Review: Cubans will survive Kindelan farewell

ATHENS, Aug 30 (Reuters) -- Mario Kindelan stepped inside the ropes one last time on Sunday and then left the ring knowing that Cuba would continue to dominate Olympic boxing.

The 33-year-old, who stopped the amazing run of British teenager Amir Khan with a commanding display in Sunday's lightweight final, retires with his reputation as the world's best pound-for-pound amateur boxer intact.

The gifted Cuban, who has won three world titles in a brilliant career, resolutely defended the crown he had won in Sydney to take one of his team's five gold medals in Athens, one more than Cuba's tally from each of the last two Games.

"It's time to move on," said Kindelan, whose natural talent and competitive spirit have personified the best of Cuban boxing for years.

Kindelan, who will now coach Cuba's younger talents, was too clever for Khan but nevertheless predicted a bright future to the 17-year-old Briton, the revelation of the tournament.

"The English boxer is a tremendous fighter and if he does not turn professional, I think he will reign over this weight category for years," Kindelan said.

Cuba, whose dancing fighters only have the amateur stage to show off their skills, are still at the top and the decline predicted by their rivals has proved wishful thinking.

Right behind are Russia, who left with three gold medals and revealed a few exciting prospects, notably 20-year-old featherweight Alexei Tichtchenko.

ONE TITLE

Once the dominant force in Olympic boxing, the Americans claimed just one title but at least restored some pride. They had left Sydney without a single gold for the first time at Olympics in over 50 years.

The man who did it was light-heavyweight Andre Ward, who ended with a badly bruised right eye after outpointing Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus in a fierce contest.

"Hopefully we can be a powerhouse again and be something to be reckoned with," Ward said.

The Cubans look set to keep ruling amateur boxing but Kazakhstan's Bakhtiyar Artayev provided evidence that they were only human when he outpointed Lorenzo Aragon in the welterweight final before being named boxer of the tournament.

"They have two arms and two legs like everybody else," Frenchman Jerome Thomas said of the Cubans, which did not stop him from losing to one, Yuriorkis Gamboa, in Saturday's flyweight final.

An Olympic boxing tournament would not be complete without controversy and a few decisions were met by jeers from the fans at the Peristeri hall.

There were ugly scenes only once, after local hope Elias Pavlidis was stopped because of injury when leading on points against Egypt's Ahmed Ismail in a light-heavyweight quarter-final.

The crowd erupted and some angry home fans hurled plastic water bottles into the ring while Ismail left the hall running under deafening boos.

Greece lodged a protest which was turned down and relative calm returned but the incident reminded that boxing, although now an accepted member of the Olympic family, would never be the one with the most polished manners.

Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.