Mekhontcev Wins Light Heavy Gold In Double Countback
Aug 12, 2012 • 10:00 AM ET
By Jake Donovan
Egor Mekhontcev provided Russia with its lone boxing Gold medal, which came in the closest Finals bout in this year's competition after a double-countback in a 15-15 tie with Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan.
There was little to choose from in each of the three rounds, as was properly reflected on the scores. Niyazymbetov found success with single-scoring blows, which generally tend to rate better with any given ringside scoring panel under amateur boxing's current button-pushing scoring method.
Mekhontcev took control in the second round, leveling up the score after trailing by a point through one. Combination punching by the Russian was finally recognized by the judges, who had him winning the round in bringing the score to an 8-8 tie.
The third round came down to styles preference. Mekhontcev boasts the far more fan-friendly style which figures to translate well in the pros. However, Niyazymbetov was able to return to early round stick and move success.
A combination of the two produced an even round and a 15-15 tie at the end of three rounds. Scoring went to countback, where the total punches scored by the judges are tallied, with the highest and lowest score thrown out. The three remaining scores are added together for each fighter; this too produced a tie.
Producing an eventual winner came down to which fighter each judge believed won the fight. The process is done by pressing the "red" or "blue" button, signifying the color of each fighter's uniforms. The majority of the judges believed Mekhontcev was that man,
Both fighters arrived to the finals by very separate means. Mekhontcev blew out Brazil's Yamaguchi Falcao in Friday's semifinals while Niyazymbetov was forced to sweat out a countback in order to pull off an upset over Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine.
Light Heavyweight Finals (Medal Round - Sunday, August 12):
Egor Mekhontcev (Russia) def.
Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan), 15-15 (double-countback)
* Mekhontcev wins Gold; Niyazymbetov takes Silver
Light Heavyweight Semifinals (Medal Round - Friday, August 10):
Egor Mekhontcev (Russia) def. Yamaguchi Falcao (Brazil), 23-11
Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan) def.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine)
, 13-13 (countback)
* Falcao and Gvozdyk share Bronze medal honors
Light Heavyweight Quarterfinals (Wednesday, August 8):
Yamaguchi Falcao (Brazil) def.
Julio Cesar la Cruz (Cuba)
, 18-15
Egor Mekhontcev (Russia) def.
Elshod Rahmanov (Uzbekistan), 19-15
Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan) def.
Ehsan Rouzbahani (Iran), 13-10
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine) def. Abdelhafid Benchabla (Algeria), 19-17
Light Heavyweight Semifinals (Medal round - Friday, August 10):
Yamaguchi Falcao (Brazil) vs.
Egor Mekhontcev (Russia)
Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan) vs.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine)
Round of 16 Results (Saturday, August 4):
Julio Cesar la Cruz (Cuba) def. Ihab Almatbouli (Jordan), 25-8
Yamaguchi Falcao (Brazil) def. Fanlong Meng (China), 17-17 (countback)
Elshod Rasulov (Uzbekistan) def. Yahia El-Mekachari (Tunisia), 13-6
Egor Mekhontcev (Russia) def. Damien Hooper (Australia), 19-11
Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan) def. Carlos Gongora (Ecuador), 13-5
Ehsan Rouzbahani (Iran) def. Bahram Muzaffer (Turkey), 18-12
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine) def. Osmar Bravo (Nicaragua), 18-6
Abdelhafid Benchabla (Algeria) def. Enrico Kolling (Germany), 12-9
Light Heavyweight - Round of 32 Results (Monday, July 30):
Ihab Almatbouli (Jordan) def. Lukmon Lawal (Nigeria), 19-7
Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino (Brazil) def. Sumit Sangwan (India), 15-14
Fanlong Meng (China) def. Ahmed Barki (Morocco), 17-8
Yahia El-Mekachari (Tunisia) def. Jakhon Qurbonov (Tajikistan), 16-8
Damien Hooper (Australia) def. Marcus Browne (United States), 13-11
Carlos Gongora (Ecuador) vs Vatan Huseynli (Azerbaijan), 9-8
Ehsan Rouzbahani (Iran) def. Jeysson Monroy (Colombia), 12-10
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine) vs Mikhail Dauhaliavets (Belarus), 18-10
Osmar Bravo (Nicaragua) def. Bosko Draskovic (Montenegro), 16-11
Enrico Kolling (Germany) def. Christian Donfack Adjoufack (Cameroon), 15-6
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter:
@JakeNDaBox
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
