Tokyo Olympics 2021: Harry Garside claims boxing lightweight bronze after semifinal defeat
Harry Garside has broken Australian boxing’s wretched run without a medal - with a bronze great reward for a fighter who at a time didn’t know if he’d even be in Tokyo.
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Harry Garside has his medal. Now, he wants his respect after putting Australian boxing on the map once again at the Olympics.
The 24-year-old Australian secured an Olympic bronze – the first medal in boxing for the nation in 33 years – despite dropping to a unanimous decision defeat to pound-for-pound Cuban star Andy Cruz in the semi-finals of the lightweight tournament.
“I always believed,” Garside said of his place among the best.
“Doesn’t matter if anyone else believed it – but I believed it.
“Hopefully now the boxing community is starting to look at me and maybe just show a bit more respect. Just say, ‘Hey, that’s Harry Garside – we’ve got to think about what we’re doing now.’
“I don’t think I got that before.”
Garside was part of an Australian boxing team largely overshadowed in the lead-up to the Games by Justis Huni, who was sold as the nation’s best medal hope in the promotion of his pay-per-view showdown with Paul Gallen, before injury cruelled the heavyweight’s Olympic dream.
Without Huni, the question was simple: who could win a medal in Tokyo? That pressure only got larger after Skye Nicolson’s defeat left the nation with just one more name to cheer for. Good thing Garside loves a bit of pressure.
After beating Papua New Guinea’s John Ume in the opener, Garside dealt with No.2 seed Jonas Jonas from Namibia, before leaving it all on the line to beat Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin.
Leading into the Cruz fight, Garside said he’d bring his “dancing shoes” against a fighter who was more performer than bludgeoner. In the end, Cruz was the only one dancing after winning all three rounds on all five judges’ scorecards. Cruz skipped around the ring, in and out in a flash. Garside, brave as ever, left it all in there; surviving a standing count in the third.
“Just a little bit heartbroken,” Garside said.
“We’re athletes, we want the best. He just outclassed me today – he’s too good. I’ll just have to go back to the drawing board … and three years’ time in the Paris Olympics, let’s hope I can do better.”
Cruz might very well be the best pound-for-pound amateur boxer in the world. His win on Friday was the 111th of his career in just 119 fights and the 26th consecutive time he’s had his hand raised.
The defeat brought an end to an incredible journey for Garside, who at a time didn’t know if he’d be in Tokyo after missing out on automatic qualification. After two defeats at the start of last year, Garside ultimately received a quota spot based on his ranking to earn a place on the plane. Everything he’s done since has been to prove he belongs on the biggest stage.
“I really pushed the limits of what I was capable of,” Garside said.
“Who would have thought that a boy from Lilydale was going to win a bronze medal at the Olympics?”
Guaranteed bronze but Garside only wants gold
Australian boxer Harry Garside knows the nation loves an underdog story.
So, on Friday when he takes on Cuba’s Andy Cruz for a place in the gold medal showdown, he plans to leave everything in the ring.
The 24-year-old from Lilydale is already guaranteed an Olympic medal — the first in 33 years for Australia — regardless of result.
But he’s chasing the top prize, like he claimed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with a pound-for-pound star standing in his way.
“I’ve always wanted to fight him — he’s (Cruz) the best in the world,” Garside told News Corp ahead of his lightweight semi-final.
“I want to see where I am against him.
“I want to see how I stack up against him.
“And I want to see if I can beat him.”
Garside understands he may be required to dig deep into his bag of tricks against an opponent who quite simply makes good boxers look not-so-good. Cruz, only 25, already has 110 amateur wins to his name. From 118 fights. Garside, for perspective, has won 19 fights in 34 outings.
Cruz is the No.3 seed in Tokyo. But really, he’s the man to beat. And no-one has managed that in 25 straight fights.
“The reality is, he has paved the way to be where he is and have the recognition he has,” Garside said.
“He deserves all the credit he has. He’s an exceptional athlete and he’s pound-for-pound one of the best in amateur boxing. To be honest, I’m going to have to pull the (rabbit) out of the hat.”
