Olympia Boxer Nelvie Tiafack
“I walk with my head held high and with bronze”
Status: 01:36 am | Reading time: 4 minutes
Nelvie Tiafack can console herself with bronze
Source: dpa/Sina Schuldt
Olympic gold in the super heavyweight division is a prestigious achievement. Nelvie Tiafack from Cologne would have loved to follow in the footsteps of big boxing stars, but lost in the semi-finals. But no German has ever won bronze either. He says: “My mom is my role model.”
Here you can listen to our WELT podcasts
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this at . You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.
When Nelvie Tiafack climbed out of the ring, the Cologne giant looked completely exhausted. “I did my best, I can’t ask for more from myself,” he said shortly after his semi-final in the super heavyweight division. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the final, but I’m leaving here with my head held high. I lost to the best. And nobody can take my bronze medal away from me.”
The 25-year-old lost to Tokyo Olympic champion Bakhodir Jalolov from Uzbekistan by unanimous decision. Tiafack had already secured bronze before the first gong, as the semi-final losers shared third place at the Olympics. “He is not an Olympic champion for nothing. I showed no respect, I countered many of his punches,” said Tiafack about Jalolov. In his next sentence he already gave a glimpse into the future: “The three rounds,” said Tiafack, “were simply not enough.”
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, he lacked the courage to pull off a surprise against the dominant favorite, who, in addition to his Olympic victory, also celebrated two world championship titles in the amateur category and has already fought 14 professional matches – all of which he won by knockout.
Here you will find content from third parties
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this at . You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.
Tiafack had dreamed of gold, but Jalolov was too strong. It remains a great success: For the German Boxing Association, it is the first Olympic medal ever in the super heavyweight division and the first medal 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.
He wanted to do it like Lewis, Klitschko and Co.
For Tiafack, it will most likely be his last fight as an amateur. The 2022 European champion is planning to turn professional. If he had won the Olympics, the marketing opportunities for the 1.89 meter tall athlete with a fighting weight of 110 kilograms would have been significantly greater.
also read
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. And yet that was exactly his great hope. “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.”
Nelvie Tiafack (l.) fights against Bakhodir Jalolov for a place in the final
Source: dpa/Sina Schuldt
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.
Tiafack: “I will be a very interesting fighter”
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, who watched his Olympic fights in Paris, “so I had no other option than to be strong.”
also read
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.” But his real role model is someone else: “My role model for my life is my mom,” he tells WELT. “I owe her everything. My dad died young, I came to a new country alone with her, she did everything on her own. It wasn’t easy. She made me who I am today.”
If his professional career doesn’t work out, Tiafack has already built up a second career. He and a friend founded a car rental company. He never wanted to be dependent on sport. But Plan A is very clear: become a professional. The atmosphere in front of 14,000 spectators in the legendary tennis stadium gave him a taste of what it’s like. “I love fighting in front of such a big audience,” he says. “And then as a professional with more rounds – I’ll be a very interesting fighter.”
