeaux of Cuba during Men's Middle (75kg) Final Bout of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. James Degale defeated Emilio Correa Bayeaux and won the gold medal of the event. [Xinhua] |
Degale made it at 10-4 at the end of the second round. In the next two rounds, he managed to get points back whenever Bayeaux succeeded in landing punches on him.
It is kind of wresting as both boxers hugged closely with each other. The two fell to the ground together for at least three times, not to mention the falls of one of them.
"I don't think Cubans are the best on the ring," said Degale after the match. He said he would definitely stay until the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and hoped to win the gold in his own city.
Degale, 22, began boxing at the age of 10, when his dad and granddad took him to a gym in north-west London, as they thought he had more than energy to release and a natural fighting flair.
Meanwhile, silver medalist Bayeaux said he could have done better as it was not his best fight, "I was desperate sometimes on the ring and could not control my temper. It was not a pretty fight at all."
Bayeaux said he changed tactics and kept on punching on the ring, but did not get due scores.
He fought Degale earlier this year and won.
The Cuban boxer failed to emulate his father, the champion of welterweight at the 1972 Olympic Games, to win an Olympic gold.
Bayeaux said earlier he received a message from his father, "he told me that I should take care of myself and that I have nothing to be worried about, because he is convinced that I'm going to make all the people in Cuba happy with my medal."
"There is no pressure from my dad, but from myself. The Cuban team is a young team," Bayeaux said on Saturday.
"Of course I want to get the gold medal, but I couldn't make it today, so I am pretty sad," he added.
The bronze medals went to Darren John Sutherland from Ireland and Vijender Kumar from India.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2008)