In the eighth of a series of profiles leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, we are taking a look at some of the world’s elite boxers who will be competing at the biggest sporting event of the world this month. Here is France’s Sofiane Oumiha, who has the fortune of boxing in his home country at an Olympic Games.
Lightweight from Toulouse
The 29-year-old from Toulouse is from a French city known for producing high performance athletes. They include golfer Matthieu Pavon, equestrian gold medalist Astier Nicolas (team eventing from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro), five-time world championship swimming gold medalist Leon Marchand, former IBO Super-lightweight world boxing champion Mohamed Mimoune, shooting Olympic gold medalist Maurice Larrouy (men’s 20 metre rapid fire pistol from the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris), 2024 world team table tennis championship silver medalist Simon Gauzy, and two-time Olympic swimming bronze medalist Alex Jany (men’s 4×200 metre freestyle at the 1948 Olympic Games in London and the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki).
Olympic Silver medalist
Oumiha won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The only boxer to beat Oumiha at the Olympic Games eight years ago was gold medalist Robson Conceicao of Brazil. The boxers Oumiha beat en route to Olympic silver were Teofimo Lopez of Honduras 3-0 in the first round, Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand in the second round (via a knockout), Albert Selimov of Azerbaijan 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and bronze medalist Dorjnyambuugiin Otgondalai of Mongolia 3-0 in the semifinal. The other semifinalist from Rio was bronze medalist Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, Oumiha lost to Keyshawn Davis of the United States in the second round when the referee stopped the decision.
Three-time World Champion
Oumiha won the gold medal at the 2017 World Boxing Championship in Hamburg (beat Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba in the final), at the 2021 World Boxing Championship in Belgrade (beat Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan), and at the 2023 World Boxing Championship in Tashkent (beat Erislandy Alvarez of Cuba).
Three wins as a professional
As a professional, Oumiha has three victories. He has beaten Anderson Rangel of Venezuela via technical knockout in Barcelona, Spain on February 26, 2022, Mevy Boufoudi of France via unanimous decision in Paris on May 14, 2022, and Victor Julio of Colombia via knockout in Le Cannet, France on November 19, 2022.
Six Olympic French gold medalists in boxing
Six boxers have won Olympic gold in boxing in the past (five men and one woman). The male Olympic gold medal winning boxers have been Paul Fritsch of Paris (featherweight at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp), Jean Despeaux of Paris (middleweight at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin), Roger Michelot (light heavyweight at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin), Brahim Asloum of Bourgoin-Jallieu (light flyweight at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney), and Tony Yoka of Paris (super heavyweight at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro). The female gold medal winning boxer was Estelle Mossely of Paris (lightweight at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro).
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