Britain’s Luke Campbell won Britain’s first Olympic bantamweight gold for 104 years Saturday, beating Ireland’s John Joe Nevin in the final.
The match was a rematch of last year’s world championship semifinal, which Campbell won on a tie-break, and it remained close until the end, with Campbell winning 14-11.
Both contenders had come close to major glory in the past, but never quite reached the top step of the podium at a top-tier competition - Campbell had won silver at last year’s world championships while Nevin is a two-time world bronze medalist and former European Union champion.
The bout was left well poised at 9-8 in the Briton’s favor going into the final round after Campbell won the first round 5-3, but lost the second 5-4.
Needing to make up the deficit, Nevin came out swinging in the third round, but Campbell started to catch him with jabs as the Irishman’s aggression left him open.
Campbell knocked Nevin down halfway through the round and played it safe for the rest of the round, although he was not always able to stay out of the way of the Irish fighter’s swings.
The round was awarded 5-3 to Campbell, giving him the gold medal.
He burst into tears of joy when the decision was announced.
Satoshi Shimizu of Japan and Cuba's Lazaro Alvarez lost their respective semifinals in the men's bantamweight boxing tournament to claim bronze medals.
