Paris – CUBAN Erislandy Alvarez will forever remember the revenge with which he inscribed his name on the 63.5 kg belt in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games in this city.
Getting rid of the “thorn” against the home idol Sofiane Oumiha was the last challenge to overcome in the French capital and the boy did not disappoint coaches and fans. The verdict was 3-2 in his favor.
He dreamed of revenge since the Frenchman defeated him in the final of last year’s world championship, and took full advantage of this opportunity to bring the second scepter of his delegation here, although the judges put him in danger.
His opponent was an experienced athlete of recognized level, with three world crowns and the subtitle under the five rings achieved in Rio de Janeiro 2016, but none of that was enough to undo dreams based on a lot of dedication.
Nor was it enough to know that he was immersed in his first foray into this type of scenario. Nor was the delirious support offered to its star by thousands of fans who made one of the courts of the iconic Roland-Garros “tremble”.
Not even the logical wear and tear imposed by five climbs to the waxing in just 10 days, or the anxiety associated with knowing to be the last hope of a quintet of warriors that this time only completed its harvest with a meritorious bronze by the star Arlen Lopez (80 kg).
“Guapo y fajao, as they say in good Cuban, Erislandy Alvarez has taken a gold disputed until the last blow,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez wrote in his X account, who also congratulated him by phone.
“That’s how you fight and that’s how you win, even with the odds against you. With courage, with passion and with joy. #Cuba celebrates and dances with you for this beautiful victory,” added the president.
It was the 42nd scepter of the island’s boxing in the five rings, whose harvest of medals amounted here to 80, completed with 19 silver and as many bronze.
SAYS THE CHAMPION
“We knew it was a difficult opponent, but it’s been more than a year since he beat me and I have experienced very positive changes, which allow me to face this kind of demands,” said the Cienfuegos native.
He recalled that the previous fight between them he assumed as a rookie in the ranks of the elite army of his country, and was categorical in assuring that he worked to the fullest so that this, his third final in a great magnitude, would leave him the desired flavor.
“It was my wish and that of the Cuban people, and having obtained it leaves me very satisfied,” he said after specifying that the preparation he made allowed him to “enjoy, “dance” and put on a show” between the ropes.
He acknowledged that he was initially impressed by the size and capacity of the stage, but was categorical in stating that this provided another motivation to give a show worthy of it, and thanked the possibility of making his compatriots happy.
And in his farewell he was humble when he said that “I do not feel like a leader despite being the only gold medalist of the team this time, because each athlete has his rank and I do not consider myself more than anyone else, and Cuban boxing is all of us. Cuba is its boxing”.
(Taken from Jit)
