Imane Khelif befuddled China's Yang Liu in the Olympic welterweight final, taking gold for Algeria via three-round unanimous decision at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday. All five judges gave the new champion every round.
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Khelif, as has been the case throughout the tournament, used adept lateral movement and stinging shots from the outside to keep her opponent at bay. Southpaw Yang did her best to press the attack, but she couldn’t make a serious impression.
The jab and a sharp right hand were signature shots in the opening round. It was noticeable that Khelif immediately adapted to her opponent’s southpaw stance, jabbing effortlessly over the top of Yang’s lead right hand and moving off to the right.
Yang put forth a much better effort in round two, pushing Khelif back and letting her hands go. However, despite the success she was made to pay coming in with some sharp counters, and a round that could have gone either way again went to the Algerian.
Notified by her team that she’d lost another round, Yang appeared disheartened at the beginning of round three. She forced the action again as the seconds ticked away, but Khelif knew victory was hers and boxed nicely on the backfoot.
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This is an incredible achievement for Khelif, who has not only defeated a string of world-class operators but has also overcome a litany of hate speech and discrimination throughout the tournament. The reward for all of that is gold for her country.
The Sporting News provided live updates and round-by-round scoring for this Olympic welterweight final.
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Imane Khelif vs. Yang Liu live updates, results, highlights from 2024 Olympics boxing gold-medal match
AND THE NEW OLYMPIC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION IS ALGERIA'S IMANE KHELIF. SHE WON ALL THREE ROUNDS ON ALL FIVE SCORECARDS. A TERRIFIC PERFORMANCE.
Round 3: Solid right - a signature punch - lands solidly. Yang appears desperate and knows she's behind. Nice double jab from Yang. The fighters clinch and the action gets scrappy. A big right from Khelif off the ropes. The Algerian is moving and knows gold is within touching distance. Khelif locates the angles and scores a right and a left. Yang is coming forward with her feet but not letting her hands go. Left hook counter over the Yang right jab by Khelif. She's surely just won an Olympic gold.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Khelif (30-27 Khelif)
Round 2: Solid attack by Khelif. Yang leaps in but is countered by the right. The Chinese star is behind right now and needs to find an answer. Jab scores from Khelif.. and again. Excellent right from the Algerian. Nice counter left from Yang and a quick combination on the inside. Right hand from Khelif. Very close round that could go either way. We favor Khelif.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Khelif (20-18 Khelif)
Round 1: Khelif jabs over the top of Yang's southpaw right lead. Nice left hand from Yang. Good distance control from Yang, who is moving well. The jab by Khelif. Left hook from Khelif... and a combination to body and head. Both fighters exchange and Khelif gets the best of it. Right to the body by the Algerian and Yang falls short on the counter. Judge
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Khelif
We now switch to round-by-round coverage for Imane Khelif vs. Yang Liu. At stake is the Olympic welterweight championship.
4:55 p.m. ET | 10:55 p.m. CEST: Mullojonov wins gold for Uzbekistan. The welterweight (66kg) final is next and the atmosphere inside Roland Garros Stadium is intense.
4:40 p.m. ET | 10:40 p.m. CEST: The men's heavyweight final is just about to commence. L.B. Alfonso Dominguez (AZE) takes on L. Mullojonov (UZB). This is the final bout before Khelif vs. Yang.
4:25 p.m. ET | 10:25 p.m. CEST: The medal ceremony for the men's welterweights has just been completed. Uzbekistan's Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev is overcome with emotion on the podium after receiving gold. Imane Khelif vs. Yang Liu will be live in less than 30 minutes.
3:30 p.m. ET | 9:30 p.m. CEST: Four Olympic finals are about to get underway. Imane Khelif vs. Yang Liu is the last bout on the schedule and will commence in roughly 80 minutes.
2:00 p.m. ET | 8:00 p.m. CEST: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of the Olympic welterweight final between Algeria’s Imane Khelif and China’s Yang Liu. We're in the countdown!!!