Shakur Stevenson held back most of the tears during his post-fight interview on NBC, but it clearly wasn't easy for him. Eventually, though, in the moments after losing the Olympic bantamweight boxing gold-medal bout by split decision, the 19-year-old from Newark, N.J., dropped his head onto his still-gloved hands and cried unreservedly.
Asked if he could find any satisfaction in earning a silver medal, Stevenson got out, "No. I don't like to lose."
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Until Saturday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro, Stevenson never had lost in an international bout, entering the ring at 26-0. He was the most promising American fighter in these Games, catching the attention and praise of none other than Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier in the competition. The gold-medal bout was all but sure to be his last as an amateur, with his prospects as a professional extremely high.
In a sense, Stevenson also was the most fortunate of the Americans, as others had gone down in controversial fashion amidst yet another Olympic boxing judges scandal that caused six judges to be sent home and others to be reassigned.
Stevenson reached the final when his Russian opponent pulled out of their semifinal Thursday because of injury. But he lost the gold to Cuba's Robeisy Ramirez, who took an action-filled third round on two of the three judges' cards after the fighters split the first two rounds.
"Much respect to him," Stevenson got out through his tears. "I just don't like to lose."
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Stevenson, left, vs. Ramirez. (Getty Images)
Ramirez, 22, was the Olympic flyweight gold medalist in London in 2012.
The loss ended the quest to get the U.S. its first men's boxing gold medal since Andre Ward's light heavyweight win in 2004 in Athens. Claressa Shields won gold in 2012 in London in the first-ever women's competition; she will fight to repeat as middleweight gold medalist on Sunday.
Ward is Stevenson's favorite fighter, and the current super middleweight champion tweeted his appreciation to Stevenson after the bout.
I'm so proud of Shakur Stevenson, the fight didn't go his way, but the character he showed in his post fight interview made me proud.
— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) August 20, 2016
As much as Stevenson wasn't ready to accept the honor, he did become the first U.S. fight to come home with a silver since Ricardo Williams and Rocky Juarez did it in 2000 in Sydney.
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That four-medal performance (with two bronzes) was the high-water mark of the 21st century for the U.S. boxers. Going into Rio, the American men have won three total medals since Sydney, including Ward's gold. They were shut out in London four years ago, for the first time since the sport was added to the Games, with only one fighter getting as far as the quarterfinals. (The women won gold and bronze.)
Stevenson is the second U.S. men's medalist in Rio. Light flyweight Nico Hernandez earned a bronze last week.