Heavyweight Tishchenko goes the distance at Rio 2016
Decision met with controversy, as crowd favoured Levit, but boxers agree to respect judges’ decision
Tishchenko (R) overcame Levit despite being on the back foot for much of the bout (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney)
Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko took gold in the men's heavyweight boxing today (Monday 15 August), beating Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Levit in a unanimous points decision.
Despite the judges' agreement in awarding the bout to Tishchenko, the contest was close in scoring terms, with all three officials marking it 29-28 in the Russian’s favour.
The crowd were not convinced, as Tishchenko had been on the defensive for much of the bout, and the Kazakh boxer's fans made their feelings clear as the result was announced.
Both fighters offered conciliatory views about the decision following the bout, however. Though disappointed with the crowd's reaction, Tishchenko said: “I didn't think there were any claims with regards to the officiating from the referee. But if the referee made a bad decision and the officiating was not correct then I will be very sad for Vassiliy.
"But I think that if the referee gave the victory to me, there was a good reason to do so," he added.
Levit also respected the judges’ decision, saying: “I felt that I was winning the bout, but if the judges and the referee gave a different decision, then they have good grounds to do so."
Levit fought gamely to earn the silver for Kazakhstan (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney)
Tishchenko’s gold was his country’s second victory in the division, following in the footsteps of Rakhim Chakhkeiv at Beijing 2008, while Levit’s silver was the first medal of any colour for Kazakhstan in the men’s heavyweight class.
Uzbekistan's Rustam Tulaganov and Cuba's Erislandy Savon each won bronze, with Tulaganov becoming the first Uzbek boxer to win a medal in this event. Savon became the fifth medal winner from Cuba at this weight, meanwhile, including his uncle, three-time Olympic champion Felix.
