Whittaker tried to keep the final at long-range but Lopez forced the matter and connected with his opponent far more frequently in the opening round. The Briton had his share of success in the next two rounds but, in the eyes of four of the five judges, the opposition wasn’t enough.
The favourite for gold was the reigning world champion, Bekzad Nurdauletov of Kazakhstan, but he had the misfortune of drawing the experienced Russian Imam Khatayev for his first opponent and was dispatched via a judges’ decision. The surprises continued in the top half of the draw with Khataev eventually having to settle for the bronze medal after being frustrated by the defensive skills of Ben Whitaker of Great Britain in the semi-finals. The second semi-final produced a clash between two Cuban-born fighters in 2016 Olympic middleweight champion Arlen López, representing his homeland, and his old rival, Loren Alfonso, now competing for Azerbaijan. Lopez reprised his wins from Cuban domestic events before and after the Rio Olympics with a clear points decision.
CUB
GBR
ROC
AZE
ESP
BRA
MEX
TUR
KAZ
AUS
CHN
EGY
ALG
CRO
GHA
UZB
MAR
TJK
COL
VEN
JOR
IRL
