RIO DE JANEIRO ? Robeisy Ramirez and Shakur Stevenson are two of the top talents in the entire Olympic boxing tournament, and their bantamweight championship bout produced three rounds of tantalizing action.
When Ramirez?s hand was raised afterward, Cuba had another two-time gold medalist.
Stevenson left the ring in uncontrollable tears, but also with a silver medal and a bottomless source of motivation for his upcoming pro career.
Ramirez claimed a split decision over the American bantamweight Saturday, celebrating with a standing backflip in the ring after a remarkable run in Rio de Janeiro.
?He?s young, and he has big promise for boxing,? the 22-year-old Ramirez said. ?It was hard to fight against him.?
Ramirez and Stevenson put on a high-level exhibition for the crowd at Riocentro Pavilion 6, showing off athleticism and sophisticated boxing skill for three perilous rounds.
Ramirez backed up his flyweight gold medal from the London Olympics by moving up in weight and winning perhaps the most talented division in the Rio Games.
Stevenson was distraught after the first loss of his international career. Coach Kay Koroma and the fighter?s family rallied around him for comfort, and Stevenson eventually gathered himself for the medal ceremony.
