The first five gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games boxing competition have been awarded on the first day of finals in the Workers' Gymnasium and were split between five countries with Thailand, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, Great Britain and Russia all standing on the top of the dais.

The surprise of the day saw boxing heavyweights Cuba, with two gold medal contenders, miss out on both occasions to hand the Central Americans their worst gold medal return since 1968.

Pic: 91kg Olympic champion Rakhim Chakhkiev from Russia

The action all evening was superb but it was the last bout of the evening which topped off an outstanding session of boxing with the Russian AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007 silver medallist Rakhim Chakhkiev reversing the result of last year by beating world champion Clemente Russo (ITA) 4:2 in the 91kg heavyweight final.

"I knew there wouldn't be a big point difference in this bout because the last time I lost to him at the AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007, it was only by one point," Chakhkiev said. "I wanted to take revenge and it's a double pleasure that it happened at the Olympic Games."

Earlier, the opening bout of session set the tone for the rest of the evening with a beautifully judged exhibition of boxing from Thailand's Somjit Jongjohor in the flyweight 51kg final. The 2008 AIBA President Cup winner and AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007 silver medallist beat the 2008 Pan Am champion and 2005 World Championship silver medallist Andris Laffita Hernandez (CUB) 8:2, only conceding points in the third and fourth rounds. It continued a superb defensive display from the 2003 world champion who conceded a total of seven points across five bouts.

Pic: 51kg Olympic champion Somjit Jongjohor (THA)

"All my life I have been waiting for today," Jongjohor said. "I went through so much, hurt so much but I've been trying my hardest."

In the following 57kg featherweight final, arguably the boxer of the tournament Vasyl Lomachenko (UKR) was far too good for Khedafi Djelkhir (FRA) rushing to a 9:1 lead in the first round before the referee stopped the contest. The Olympic gold medal is now added to a collection which also includes the AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007 silver medal.

The 64kg light welterweight final saw Olympic champion Manus Boonjumnong (THA) looking for back-to-back titles but a superb display from the underdog Felix Diaz saw the 24-year-old claim the second medal for the Dominican Republic at these Games and first Olympic boxing gold by producing a dynamic display of punching to win 12:4 on the back of an impressive 8:1 win in the third round.

James Degale, Great Britain's first boxing gold medallist since Audley Harrison in 2000, rubbed salt in Cuba's wound by denying the 2008 Pan Am champion and 2005 World Championship bronze medallist Emilio Correa Bayeaux the chance to follow in the footsteps of his father - 1972 67kg champion Emilio Correa - by claiming an ill-tempered affair 16-14.

Finals Statistics:
Boxing medals table