Tokyo 2020 Olympics – GB’s Ben Whittaker denied gold by two-weight champion Arlen Lopez

ByEurosport

Updated 04/08/2021 at 10:05 GMT

It wasn’t meant to be for Whittaker, who did Britain proud by running the Rio middleweight champion close. But after failing to convince the judges in an impressive second round, he had too much to do in the third. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+

Arlen Lopez defeated Ben Whittaker via split decision to win gold in the light heavyweight final at the Tokyo Olympics.

Whittaker showed some classy moves in an entertaining clash, but Lopez was also excellent and boxed intelligently through-out.

Lopez adds another gold to his collection having won the middleweight category in Rio five years ago while Whittaker calls time on his impressive amateur career with a silver medal.

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The West Brom man has been oozing with confidence through-out these Games and Whittaker immediately went to work off his jab, and was quick enough to slip and dodge Lopez’s early shots.

Lopez was urging Whittaker to trade, but the Brit continued to box at distance and made a point of responding whenever his opponent did connect.

A close opening round went in the favour of Lopez with every judge siding with the 28-year-old Cuban.

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“Stick to the brief, just got to throw the shots, Ben,” was the message from Whittaker’s corner after a close opening.

Whittaker’s tactics in the first round may have been easy on the eye, but the Brit needed to up his work-rate with Lopez knowing just how to win over the judges.

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Lopez was still missing and Whittaker was now firing off more often, repeatedly going to the body with some sharp jabs.

The final 30 seconds saw Whittaker finish strongly and the 24-year-old landed a nice four-punch combination to the body and head.

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But it wasn’t enough to convince the judges who returned scorecards 4-1 in favour of Lopez and now Whittaker needed a host of 10-8s in the third round to have any hope of victory.

Lopez had only lost one round at Tokyo 2020 before the final and the number three seed just needed to be smart in the final three minutes.

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Whittaker decided against going for broke in the last round and the final scorecards were no surprise as Lopez won via split decision.

While Lopez celebrated becoming a two-weight Olympic champion, Whittaker broke down in tears as he left the arena, with the Brit now poised to go into the pro ranks.

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