Russia Takes Two Silvers in Boxing

Russians Nadezhda Torlopova and Sofia Ochigava conceded first place medals to American and Irish boxers to take silver.

America's 17-year-old prodigy Claressa Shields took the inaugural Olympic gold in the women's middleweight boxing tournament on Thursday. Shields pounded her Russian opponent and No. 2 seed Nadezhda Torlopova, nearly twice her age at 33, to win by a score of 19 points to 12. Shields produced a display of fiery aggression that trumped Torlopova's guile, buzzing around the ring to land blows before the Russian could react.

"I think the silver medal is a success for me," Torlopova said. "Everything was fair because I had a good, strong opponent. I am happy to have my family with me as it doesn't matter to them if it's silver or gold."

Torlopova moved down two weight classes to compete in London since winning gold at the world championships in 2010. Shields carried the momentum through to the bell to become the second-youngest Olympic boxing champion in history.

Second Olympic silver came from Sofia Ochigava. Irish boxer Katie Taylor won Olympic gold Thursday, beating Russia’s Sofia 10-8 in a close final in the women’s lightweight category.

The raucous Irish support was a factor in Taylor's win, Ochigava said. "It was difficult to fight when everything is against you," she said "There's a lot of support for Katie but I imagined that all of them are supporting me. I wanted to get the gold. It seemed I could do almost anything but it wasn't enough."

Women's boxing is making its debut in the Olympics this year. Bouts consist of four two-minute rounds, as opposed to the three three-minute rounds for the men. Earlier in the day, Britain’s Nicola Adams became the first woman to win gold in Olympic boxing, pummeling China’s Ren Cancan in the final of the flyweight division.

Combined news from RIA Novosti.

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