Luke Campbell sends crowd into raptures with Bantamweight gold medal

In the Bantamweight (56kg) final, it was the much anticipated showdown between Great Britain’s Luke Campbell and 23-year-old John Joe Nevin, which had the crowd on the edge of their seats right from the off.

The British southpaw landed a couple of good jabs and a quality right hook in a quality first round to edge it 5:3. The speed and reach of Campbell was causing Nevin quite some trouble, the Irishman getting caught early by a big left in a frenetic second but he composed himself and threw some sublime shots to take the round 5:4 and reduce his deficit by a point.

The finale was electric with the measured approached of Nevin seeing him hit his target early on, but then Campbell came back with a huge right and the orthodox fighter from Ireland was sent crashing to the canvas and he had to take a standing eight count. The crowd were chanting, “Campbell, Campbell”, in support of the home boxer, and the Brit responded with a sumptuous final round which saw him crowned Olympic Champion after winning the bout 14:11. He held back tears as he was declared the winner.

Campbell said later, "It is a dream come true, it is brilliant. I cannot describe the feeling, but I have got a gold medal and it feels very heavy. I am speechless. All the hard work, missing out on lots of things, it has been well worth it. I am so proud, for my family and Great Britain. The crowd were inspirational, 10,000 people shouting 'Campbell.' You cannot describe the feeling. It's once-in-a-lifetime to be part of the Olympics and represent Great Britain."

The two were then joined on the podium by Satoshi Shimizu of Japan and Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez Estrada, who both claimed bronze medals after making it to the semi-finals.

Source:  www.aiba-london2012.com/index.php/news/552-luke-campbell-sends-crowd-into-raptures-with-bantamweight-gold-medal