But don’t mistake Garside’s honest assessment as any sort of early concession. He plans to win. Like he has three times already inside the Kokugikan Arena.
Garside outclassed Papua New Guinea’s John Ume in his opener, dispatched No.2 seed Jonas Jonas from Namibia, before squeezing past Kazakh Zakir Safiullin to book a place in the final four.
The win over Safiullin felt like a hometown fight for Garside, who had a massive Aussie contingent — that included athletes and staff — cheering him on. It was a testament to Garside’s popularity in the village.
“I always just try my best to be a good human and talk to people,” he said. “The reality is, I still feel like an ordinary kid from Lilydale.”
That ordinary kid has an extraordinary task ahead of him, though. And after a day off on Wednesday to rest up, he went back to work to prepare for it on Thursday.
“He must make people believe that he can be hit,” Garside said of what makes Cruz just so good.
“Everyone always tries to hit him in his head. Everyone always goes for it – he must lure them in with traps. And you can never really hit him with a clean, flush shot without getting one or two back.”
“It’s poetry in motion,” according to Garside, who has stolen headlines previously for his ballet training, which is a small part of his overall preparation.
“He’s more of a dancer than he is a boxer, and I can’t wait to bring my dancing shoes on Friday.”
‘I ONLY WANT GOLD’: AUSSIE BREAKS 33-YEAR BOXING HOODOO
It’s been 33 years since an Australian won a medal in boxing at the Olympics. On Tuesday night, Harry Garside guaranteed that drought would come to an end in Tokyo.
And if you ask him, the job’s far from over.
SCROLL DOWN: MOMENT THAT SET GARSIDE ON PATH TO OLYMPICS
“I only want gold,” Garside said after earning the tightest of split decision victories over Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin to book a place in the semi-finals, where win or lose, he’ll take home a medal.
In boxing, the losing semi-finalists are both awarded bronze with there being too-little time to physically recover from defeat and fight again in a third-place playoff.
It was a painful wait in the middle of the ring for the two lightweights before the winner was read out inside the Kokugikan Arena.
Garside, who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, knew the history of Australian boxers at the Olympics. From a small boxing nation, that has never won gold, he wouldn’t have been the first to lose a close fight on the judges’ scorecards.
Going into the final round, Garside was up 20-18 on two scorecards and down 20-18 on two others. Only one judge had the fight split at 19-19. The deciding judge, from Morocco, sided with Garside in the third as the Australian, in the blue corner, was declared the winner.
“A thousand things,” Garside of what was going through his mind.
“I know Kazakhstan is an extremely good boxing nation and Zakir showed up to fight, and I knew it was really close … I thought I may have edged it, and it was almost like time stood still for a little bit.”
Garside becomes the first since Grahame ‘Spike’ Cheney in 1988 to bring home a medal for Australia in boxing.
Cheney won silver. Garside wants gold.
While no fans were allowed inside to watch the fight, Garside had plenty of support as a massive group of Australians, including swim star Cate Campbell, sat in the stands, cheering every punch the popular 24-year-old threw.
Garside got off to what look like the perfect start when he gave a little fist bump at the close of the first. So, he was just as surprised as those watching on when three judges sided with his Kazakh opponent.
“I would have just kept boxing the way I was boxing, and I probably would have lost the fight,” Garside said of the benefit of open scoring.
The next two rounds were as tight as it gets, but Garside edged both 3-2 on the scorecards.
The win puts Garside one win away from the gold medal fight, but also sets him up with a semi-final showdown against one of the best pound-for-pound amateurs in the world.
Cuba’s Andy Cruz booked his place in the final four with his 25th straight win, and the 109th victory of his career. And while Garside has already dealt with one seeded opponent, he knows the test Cruz presents.
“I’m just grateful I can share a ring with him,” Garside said. “I really think if I listen to coach, trust in my instinct, and trust in my ability, I can get the job done. It’s going to be hard, but it’s the semi-finals of the Olympics. You can’t expect it to be easy.”
‘TEARING UP’: MOMENT THAT SET AUSSIE BOXER ON PATH TO OLYMPICS
Australian boxing’s last medal hope Harry Garside was sitting at the border of New South Wales and Victoria when he found out he was going to Tokyo.
