When Nelvie Tiafack climbed out of the ring disappointed, the Cologne giant looked completely exhausted. The German boxer missed the Olympic final in the super heavyweight division and had to settle for the bronze medal. The 25-year-old lost his semi-final against Tokyo Olympic champion Bakhodir Jalolov from Uzbekistan by unanimous decision on points. Tiafack had already been assured of bronze before the first bell, as the semi-final losers share third place at the Olympics.
“He has beaten everyone. He is not an Olympic champion for nothing. I showed no respect, I countered many of his punches. I did my best, I can’t ask for more from myself,” Tiafack said on ZDF about Jalolov. The German explained that he did not make it to the final mainly by his opponent’s strong performance. “I am satisfied with my own performance, but not with the result, of course.”
First boxing medal since 2016
In front of around 14,000 spectators in the Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Stade Roland Garros, where the big tennis matches of the French Open usually take place, Tiafack lacked the courage to pull off a surprise against the clear favorite.
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For the German Boxing Association, it is the first Olympic medal ever in the super heavyweight division and the first precious metal since 2016, when Artem Harutyunyan won bronze in the light welterweight division in Rio de Janeiro. Maxi Klötzer from Chemnitz and Magomed Schachidov from Munich were eliminated in the first round.
For Tiafack, it was probably his last fight as an amateur. The 2022 European champion is planning to switch to the professional ranks. In the event of an Olympic victory, the marketing opportunities for the 1.89 meter tall athlete with a fighting weight of 110 kilograms would have been significantly greater.
“Set my goals high”
Tiafack can no longer follow in the footsteps of boxing superstars such as Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, who all became Olympic champions in the prestigious weight class. But that was exactly his plan. “I have a lot of confidence in myself. I set my goals relatively high,” Tiafack said after his quarter-final victory. “Anyone who knows me knows that when I step into the ring, I want to win. I will always show that.”
But it wasn’t quite enough to make it to the final, and the defeat on points was clear. The bronze medal is still the biggest success in the career of the Cameroonian, who started boxing at the age of 15. His talent was recognized early on at SC Colonia 06. At the age of 19, he was already crowned German champion in the elite class. But injury concerns and weight problems kept holding him back.
His love of sweets meant that he often carried around ten or twelve kilograms too much. He now eats healthier and more consciously, which makes him more explosive and agile in the ring.
He never lacked willpower in the ring. He also had to fight his way through early on in real life. He came to Germany alone at the age of eight with his mother Josephine (“I owe everything to her”), who followed his Olympic fights in Paris, “so I had no other option than to be strong.”
He tried football and basketball, but it was only when he started boxing that he was able to channel his emotions in the right direction. His sporting role model is Mike Tyson, “not many people have such a fighting spirit.”
If his professional career doesn’t work out, Tiafack has already built up a second career. He and his friend founded a car rental company. “I never wanted to be dependent on sport. In boxing, anything can happen any day,” he told Sky. “If I were dependent on it, my sporting career or my life would hang by a thread.”
