The host Brazilian team secured four gold medals at the huge World Military Games, which finished in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend.
The first Brazilian gold medal was secured by Beijing Olympian 23-year-old Robinelson Jesus Vieira, who triumphed over Algeria's top bantamweight boxer Mohamed Amine Oudahi by 12:8 after a great second round in which he took a short lead over his strong African Champion opponent that was enough to seem him through to the final gong.
Brazil's next great effort resulted another gold medal for the biggest South American country in the lightweight class. Beijing Olympian 23-year-old Robson Conceicao defeated Tunisia's Alaa Shili who returned to the ring after completing his studies. Their close contest ended 13:10 to Conceicao, whose next target is to qualify for the London Olympic Games.
As expected the best local boxer, AIBA World Championships quarter-finalist and WSB contender Everton Lopes, secured the gold medal in the light welterweight class. The 23-year-old Brazilian fighter eliminated Kazakhstan's favourite Merey Akshalov in the earlier stage of the Games and was too strong for Morocco's surprise Abdelhak Aatanari in the final.
Brazil's fourth and final gold medal was secured by Gidelson Oliveira, who achieved his best performance in his career at the Games. The super heavyweight boxer beat China's Xinjiang-based AIBA World Championships bronze medalist Yushan Nijiati by a narrow 14:13 in their gold medal contest.
AIBA World Championships bronze medalist Li Jiazhao is China's light flyweight No.2 behind superstar Zou Shiming and realized his golden dreams in the Brazilian capital city. The Chinese boxer walked over to the gold because his Arabic Champion 20-year-old rival Hussin Al-Masri of Syria could not fight against him, while former Commonwealth Games winner Japhet Uutoni claimed a bronze medal.
In the flyweight class Gao Linzhi secured China's second gold medal after beating South Korea's Kim Dae Sung by 19:10, while the Confederation's powerful gold medalist such as local favourite Panamerican Champion Juliao Neto, India's Asian Champion Suranjoy Mayengbam Singh and African Champion Samir Brahimi of Algeria all missed the final bout in Rio de Janeiro.
Beijing Olympic Games bronze medalist and European Championships silver medalist Alexis Vastine showed an excellent performance in Rio de Janeiro and is well on track to secure a medal at the upcoming AIBA World Championships in Baku. Vastine eliminated Brazil's two-time Olympian top favourite Myke Carvalho by an impressive 24:10 in the semi-final and followed that great victory by beating Beijing Olympian Mehdi Khalsi of Morocco in the welterweight final.
The Netherlands' best boxer, European Championships quarter-finalist Peter Mullenberg, advanced to the middleweight final after beating the favourites Brazil's WSB boxer Pedro Lima and Kazakhstan's Ali Nurmatov in the semi-final. For the gold medal he defeated African Championships bronze medalist Hassan Chagtemi of Tunisia by 13:11 and secured the Netherlands' best result in 2011.
France's AIBA World Championships bronze medalist 25-year-old Abdelkader Bouhenia won the second gold medal for Western Europea in Rio de Janeiro after beating Estonia's best boxer European Cup silver medalist Ainar Karlson by 16:10 in the light heavyweight division, while Pakistan's new surprise Ahmed Ali won a valuable bronze in the Games.
Syria's Asian Games gold medalist 22-year-old Mohammad Ghossoun put on an impressive performance in the Games where he was the top favourite in the heavyweight class. The Syrian boxer walked over to the gold against Germany's veteran Stefan Koeber and is definitely a medal contender at the forthcoming AIBA Men's Elite World Championships in Baku.
A total of twenty nations collected at least a medal at the Games, showing the strength of boxing across the globe and hinting at some great battles to be expected for the Olympic quotas at the upcoming AIBA World Championships.
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