Cuba has won the first two Olympic gold medals in men’s boxing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. In the men’s welterweight division on Tuesday, Roniel Iglesias of Cuba defeated Pat McCormack of Great Britain in the gold medal winning final in a unanimous decision, while on Wednesday, Arien Lopez of Cuba defeated Benjamin Whittaker of Great Britain four to one on the judges’ scorecard in the men’s light heavyweight division.
In Tokyo, Iglesias defeated Sewon Okazawa of Japan 3-2 in round two, Delante Johnson of the United States 5-0 in the quarterfinals, and Andrey Zamkovoy of the Russian Olympic Committee 5-0 in the semifinals. Zamkovoy and Aidan Walsh of Ireland both won the Olympic bronze medal.
This is the second gold medal in Iglesias’s career. He previously won the gold medal in the men’s light welterweight division at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the bronze medal in the men’s light welterweight division at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Iglesias has also won the gold medal in the men’s welterweight division in men’s boxing back at the 2009 World Championships in Milan.
Lopez meanwhile beat Mohammed Houmri of Algeria 5-0 in the round of 16, Rogelio Romero of Mexico 5-0 in the quarterfinals, and Loren Alfonso of Azerbaijan 5-0 in the semifinals. Alfonso and Imam Khataev of the Russian Olympic Committee both won the Olympic bronze medal.
Like Iglesias, Lopez has won a gold medal in men’s boxing from the past. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he defeated Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan in the gold medal bout in the men’s middleweight division. Lopez also won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2015 World Amateur Boxing Championship in Doha, Qatar.
With the two gold medals in boxing, Cuba has now won five gold medals at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Luis Orta and Mijain Lopez have each won gold medals in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, while Fernando Jorge and Serguey Torres teamed up to win the gold medal in the men’s C-2 1000 metres.
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