Wyatt Sanford Secures Olympic Medal for Canada in Boxing

Big news from the boxing ring! Wyatt Sanford has guaranteed himself a medal at the Paris Olympics, making him the first Canadian boxer to earn an Olympic medal in 28 years.

After a thrilling quarterfinal match on Thursday, Sanford emerged victorious against Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev with a score of 4-1. He expressed his excitement, saying, “I’m on top of the world. We’re finally after 28 years of a drought, we’re bringing a medal home to Canada.”

Sanford is looking to bring home gold, with just two more wins needed to achieve that. He’s already secured a spot in the semifinals scheduled for Sunday. If he wins, he’ll get a shot at the gold medal; if not, he’ll leave with a bronze.

This is Sanford’s second Olympic appearance. Previously, in his debut at Tokyo 2020, he was knocked out in the first round. In this latest match, Sanford faced a tough start as Abdullaev took an early lead by winning three of five judges in the first round.

However, Sanford quickly adjusted his strategy. He explained how he figured out Abdullaev’s game plan, saying, “It took me a little bit of time in the first round to finally start placing the right hook, but once we were able to start doing it, it stopped him in his tracks.”

Now, Sanford plans to take some time to celebrate, especially when he sees his parents, before focusing on preparing for his semifinal match by reviewing film of his next opponent.

Canada has a rich history in Olympic boxing, having won 17 medals in total, but the last medal came when David Defiagbon won silver in 1996 in Atlanta.