OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Brave Joshua strikes back for gold

By Ben Burrows, , London 2012

GREAT Britain’s Anthony Joshua produced a devastating display of aggressive boxing to fight back and claim the Olympic super heavyweight title at London 2012.

CHAMPION: Anthony Joshua took gold against Italy’s Robert Cammarelle with a storming third round performance

The London-born boxer, who won silver at the 2011 World Championships, used the home crowd to his advantage as he fought back to beat defending champion Roberto Cammarelle of Italy on countback.

And Joshua, who only took up the sport after the Beijing Games, was delighted to drag the fight back from the brink to claim gold – which was only confirmed after an appeal from the Cammarelle camp was rejected.

“Once again there are no easy fights in the Olympics,” he said.

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“I pulled it out the bag. My heart is still pumping with adrenaline. I’m just hyper right now.

“The third round is always a good round. I have the heart of a warrior and I never give up.”

The capacity crowd inside the ExCel has been one of the most vociferous at the Games and Joshua was full of praise for the part the atmosphere played in his victory.

“Again and again and again they have come out,” he added. “Today is a holy day and I am blessed.

“I feel the hearts of all the people here and around the nation. That medal represents my journey and my support from the team. It’s much more than just a gold medal – it’s a life experience and I’m just proud to have it around my neck.

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“It’s not just me, it’s for my fallen soldiers that made it and we all drag each other along to the top. Congratulations to the ten of us in Team GB, boys and girls.

“I want to gain more experience and keep on pushing. I have had 43 bouts and 40 wins – that is nothing, I want to keep on pushing as an amateur.”

After being second-best for the first two rounds the 22-year-old rallied to trade punch and counter-punch with the two-time world champion southpaw to tie the scores up at 18-18 before claiming the victory on countback.

Joshua became Team GB’s third male finalist – the first time since 1956 – after he produced a brave display to out-box Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko 13-11 in the semi-final.

The 22-year-old, who beat Cuba’s Erislandy Savon and China’s Zhilei Zhang on his way to the final, followed Team GB teammate Luke Campbell, who claimed bantamweight gold against John Joe Nevin of Ireland yesterday.

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Earlier fellow Brit Freddie Evans failed in his bid to claim London gold after being outclassed by Kazakhstan’s Serik Sapiyev 17-9 in the Olympic welterweight final.