Kazakhstan's Sapiyev wins welterweight gold medal

By foxsports
Published

Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan won the gold medal in the men's welterweight division Sunday at the Olympic boxing tournament, overcoming Freddie Evans' home-crowd support in a 17-9 victory.

Sapiyev earned redemption for his Olympic performance four years ago in Beijing, where the two-time world champion lost in the first round.

Sapiyev dominated Evans, the cagey fighter from Wales who unexpectedly reached the gold-medal bout. Sapiyev took a 10-5 lead into the third round by soundly outworking his British opponent, connecting with power shots from multiple angles.

Sapiyev's gold is the sixth for Kazakhstan in its Olympic boxing history.

He fought at light welterweight in Beijing before moving up in preparation for London.