Tokyo 2020: Brazil’s Abner Teixeira defeats Jordanian to secure bronze medal in boxing
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a sensational duel, boxer Abner Teixeira defeated Jordanian Hussein Lashaish in the quarterfinals this Friday to secure the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The judges’ decision was split: four in favor of the Brazilian (29 to 28 – three times – and 30 to 27) and one for his rival (29 to 28). There is no bronze medal competition in boxing, as the two losers of the semifinals advance to the podium.
The opponent of the Brazilian in the final fight on Tuesday is Cuban Julio La Cruz, who eliminated Spaniard Enmanuel Reyes.
This is the sixth medal for Brazilian boxing at the Olympics. Servílio de Oliveira took bronze in Mexico (1968), Esquiva Falcão, Yamaguchi Falcão and Adriana Araújo were on the podium in London (2012). Robson Conceição became champion in Rio 2016.
The fight was spectacular. Lashaish started with everything and pressured Abner with all kinds of punches for over a minute. Surprised, the Brazilian tried uppercuts and hooks. The fight was extremely violent, and both boxers reached the end of the three rounds, bleeding.
In the second round, Abner found the distance and hit straight left punches that slowed down the momentum of the Jordanian, who showed signs of fatigue. The last round was a sensation with an impressive exchange of punches, but Abner was more accurate.
“It was a war. I didn’t expect this pace from the beginning. I expected him to arrive lukewarmly and increase the pace, but I managed to hit good crosses and hooks. He didn’t count on me resisting the pace, getting tired, and then being the aggressor. I’ll study my rival well in the semifinals and get another medal for Brazil.”
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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