HIVILLEPINTE.- Prior to his quarter-final match, Marco Verde, from Mexicohe approached to hug his father Manuel, who whispered in his ear: ‘go for it’.
That’s what he did on Saturday night.
Verde was in trouble in the first round, but he recovered and defeated India’s Nishant Dev by split decision to secure at least a bronze medal for his country in the middleweight division. Paris Olympic Games.
Verde’s medal is the first in boxing for Mexico since Misael Rodríguez’s in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and the 14th in history.
The discipline is the second that has given the Aztec country the most medals in history, only surpassed by diving (16).
“There was a lot of pressure because boxing has always won medals and here I was able to add another one. I am very happy about that,” said Verde at the end of the fight. “This is in the past now. I don’t like to get complacent, I have a tough opponent coming up, there are no easy opponents.”
Verde will look to advance to the final when he faces British player Lewis Richardson next Tuesday at Roland Garros.
To do so, he will have to overcome discomfort in his right hand that has been brewing for months, but which worsened after his fight in the round of 16.
“There are so many tears right now, I can’t even speak,” said the 22-year-old fighter, emotionally.
The Mexican was surprised in the first round by Dev, but in the second he improved his defense and managed to land solid blows that helped him tie the fight. The third round was the most balanced, although the judges gave it to him to take the victory.
“I did things wrong in the first round, I was anxious to try to put pressure on, but the corner helped me and we came out well in the end,” he added.
Son of a cat hunts mouse
Verde has boxing in his veins because his father, Manuel Verde Ríos, competed in Barcelona 1992 in the light heavyweight division and lost in the first round.
“We came to get that medal, he has the ability to do it and he has already prepared to win it, we are just here to support him,” Verde Ríos told The Associated Press. “I never imagined this, but little by little it happened with work, effort and dedication.”
In addition to his father, Verde was accompanied in the fight by his mother Fabiola Álvarez, his uncles Raúl Verde, Ramón Morales and Rossy Álvarez, as well as his cousin Gael.
“I told myself that I was going to give a medal to my father, my grandmother and my coach,” said the boxer.
With one more win, Verde would be on track to become the first Mexican boxer to win a gold medal since Ricardo Delgado and Antonio Roldán, who won in Mexico in 1968.
Source: AP
