PARIS — Oleksandr Khyzhniak was a minute away from winning an Olympic gold medal three years ago when he was rocked by a single miraculous punch. Khyzhniak went down, the fight was stopped and Tokyo’s most feared boxer had to settle for silver.
The Ukrainian middleweight decided to wait three years to get it right. Khyzhniak got his epic redemption Wednesday night at the Paris Games, finally wearing a gold medal around his neck, but only after paying for it with time, sweat and pain.
Khyzhniak defeated Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan 3-2 in a thrilling final at Roland Garros to secure the championship that eluded him in heartbreaking fashion in Tokyo. The fighters vented their anger on each other throughout three action-packed rounds, but Khyzhniak secured victory by dominating the final three minutes, which were filled with a dizzying array of hooks, combinations and power punches in an Olympic bout.
When Khyzhniak’s hand rose, the 29-year-old fell to his knees in catharsis. Despite being an obvious candidate to become a blue-chip professional, Khyzhniak put aside all other chapters of his life as he was determined to do what he couldn’t do in Tokyo.
Khyzhniak had spent the last three years brooding over his loss to Brazil’s Hebert Sousa, a fighter who clearly wasn’t the best middleweight in the substantial division in Tokyo. Khyzhniak led 20-18 on all five cards after two rounds in the gold-medal fight, meaning he only had to avoid a stoppage or a points deduction to win.
But Khyzhniak simply could not stop himself from relentlessly attacking. He knows no other way to fight than to throw as many blows as his arms can muster during nine minutes of bruising, bleeding pressure.
Khyzhniak continued to fight, and Sousa knocked him down with a punch that could only have been a lightning-fast knockdown in competition, but it was enough to convince the Olympic referee to stop the fight.
After the loss, Khyzhniak dedicated himself to returning to the Olympics, winning every amateur fight he had competed in since Tokyo. When the Olympics eliminated the 75-kilogram division that Khyzhniak had fought in in Tokyo, he moved up to 80 kilograms, now called middleweight.
Although he was arguably the most exhilarating competitor in his second Olympics, Khyzhniak was not over his head after four fights in Paris. He was tested in his first fights before reaching the semifinals against Arlen López, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba.
The veteran amateurs put on a memorable performance worthy of their combined star power, but Khyzhniak won another phenomenal third round. He simply kept putting pressure on López, who eventually ran out of strategy to keep the Ukrainian star at bay.
In the final, Khyzhniak faced a animated contender in the form of 24-year-old Oralbay, whose twin brother also fought in Paris. Oralbay had enough skill and punching power to challenge Khyzhniak, and the fighters were essentially even on the scorecards going into the third round.
And what a round it was.
Oralbay was bleeding from a gash near his right eye early in the third round, but the fighters continued to attack each other for three minutes, with all five judges favoring Khzyhniak, who repeatedly snapped Oralbay’s head back with precise hooks.
Khyzhniak became the second gold medalist at Roland Garros on Wednesday, joining Cuba’s Erislandy Álvarez. Álvarez beat Frenchman Sofiane Oumiha 3-2 in a thrilling lightweight bout, but failed to match the excitement and ferocity of Khyzhniak’s fight with Oralbay, who fights in a weight class smaller than his twin brother.
Earlier in the evening, Tokyo gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan defeated Nelvie Tiafack of Germany to move within one win of becoming the first two-time super heavyweight gold medalist in Olympic history. The 30-year-old Jalolov, a 14-0 professional, will fight for gold against Ayoub Ghadfa of Spain.
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