Evgeny Tishchenko must have pictured it a thousand times at least — stepping up to the podium to receive his gold medal as the Olympic heavyweight boxing champion.
And while he achieved that feat Monday after defeating Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Levit, it didn’t stop the crowd from unleashing a chorus of boos and jeers in his direction.
Most of those watching the final bout inside the Riocentro arena reacted in complete shock when all three judges scored the fight unanimously in Tishchenko’s favor.
He was booed at the medal ceremony by the crowd, while Levit was cheered by those who felt he had been harshly treated.
“I was whistled after the gong and I don’t know the reason for that … maybe it was not really fair,” Tischenko told reporters.
“I’m really upset about the reaction of the spectators. I didn’t think there were any claims with regards to the officiating from the referee.
“But if the referee made a bad decision and the officiating was not correct, then I will be very sad for Vassiliy.
“I think that if the referee gave the victory to me, there was a good reason to do so.”
While Levit was clearly upset by the outcome, he acted swiftly to urge the crowd to respect the medal ceremony by placing his finger to his lips and asking for quiet.
He told reporters that every fighter deserves respect — though he thought he had won the fight.
“In my head I was thinking I had won,” Levit said. “My coaches were quite happy with me and that I had done everything in my program for the fight, but you see how it ended up.
“I felt that I was winning the bout, but if the judges and the referee gave a different decision then they have good grounds to do so.”
Tischenko is not the first Russian athlete to be booed at the Rio Games.
Fans have made plain their feelings on the decision to let 271 of Russia’s 389 athletes compete despite a report accusing the country of “state-sponsored doping.”
But those boos failed to distract Tischenko who, despite appearing to spend most of the fight on the back foot, eventually came out on top.
While the judges had Levit just ahead after the first round, with two of them giving it to the 28-year-old, all three agreed that Tishchenko won the second.
Levit stepped up a gear in the third, with Tishchenko slipping and losing his balance.
The contest was halted temporarily by the referee after Tischenko suffered a cut.
But the 25-year-old, who returned after receiving treatment, negotiated the rest of the round to secure victory.
“It means a lot to me because I’ve been going for this result for all my life,” Tischenko added. “I am very happy with my victory.”
