A new British boxing hero has been born in the shape of Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal winner Anthony Joshua who triumphed in the ring on Sunday.
Joshua won on a countback against Italy's Roberto Cammarelle after judges scored the fight a draw at 18 points each.
The decision was appealed by the Italians, but after a tense few moments, Joshua was confirmed as victor.
Joshua, a 6’6” giant of a fighter, weighing in at almost 17stone, beat Cammarelle, 32, in a brutal exchange over three rounds.
The 22-year-old Londoner is now tipped to become one of Team GB’s rare multi-million pound superstars.
Anthony Joshua batters Italian Roberto Cammarelle in a brutal final
Afterward Joshua told the BBC: "Once again I pulled it out of the bag. My heart is still pumping with adrenalin. I’ve got the heart of a warrior. One thing is never give up.
“Sunday is a holy day and I was blessed. That medal represents my journey. It’s more than a gold medal. I’m proud to have it round my neck."
He lost the first round 6-5 after both fighters threw massive punches at each other.
The Italian’s lead continued into the second round, which finished 13-10 despite Joshua landing some heavy punches.
Joshua turned his life around after being arrested and suspended from the British boxing squad.
But that’s all history now as he joins Audley Harrison as one of the only Britons to have won the Olympic super-heavyweight title. Harrison won in Sydney in 2000 and Lennox Lewis won it in Seoul in 1988 but he fought for Canada.
The final day of the London 2012 games had given GB the chance to stretch to an historic 30 golds.
Earlier, Freddie Evans failed in his bid to win a 29th gold medal for Team GB after being out-classed in the boxing welter-weight final.
But the 21-year-old managed to add to the medal haul with a silver in a hard bout at the Excel centre.
Welshman Evans just couldn’t out think the number two seeded winner, Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev.
Freddie Evans finished with a silver medal after a tough final fight
He didn’t get off to a fantastic start after he lost the first round 4-2 on points. He hardly threw a punch in the final minute while Sapiyev fired in punch after punch.
The second round stretched the Kazakh’s lead. Every punch landed by Evans was cheered by the crowd they knew he’d not done enough.
Judges scored the fight 17-9 to Sapiyev. Afterwards Evans said: “He was sharper today and obviously he came out on top. I’m still young so I’ve done well and I'm over the moon getting to the final.”
