Repeating history. Every son who is dedicated to the same profession as his father has the goal of at least matching what he has achieved. However, when your father is a two-time Olympic medallist, things get quite complicated. Rafa Lozano Jr. (19 years old) is now closer to dreaming of approaching the list of achievements of the current Spanish boxing coach. The 54-year-old from Cordoba won bronze in Atlanta 1996 and silver in Sydney 2000. The last of the twelve-string sport was achieved by Spain at the Olympic Games. His son is now one victory away from securing a medal in Paris 2024 after defeating the Australian Yusuf Chothia, fifth seed.
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JESUS ALVAREZ ORIHUELA DAILY AS
Dressed in blue and with a broad smile on his face, Rafa stepped out into the ring at the Nord Paris Arena, in the presence of legendary figures such as Gervonta Davis, Gennady Golovkin and Oleksandr Usyk. His opponent was waiting for him with a serious expression. The bell rang and he got down to business. First round and the Spaniard took the centre of the ring. Agile movement of his legs and quick arms to start adding points. Chothia was warned by the Argentine referee for an uppercut when they were locked in a fight. The three minutes ended and the five judges (Canadian, Uzbek, Iranian, Moroccan and Algerian) gave the Spaniard a clear advantage. He had to continue. Chothia took a step forward, always with his guard down. Something that Rafa took advantage of to hit almost continuously. The Australian did not know how to enter Lozano’s guard, very fast in his movements. Again, four judges saw the Spaniard better, only the Canadian seemed to be watching another fight.
There were three minutes left to go until the quarter-finals. Lozano had to hold on, he was very close to making it to the quarter-finals. Chothia was desperate, he knew he had lost the fight. But Lozano was calm and kept coming with his right and surprising from time to time with left hooks. Up and down. And skilfully dodging the Aussie’s attacks. End. Kiss on the forehead from father to son. All that was left to confirm was what everyone had seen, Rafa Lozano’s victory. The Spaniard’s right arm raised high by the referee. Undisputed victory. One more and he will be sure to hang a medal (2 August, 16:50). Like Reyes Pla (1 August, 13:08), like Ayoub Ghadfa (2 August, 22:24). Three Spaniards have a chance of a medal, and José Quiles is still missing (tomorrow, 11:16). His rival will be Dominican Yunior Alcántara, fourth in the ranking.
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JESUS ALVAREZ ORIHUELA DAILY AS
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“Whenever I box, I am very sure of myself because I know all the work I have done. I try to give that feeling of calm. I don’t know if I will have another opportunity like this, so I have to take advantage of it. For me, every fight is just another one, I don’t think about the importance of being in the Games. I am one victory away from a medal, very happy. My father is doing a great job with the National Team, he already did it as a boxer and now as a coach. I am very proud of him and I get something extra from seeing him in my corner. Without him it wouldn’t be the same,” Lozano Jr. told the media, including AS.
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Rafa Lozano. after the fight.DANIEL IRUNGUEFE
At least as proud as Junior was Rafa Lozano Muñoz. “He has taken advantage of every mistake made by his rival. We have come for a medal, he only wants the gold. He has done a great job, he has fought very intelligently. I am very proud of him. I have a hard time with everyone, but obviously Rafa is my son and he is an extra suffering”, he said happily. Balita is no longer, right? “No, he is not a cannon (laughs). He throws very hard blows, like a heavyweight. He already has what I achieved in my first Games, in Barcelona, the diploma. He has already equalled my debut. Let’s hope he skips that debut and goes straight to the medal”. As a coach, the situation in Paris is very exciting. Three boxers one fight away from the medal. Lozano responds to AS: “We have been working seriously for some time now, measuring ourselves against the best in all possible championships and we are achieving very good results. But there is still a long way to go, we have to take the honours. In Tokyo we were hoping to win medals and we came up empty. There is an opportunity, of course, but we have to make it happen. It’s boxing and you don’t know what can happen.”
