Canada’s Sanford takes home bronze in Olympic men’s 63.5-kilogram boxing

PARIS — If this was his last fight ever, Wyatt Sanford can leave boxing with his head held high.

The boxer from Kennetcook, N.S., lost his semifinal bout in the 63.5-kilogram category to France’s Sofiane Oumiha, but still captured bronze for Canada’s first Olympic boxing medal in 28 years.

Four of the five judges scored the fight 29-28 in Oumiha’s favour, while the other had Sanford winning by the same score.

“Super happy that we were able to win a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. Not the outcome we wanted today, but it was a great performance,” Sanford said. “(Oumiha) is a great fighter, great boxer and he executed his game plan.

“Even though we lost, I’m happy with the performance.”

There are two bronze medals in boxing, meaning those who made it to the semifinals were guaranteed a spot on the podium. That meant the 25-year-old Sanford had already sewn up Canada’s first Olympic boxing medal since David Defiagbon’s heavyweight silver in Atlanta in 1996.

Canadian head coach Vincent Auclair said that bodes well for the future of the sport in the country.

“For Canadian boxing, it gives us a boost,” he said. “We’ll try to build on it. We have a lot of boxers coming up, in Wyatt’s category and below.”

Sanford was a favourite in the tournament as the top seed in his weight class, but faced a tough challenge against the fourth-seeded Oumiha at Paris-Nord arena.

Oumiha is an experienced boxer, and it showed. The three-time world champion (2017, 2021, 2023) and 2016 Olympic silver medallist landed a number of jabs in the opening round.

Sanford even received an eight-count after one of Oumiha’s powerful punches.

“The speed made it difficult,” Sanford said. “We know he’s got a great jab and he throws it a lot, it just took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to actually get the timing of it.”

Auclair believed there was a lack of concentration in following Oumiha’s lateral movements.

“We were chasing him,” he said. “He changed direction, and we were getting hit.”

Sanford, who trains under Auclair and Samir El-Mais in Montreal, made necessary adjustments in the second round.

His strong combinations had Oumiha’s head snap violently backward on a few occasions, which usually results in an eight-count in amateur boxing. But Sri Lankan referee Nelka Thampu didn’t react, and Oumiha ultimately won the favour of the judges.

“I would have thought that from what we’ve seen in the tournament so far, when we have a close first round and then a tight second round, if we can give a little more, it’s a tie after two,” Auclair said.

“It’s a matter of perception. We thought we had done enough to convince at least three judges.”

Sanford made it a close match by winning the third round on four of the five judges’ scorecards, but the Canadian ran out of time to build on that momentum.

“When a boxer who’s that skilled is in front of you, it’s hard to get that knockout shot. So just go out there, give 100 per cent and let the outcome be,” Sanford said of his approach later in the bout.

Oumiha will fight for gold Wednesday against Erislandy Alvares Borges of Cuba.

Sanford defeated Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev in the quarterfinals after opening with a win over Bulgaria’s Radoslav Rosenov.

The reigning Pan American Games champion said after winning his quarterfinal fight that he wanted to bring a gold medal back to Kennetcook. He’ll be bringing back bronze instead, and he is fine with that.

“It was great to have some support in the stadium from Canadians. It was great to have the support from back home in Kennetcook,” he said.

“I can’t wait to get back there to celebrate the bronze medal with my family and friends who have been there for me since day one. It’s fantastic to be able to give them something back for all that support over the years.”

Along with celebrating, Sanford plans to use some time off to heal.

The boxer revealed after his bronze-medal match that he has been dealing with a serious hand injury since last fall.

“I ruptured the tendons in my thumb before Pan Am Games. I competed (at the Games) with the ruptured tendons, I was able to win it but afterwards, I wasn’t really able to use my hand at all and up until April I wasn’t even hitting a heavy bag,” he said.

Sanford said a specialist suggested surgery last month, but it would have to wait.

“(It was) painful… but definitely well worth it,” he said.

He said he doesn’t know if he will continue in professional boxing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2024.

Frédéric Daigle, The Canadian Press