Boxing giant is in the semifinals
Tiafack wins next German medal – only which one is still unclear
02.08.2024, 18:51
Nelvie Tiafack secures the medal the German boxing team was hoping for. The color of the medal has yet to be decided. The super heavyweight still has a lot planned. His role models are his mother and “Iron Mike”. After the Olympic Games, a big step could be on the horizon.
Nelvie Tiafack bowed confidently to the audience before the verdict was announced. After the medal for the super heavyweight at the Olympic boxing tournament was confirmed, the Cologne powerhouse flexed his muscles for the cameras. The 25-year-old can no longer be denied bronze after his unanimous point victory in the quarter-finals against the Italian Diego Lenzi.
In the semifinals next Wednesday, Tiafack will fight against Uzbek Bachodir Jalolow in the over 92 kilogram weight class for a place in the final and a chance at gold. The two losers of the semifinals will each receive bronze. “It’s a dream,” said Tiafack. “I’m very confident. I set myself relatively high goals. But I’m also realistic. There are people who have been doing this all their lives. But anyone who knows me knows that when I step into the ring, I want to win.”
Against Lenzi, Tiafack showed what sets him apart: From the first gong, he marched off in the Paris North Arena on the Villepinte exhibition grounds. This impressed the judges, four out of five saw him ahead after the first of three rounds. Nevertheless, trainer Lukas Wilaschek warned: “You can’t let him come. It doesn’t matter. You’re here.” The German fans in the arena chanted “Nelvie! Nelvie!” – and Tiafack delivered. Again, four out of five judges saw him as the better boxer in the second round. In the third round, Tiafack brought the victory over time.
First Olympic medal since 2016
For the German Boxing Association, it is the first Olympic medal since 2016, when Artem Harutyunyan won bronze in the light welterweight category in Rio de Janeiro. Tiafack is the last remaining German boxer at the Paris Games. Maxi Klötzer from Chemnitz and Magomed Schachidov from Munich were eliminated in the first round.
For Tiafack, the biggest success of his career was also a reward for many setbacks in the past. The 1.89 meter tall athlete, who weighs 110 to 120 kilograms depending on the preparation phase, had been repeatedly set back by injuries and fluctuations in form. Things are going well in Paris – the 2022 European champion had already felt it before leaving: “I go into every tournament with the expectation of being among the best.”
Role models: mother and Mike Tyson
He surprisingly missed the Olympics in Tokyo, even though he was seeded number one in the qualifying tournament. Tiafack made another attempt at Olympic honours – and is now being rewarded for it. He took his mother, who was cheering her son in the audience, and his great sporting idol Mike Tyson as role models, because: “Not many people have such a fighting spirit.”
The Cameroonian-born man also learned to fight his way through early on. He came to Germany alone with his mother, “I had no other option than to be strong.” He tried football and basketball, but it was only when he started boxing that he was able to channel his emotions in the right direction. His talent was evident early on, and at just 19 years of age he was crowned German champion in the elite class.
Switch to the pros after the Olympics?
The German heavyweight professional Agit Kabayel had already believed that Tiafack would win the Olympics in Paris before winning the quarter-finals. “I definitely think he can win gold,” the 31-year-old told the “Münchner Merkur/tz” media group. He brings an extremely high level of dynamism. “That is very interesting for the spectators.”
And that makes him interesting for the professional business. Tiafack would like to earn his money from boxing after the Olympics, and the now guaranteed Olympic medal should make the transition easier for him. Just like Harutyunyan before him, who lost a WBC lightweight world championship fight against the American Shakur Stevenson at the beginning of July. Kabayel believes that Tiafack will “present himself well” among the professionals. The Bochum native emphasized: “The Olympics are the perfect stage for the transition to the professional sector.”