Cuban boxer Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo won his country’s first boxing gold since 2004 with victory in the men’s light welterweight final Saturday.
Iglesias Sotolongo came out on top in a tough fight against Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk, which the judges scored 22-15 in the Cuban’s favor.
Iglesias Sotolongo scraped past the Ukrainian 5-4, 6-5 in the first two rounds, and seemed to gain the measure of his opponent in the final round as he took apart the Ukrainian 11-6, with Berinchyk advancing into accurate punches from the Cuban.
Italy’s Vincenzo Mangiacapre and Mongolia’s Munkh-Erdene Uranchimeg won bronze Friday.
Mangiacapre, a serving police officer, lost his semifinal 15-8 on points to Iglesias Sotolongo, who outclassed him throughout.
Berinchyk, the losing finalist at last year’s world championships, came back from behind to win an action-packed fight against Uranchimeg 29-21.
