PARIS — Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev and Lazizbek Mullojonov won gold on Friday as Uzbekistan took the lead in the boxing medal tally for the Paris Olympics, while Algeria’s Imane Khelif claimed victory in the women’s welterweight final. Muydinkhujaev beat Mexico’s Marco Verde in the men’s welterweight boxing final by unanimous decision. American Omari Jones and Lewis Richardson of Britain took bronze after their semi-final defeats.
In Friday’s bout, world champion Muydinkhujaev did well to keep out of range and then struck with venom whenever the Mexican attempted to bridge the gap as he took a comfortable lead heading into the final round. With his defeat all but guaranteed, Mexico’s Verde went in all guns blazing but he had left it too late and, despite winning the third round, Muydinkhujaev was declared the winner. Mullojonov also won gold, beating Azerbaijan’s Loren Alfonso, to add to Hasanboy Dusmatov’s flyweight win on Thursday, putting Uzbekistan ahead of China, who have two gold medals.
Uzbekistan can add two more gold medals to their tally if Abdumalik Khalokov (featherweight) and Bakhodir Jalolov (super heavyweight) win their respective finals on Saturday. Asked about Uzbekistan’s dominant showing in the boxing competition, Muydinkhujaev said: “We support each other. We respect each other.
We are not just a team, we are a family. “That is why we are so successful. We respect our coaches, they are like our fathers.
“My teammates still have to co.