By Jake Donovan
Denis Berinchyk's tournament long strategy of more offense serving as his lone defense finally caught up to him. Roniel Iglesias stormed past the Ukrainian en route to Olympic Gold with a 22-15 win in the light welterweight finals.
Iglesias' win was far more dominant than even the seven-point margin suggested. Modest scoring through two rounds kept the fight closer than was the case. The truth was that the Cuban boxer was in control every step of the way, displaying beautiful ring generalship and quite frankly boxing Berinchyk's ears off.
Throughout the competition, Berinchyk relied on a late round surge to propel him to victory. Such was never more evident than in his 17-point final round in taking a 29-21 win over Monglolia's Urachimegliin Monke-Erdene in Friday's semifinals.
Iglesias was well-schooled on his opponent's strengths and literally put him to the punch. An 11-point final round doubled up the Cuban's overall tally in sailing through to the top podium on the Olympic medal stand.
The win gives Cuba its first boxing gold medal in this year's competition. Iglesias is now a two-time medalist, having captured Olympic Bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Light Welterweight Finals (Medal round - Sunday, August 12):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Denis Berinchyk (Ukraine), 22-15
* Iglesias wins Gold; Berinchyk takes Silver
Light Welterweight Semifinals (Medal round - Friday, August 10):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Vincenzo Mangiacapre (Italy), 15-8
Denis Berinchyk (Ukraine) def. Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia), 29-21
* Monke-Erdene and Mangiacapre share Bronze medal honors
Light Welterweight Quarterfinals (Wednesday, August 8):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan), 21-15
Vincenzo Mangiacapre (Italy) def. Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan), 16-12
Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia) def. Tom Stalker (Great Britain), 23-22
Denis Berinchyk (Ukraine) def. Jeff Horn (Australia), 21-13
Round of 16 Matchups (Saturday, August 4):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Everton Lopes (Brazil), 18-15
Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan) def. Yakop Sener (Turkey), 16-8
Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan) vs. Mehdi Toluitibandpi (Iran), 19-10
Vincenzo Mangiacapre (Italy) def. Gyula Kate, 20-14
Tom Stalker (Great Britain) def. Manoj Kumar (India), 20-16
Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia) def. Richarno Colin (Mauritius), 15-12
Jeff Horn (Australia) def. Abderzarrak Houya (Tunisia), 17-11
Denys Berinchyk (Ukraine) def. Anthony Yigit, 24-23
Light Welterweight - Round of 32 Results (Tuesday, July 31):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Cesar Villarraga (Colombia), 20-9
Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan) def. Anderson Rojas (Ecuador) , 16-10
Yakop Sener (Turkey) def. Serge Aambomo (Cameroon) , 19-10
Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan) def. Jamel Herrring (USA) , 19-9
Mehdi Toluitibandpi (Iran) def. Jonathan Alonso (Spain), 16-12
Gyula Kate (Hungary) def. Eslam Mohamed (Egypt), 16-10
Manoj Kumar (India) def. Serdar Hudayberdiyev (Turkmenistan), 13-7
Richarno Colin (Mauritius) def. Abedelhak Aatakni (Morocco) , 16-10
Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia) def. Zdenek Chladek (Czech Republic), 20-12
Jeff Horn (Australia) def. Gilbert Choombe (Zambia), 19-5
Abderzarrak Houya (Tunisia) def. Gaybatulia Gadzhialiyev (Azerbaijan), 19-16
Anthony Yigit (Sweden) def. Francisco Vargas (Puerto Rico), 13-9
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter:
@JakeNDaBox
