Samuel Takyi has won a boxing bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Ghana’s first podium finish in 29 years, but his incredible Olympic journey came to an end in the semi-final at the hands of the USA’s Duke Ragan.
“The Golden Ring Warrior” has gone from unfancied selection on the Ghana team to featherweight podium glory, with more than 30 million people in his corner.
Up against a more experienced boxer in 23-year-old Ragan, Takyi once again left it all in the ring and pushed his opponent all the way, eventually losing out on a 4-1 split decision.
Takyi started strong, scoring on sharp jabs and using his height advantage, taking the first round 3-2.
But Round 2 went to Ragan, who was technically superior, then really turned it on early in the third, scoring with a bruising left-right combination and keeping Takyi from landing those rangy punches, working it inside.
The judges scored rounds two and three 4-1 meaning Duke will box for gold, while Takyi returns to Ghana a hero, bringing a bronze with him that represents Ghana’s first boxing medal since 1972 and their first in any sport since the football team won bronze at Barcelona ’92.
The 20-year-old Takyi defied all the odds at his debut Olympics, proving that there’s much more to come from this talented fighter.
He joins the pantheon of Ghanaian Olympic boxing greats Clement Quartey, a light welterweight who won silver in Rome in 1960, Eddie Blay a bronze light-welterweight medallist from Tokyo in 1964, and Prince Amartey who made history in Munch 1972.
Takyi’s road to the podium
In the preliminary round of 32 the young boxer received a bye, and was then drawn against Ecuador’s Jean Carlos Caicedo in his round of 16 bouts.
Too good for Caicedo, a unanimous decision took Takyi to the quarter-finals.
There he met Colombia’s 32-year-old southpaw David Ceiber Avila, taking two of three rounds against the more experienced fighter.
Ceiber Avila was eliminated at Rio 2016 before the medal rounds and was all out to make it count in Tokyo, a tenacious puncher that tested Takyi to the limit.
The Ghanaian bounced back from a first-round rout to win the final two, guaranteeing him at least a bronze medal and sparking off celebrations at home.
Duke Ragan was a step to far for Ghana’s rising star as he boxed for a shot at gold, but now he has a platform to build on, at 20 years of age he’s tall and slender, expect him to fill out and fight in heavier weight divisions in the future, with plenty of raw talent to develop.
Source: Olympics.com
