Albert Batyrgaziev of ROC wins men’s featherweight boxing gold
ROC's Albert Batyrgaziev becomes men’s featherweight Olympic champion following split decision win. Team USA’s Duke Ragan gets silver
Boxing
Albert Batyrgaziev of the ROC team has won the men’s featherweight boxing gold medal beating Team USA’s Duke Ragan in the final.
Batyrgaziev, the number two seed, secured the gold medal by a split decision, 3-2, after the verdict went to the judges’ scorecards at the Kokugikan Arena.
The judges scored the bout 28-29, 29-28, 28-29, 29-29, 30-27 in favour of the ROC boxer.
"This has been my dream since I started training for boxing when I was a child," said Batyrgaziev in becoming Olympic champion.
"This has made all the hard work and effort and the discipline I’ve shown since worth it. It has paid off.
"I am proud of my home. It deserves to be the home of an Olympic champion and I’ll take the gold medal home to my people as I promised them."
Batyrgaziev and Ragan both turned professional in 2020 during the delay to the Olympic Games in Tokyo caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the winning starts to their professional careers, both boxers returned to chase their Olympic dreams.
Batyrgaziev got off to a lively start against Ragan. The ROC boxer quickly had the upper hand and was hitting Ragan with some good punches as the American tried to find his groove.
Batyrgaziev claimed the first two rounds on three of the five judges’ cards. Ragan took the third round on four of five cards.
By this point it was too late and Batyrgaziev was given the victory.
"I thought I put up a good fight. I felt the better man won," said Ragan, recalling his performance. "I’m happy to be going home with the silver medal."
"It’s not a happy ending for me but I’ll take the silver medal over not getting on the podium at all."
Ragan, who was unseed in the tournament, receives the silver, which is the USA’s second boxing medal of the Olympics in Tokyo.
But he was just short claiming a first men’s gold medal for the USA since 2004.
Ghana’s Samuel Takyi and Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba won the division’s bronze medals.
Takyi’s medal is Ghana's fifth ever Olympic medal, and its first since the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 when the men's football team won bronze.