Majestic Sapiyev takes Welterweight gold and Best Boxer trophy
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- Published on Sunday, 12 August 2012 21:43
European Champion Fred Evans of Great Britain battled Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan for the Welterweight (69kg) title.
The experience Kazak southpaw was throwing a huge amount of jabs in the first with the Brit having to bide his time before looking to land with the straight one-two combination. Good tight defences by the 21-year-old Evans allowed him to soak up some of the early pressure but Sapiyev was in all-action mode, continually throwing a lot of punches to take the first 4:2.
It was the exact same scenario in the second, with Sapiyev the aggressor, constantly unloading and not giving his rival a moment to find any kind of rhythm. The young Brit was being outthought and outclassed by the two-time AIBA World Champion from Kazakhstan, who took the second 6:3.
Evans had to go for broke in the third but his rival was moving better, faster and simply showed more determination. The British southpaw was devoid of ideas as 28-year-old Sapiyev dominated the final round to claim the gold medal with a resounding 17:9 victory.
The Kazak was overjoyed afterwards, declaring, "I am very glad to be here and this victory is for the whole of Kazakhstan. I have been waiting for this moment for so long. In Beijing I lost in the quarter-finals but was resolute as my attention immediately turned to these next Olympics".
Joining the finalists on the podium were Ukraine’s Taras Shelestyuk and Andrey Zamkovoy from Russia, who each collected bronze medals after making it to the semi-finals.
Impressive and dominant from start to finish, Kazak Serik Sapiyev not only claimed the Olympic Welterweight (69kg) title, but has also been awarded the coveted Best Men's Boxer at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Val Barker Trophy) by the accredited media.
