Ex-street hawker wins first Brazil boxing gold
ROBSON Conceicao said he felt like he was still in a dream after he became the fi rst Brazilian to win Olympic boxing gold on Tuesday in front of an exhilarated Rio crowd.
The man who sold vegetables and popsicles on the streets as an impoverished child is now a national hero after he defeated Frenchman Sofiane Oumiha on unanimous points in a thrilling lightweight fi nal showdown.
The 27-year- old, who previously said that growing up he once feigned an arm injury so he could get hospital treatment and then used the bandages to tape his hands for boxing training, was a deserved winner after another day of judging controversy in Rio.
“My life has changed with this, this is an incredible moment in my life,” he told reporters.
“I had a very difficult upbringing so this medal is not only a success for myself but a success for my family and all those people who took me to training, ever since I was a young boy.
“I am an Olympic champion so my life has changed for ever. It was an amazing crowd... an amazing day.”
Brazil had only ever won one silver and three bronze boxing medals before Conceicao’s heroics and he said the title was a gift to his daughter, who will be two on Friday.
“I will tell her that she was my biggest inspiration and that I wanted to give her the biggest gift that I could give her,” he said.
Each Conceicao punch had been greeted with a cacophony of noise, against a backdrop of chants aimed at the Frenchman, 21, of “you’re gonna die!”
It was the first time at the Games that the 9,000 capacity RioCentro Pavilion 6 had been packed to the brim and they nearly took the roof off. — AFP