“At least two gold medals”

Ukrainian boxers continue to please fans with their performance at the London Olympics. Taras Shelestiuk from Sumy beat Alexis Vastine, France, the other day in a difficult bout that ended in an 18:18 draw (5:5, 7:7, 6:6), but the umpires voted for Taras owing to some additional factors. It will be recalled that, in a similar situation in the bout between Yevhen Khytrov and Britain’s Anthony Ogogo, the judges preferred Ogogo in spite of the Ukrainian boxer’s obvious advantage. Yet, even though all the British media unanimously trumpeted about an “outstanding” victory, ordinary Britons took a different attitude to this. “I am British, but I am ashamed of this decision! Khytrov made a clean sweep of Ogogo,” a Daily Mail website comment says.

Meanwhile, Shelestiuk, 26, who boxes in the men’s welterweight (up to 69 kg) category, has qualified for the semi-finals, as has Beijing Olympics lightweight (up to 60 kg) champion Vasyl Lomachenko. However, to reach the finals, Taras will have to defeat Freddy Evans, also a Brit…

A third Ukrainian to fight in the semi-finals is the boxing team captain Oleksandr Usyk (light-heavyweight, up to 91 kg) who had beaten Russia’s Artur Beterbiev a couple of days before. All the three semi-final bouts will be held on the coming Friday, August 10. The finals have been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12, respectively.

The Day asked Oleksandr PAVELETS, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation, to comment on the performance of Ukrainian boxers and their chances for victory.

“Our boys have trained very well for these competitions, and the coaching staff and the Ukrainian Boxing Federation have done their best. In spite of the scandalous Khytrov-Ogogo bout, our guys were off to a flying start at these Olympics. Our boxers are in good shape now and are supposed to clinch at least two gold medals. Vasyl Lomachenko also made a vigorous start. He will fight in the semi-final against the Cuban whom he beat at the World Championship with score of 17:12. I think Vasyl will do a fine job and become a twice Olympic champion. Denys Berinchyk had his first warming-up bout with a Swede, and I think he will secure himself a place in the semi-finals tomorrow. Taras Shelestiuk was also destined to fight a difficult rival, a Frenchman who had won a medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, but Taras defeated him and can now go to the final. Everything should be also OK for Oleksandr Usyk who has outstripped a very serious rival [a Russian. – Ed.] and is supposed to become a champion. But the main thing is that there is a good climate and mood in the team. As for the forelocks, it was the initiative of the boys themselves [Berinchyk and Usyk had a Cossack-style haircut done before the Games. – Ed.]. It is their vision, and we respect it.”