Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba was outclassed by Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia in the men's bantam (54kg) final on Sunday. [XInhua]

Cuba's hopes of boxing gold medals were dented again as their boxer Yankiel Leon Alarcon was outclassed by Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia in the men's bantam (54kg) final of the Beijing Games boxing event on Sunday.

Enkhbat, 23, withstood a comeback from the Cuban en route to the 16-5 victory, which brought the first gold medal of the event and the second overall for Mongolia.

"I'm very happy. Tomorrow I'll go back home and tell my family all my stories from the competition," Enkhbat, Best Athlete of 2007 in Mongolia, said in the mixed zone.

The Caribbean country, known for its boxing skills, has to concede three straight silver medals in the Beijing Olympics.

Their last hopes of claiming golds in boxing is youngster Banteaux Suarez who is to compete in the men's welter (69kg) event.

The Mongolian made a solid start by leading 4-2 in the first round. Leon Alarcon, bronze medalist of the Pan American Championships 2008, hit some fine sizzlers, but it was the Mongolian that impressed, stretching the lead to a comfortable 8-5 in the second bout.

Enkhbat, the world championships silver medalist and reigning Asian champion, then reeled off the next eight points to close out the match at 16-5.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2008)