ASTANA -- Kazakhstan's Boxing Federation (FBK) says it will pay $100,000 to a heavyweight boxer who lost a gold-medal bout in Rio to a Russian competitor in a highly controversial decision.
The FBK said on August 17 that it would supplement the $150,000 that the Kazakh government pays to silver-medal winners to make it equal to the $250,000 prize given to gold medalists. It said Levit's medal "is equal to a gold medal for Kazakhstan," so the financial award should also be "golden."
Vasily Levit of Kazakhstan lost to Russia's Yevgeny Tishchenko on August 15 although many observers believed Levit prevailed in the ring.
Tishchenko received medical assistance in the third round, which analysts said may have prevented a knockdown.
The judges' decision to give the win to Tishchenko was met by catcalls from the loudly pro-Levit crowd in Rio and criticism by boxing experts.