Light-Welterweight (≤64 kilograms), Men

At the 2015 Men’s World Championships Uzbekistan won six medals to establish themselves as one of the major powers in the sport. In Rio they made a further breakthrough by winning three Olympic medals and finishing top of the sport’s medal table.

In the light-welterweight division their challenge was spearheaded by Fazliddin Gaybnazarov, a world championship bronze medallist. Gaybnazarov survived a knockdown against American Gary Russell to gain a controversial split decision victory before edging another close win over Russian world champion Vitaly Dunaytsev.

His opponent in the Olympic final was a man with a familial link to the Olympics and an unusual life story. Lorenzo Sotomayor was the nephew of 1992 high jump champion Javier Sotomayor. He had been a promising youngster in the Cuban system until he met and fell in love with a visitor to Cuba, a Russian girl who lived in Azerbaijan, and followed her there. He gained Azeri nationality in time to win gold at the 2015 European Games.

The final was a difficult fight to score and opinion was divided as to who deserved to be called the winner. Judges from Sweden and Morocco were of the opinion that Fazliddin Gaybnazarov just did enough to win and thus earn Uzbekistan their third boxing gold of 2016.