It was February, and Garside, from Melbourne, had loaded his car with anything he might need; not willing to risk being locked down with his place at the Olympics still up in the air.
That’s when the message came from head coach Kevin Smith.
“I was by myself and I just dropped to the ground and started tearing up,” Garside told News Corp of the moment he discovered he was in.
After failing to make the cut in 2016, the 24-year-old lost twice at the Asian qualifiers at the start of 2020 to miss out on automatic qualification for Tokyo, before the world qualifiers were cancelled due to COVID-19. So, instead of winning his way to seat on a plane, Garside ultimately received a qualification quota spot based on his ranking.
“It was a bittersweet moment,” he said. “It’s not the way I wanted to qualify, and that’s the first thing I said. I said to myself and my mum as well. I just made sure I trained my arse off. I wanted that gold medal and to prove that I’m supposed to be here.”
Inside the Kokugikan Arena, Garside has proved he belongs. In his lightweight opener,
Garside outclassed Papua New Guinea’s John Ume. Then, he dealt with No. 2 seed Jonas Jonas from Namibia in surprisingly comfortable fashion on Saturday.
His win over Jonas secured his passage to the quarter-final, where he’ll face Kazakh Zakir Safiullin for a place in the final four, and a guaranteed medal (in boxing, both losing semi-finals are awarded bronze).
And while that’s exciting for all of us watching on, a win on Tuesday would simply represent another step in the right direction for Garside, who has his eyes on only one prize.
“If you’re not first, you’re last,” Garside made clear. “I came here for gold. And to be honest, if I receive silver or bronze, I will be disappointed.”
Safiullin isn’t seeded, but Garside isn’t expecting anything easy from an opponent 10 years his senior. The 34-year-old Kazakh progressed after a walkover but was cut in his opening fight.
Garside won’t be looking for an easy way out, though.
“The reality is I want to beat him on my skill. I don’t want to beat him because of a cut,” he said. “I know I can beat him on my skill. I hope he’s fit and healthy, and I hope he comes to fight because I’m going to beat him at his best.”
Garside is back in the ring on Tuesday at 7.35pm (AEST).
WHY DID OLYMPIC COACH SLAP ATHLETE?
A coach shaking and slapping his athlete went viral yesterday forcing the competitor to issue an explanation.
Video showed German athlete Martyna Trajdos cop two slaps and a hefty shaking before she competed.
But Trajdos explained the ritual on Instagram: “Don’t worry guys! That’s the ritual which I chose before fights. My coach is just doing what I want him to do to fire me up!
“I wish I could have made a different headline today.
“As I already said that’s the ritual which I chose pre competition! My coach is just doing what I want him to do to fire me up!”
HE BIT HIS EAR! BOXER’S OUTRAGEOUS MIKE TYSON MOVE
A moment of madness has shocked the Olympic boxing tournament after Morocco’s Youness Baalla attempted to bite New Zealand’s David Nyika’s ear during their bout.
The Kiwi was in complete control – winning 5 – 0 – when the frustration proved too much for Baalla who attempted to bite his ear in the final round amid a barrage of foul play.
“He wouldn’t exchange properly; he ducked his head, he bit me, he hit me below the belt,” Nyika said.
“I didn’t think he’d get away with it. He tried to bite my cheekbone … he probably just got a mouthful of sweat,” Nyika said.
“He didn’t get a full mouthful. Luckily he had his mouthguard in and I was a bit sweaty … But, c’mon man, this is the Olympics, get your sh*t together.
“He’s been on the scene for a while, but he’s usually a calm, composed character. That happened and I was like, ‘I thought we were having fun’, but he clearly wasn’t.
“My bad. I told him after, ‘it’s OK’. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t too chuffed. That was foul play.”
Nyika’s coach Billy Meehan was furious anyone would attempt this at such a high level.
“Not at this level. You don’t expect to see that. You don’t expect to get that and David handled it brilliantly,” he told Sky.
Nyika is one fight away from securing New Zealand’s first boxing medal since 1992.
Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2021: Harry Garside claims boxing lightweight bronze after semifinal defeat
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