Joshua strikes gold
5:33pm Sunday 12th August 2012 in London Olympics 2012 - Latest News
Joshua celebrates his win
Anthony Joshua rounded off Britain's most successful boxing performance at a Games for over 100 years in dramatic fashion as he claimed super-heavyweight gold on countback.
Amid extraordinary scenes at ExCeL, Joshua blazed out for the final round against Italy's reigning champion Roberto Cammarelle, and after the pair had exchanged bombs for three minutes, the decision for Joshua - after an 18-18 draw - brought the house down.
Joshua had started well but walked into too many big right hands from the Italian, who went into the last round with a three point lead to force a furious finale.
Joshua told BBC1: "No easy fights in these Olympics and I've pulled it out of the bag."
A sell-out crowd roared Joshua to victory, and he said of them: "Again and again and again they've come out. Sunday is a holy day and I was blessed.
"The hearts of all these people out here, around the nation. That medal represents my journey and the support from the team. It's much more than just a gold medal, it's a life experience and I'm just proud to have it round my neck."
There will now be talk of Joshua going into the professional ranks, but he insisted he still had much to learn, saying: "I want to gain more experience and just keep on pushing.
"I've had 43 bouts, 40 wins, that's nothing. I just want to keep on pushing.
"As an amateur, I'm still an amateur for now."
The 22-year-old also paid tribute to his fellow boxers in Team GB, saying: "It's not just me, it's my fallen soldiers and the ones that made it and we all drag each other along. Team GB, it comes to the 10 of us, three girls and seven boys."
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