Joe Cordina, Cardiff’s European lightweight champion, edged through his first Olympic fight on a split decision against Philippines showman Charly Suarez.
The second man into the ring on day one of the Rio Games found his rhythm just in time to take the third and last round on all three judges’ cards to make sure of avoiding the embarrassment of an early exit.
Cordina, who confessed to being disappointed at not being seeded in the draw, conceded later: ‘It was probably better for me that I got this early fight under my belt.’
He shaded the first round but Suarez drew level with a spirited effort in the second and was warned that he needed a good third, which he delivered.
Cordina now faces tough Uzbek Hurshid Tojbaev, who unanimously outpointed Qatar’s Hakan Eresker minutes earlier.
That is a fight the Welshman should win and by chance he faces a potentially easier path to the quarter final than if he had been seeded.
That encouraged him to say: ‘As European champion I shouldn’t go out in the first bout. I should be thinking about winning the gold medal. And now I’ve got this one out of the way, I am.’
The theory that some professionals could be embarrassed by the skills of amateurs was borne out to the roaring delight of the home crowd.
Hassan Ndam, a Cameroon light-heavyweight who has held interim WBA and IBF titles, was out-pointed by Brazil’s Michel Borges.
Not just unanimously but overwhelmingly.
Borges caught Ndam repeatedly with classic counter punches to win all three rounds.
Not only easily but humiliatingly for the France-based pro.
Unable to accept that he had been hopelessly beaten, Ndam invited ridicule be greeting the verdict with a finger-wagging at the judges.
That invitation was gladly accepted by the fans, who laughed at him before returning to saluting their local hero.
