European-Mammadov plans to leave lasting memory, Adams triumphs

The light heavyweight celebrated his London 2012 Olympic bronze medal with an Olympic rings tattoo on his right arm and now intends to have his left arm inked after defeating Italian Valentino Manfredonia on Thursday.

Mammadov, 22, is saving space on his body should he win a medal at next year's Olympics in Rio but, whatever happens there, his moment of triumph in front of his home crowd will be hard to beat.

"I will soon have a son, and I'm dedicating this victory to him. I'm very proud to win this first gold medal for my country, in my home country, and also that the president himself gave me the medal," said Mammadov, who stepped down from the heavyweight division to compete in Baku.

Mammadov was far too classy for Manfredonia, earning a unanimous points verdict.

"I had my height, my strength and my technique. It added up to give me the win. I got in better and better shape the longer the tournament went on, and I was in my best shape in the final fight," he said.

Olympic and Commonwealth flyweight champion Nicola Adams added European Games gold to her collection after defeating Poland's Sandra Drabik.

Two judges had Briton Adams, 32, ahead while another scored it 38-38 over the four rounds.

"I feel absolutely over the moon," said Adams. "She is a good opponent and she has improved a lot over recent years, I knew that it was going to be quite tough, but I knew I would get through it."

Adams missed last year's world championships because of a shoulder injury and said winning gold in Baku was "even more special for me.

"I had a bit of a rocky start, but I came good in the end. I couldn't have done that without everyone behind me.

"Every competition is tough for me. I have a big tag behind me, being Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion. Every time in the ring I try to be bigger, faster, stronger."