Sometimes the ultimate affirmation comes as a clean sheet.

Nelvie Tiafack was just about to go back to the center of the ring, full of energy, when the international symbol of the surrender flew into the ring from the opponent's corner.

Apparently, they no longer wanted to watch how the super heavyweight powerhouse from Cologne took apart his opponent according to all the rules of boxing art.

The Spaniard Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi El Aissaoui had been counted out twice by the referee in the previous round, which rarely happens in Olympic sports.

Then, at the break, his seconds decided to spare him the third and final lap.

This brought the final duel of the European Championships in Yerevan to an early end – and Tiafack, at the age of 23, was the tournament winner.

One day the Cameroon-born Rhinelander may look back on last Monday night's fight #206 as a turning point.

In the elite squad of the German Boxing Association (DBV), he was long regarded as a pawn for the future, which performs quite inconsistently at international level.

It could happen that convincing performances were followed by strange bankruptcies.

Like a year ago, when he got stuck in qualifying for the Olympic tournament in Tokyo.

But now, in the Armenian capital, Tiafack showed that athletic consistency that head coach Eddie Bolger so often missed in him.

"He's been knocking at the door for a long time," the Irishman summed up after the tournament, "but he found it difficult to keep up this explosiveness from start to finish."

Different in Yerevan.

In his four comparisons to winning the gold medal, Tiafack did not drop a lap overall.

In addition, he exuded more dominance in the square than any other of the 219 participants from 39 nations.

It felt like it only lasted a minute until the normal boom, which operated with a lot of steam, conveyed to its opponents, who usually had a superior range, that it set the tone here.

And if you believe the home coach Lukas Wilaschek, his protégé was close to an early triumph in the semifinals against the highly rated Englishman Delicious Orie.

"They considered throwing in the towel in the second round," said Wilaschek.

So much rapid dynamic has only become possible because the first German medal winner in the men's since 2017 has changed quite a few things after the failed Olympic qualification.

Sweetened fruit juices and similar temptations were immediately taboo in the diet.

In addition, the strength training has been readjusted.

With this, Tiafack created new, better conditions to one day catch up with its own expectations.

As he said a good year and a half ago and with a weight of more than 120 kilos in a small group: “If I weigh 110 kilos, the others don’t stand a chance.” Tiafack weighed almost 109 kilos at the European Championships and left his competitors behind in fact look quite overwhelmed.

This means that the latecomer has definitely reached the world top of the king limit from 92 kilos - a good eight years after he stood in front of the hall of SC Colonia Cologne for the first time and almost turned on his heel because the sign "Olympic base" startled him.

You don't have to be bold anymore to see him as a medal contender for the 2024 Olympic tournament in Paris, especially as he can be highly recommended for the professional career that is to follow.

With bruises and disappointments

Last but not least, Tiafack has ensured an encouraging overall balance with bronze medalist Magomed Schachidov (light middleweight) and four other DBV starters who at least made it into the quarterfinals.

Which confirms Bolger's conviction that he is on the right track with his so-called "High Performance Program".

The tireless head coach from Wexford, who was signed for renewal in 2017, relies more than almost any of his predecessors on the team spirit in the perspective squad, a centralized system of performance management and significantly more international comparisons - even if there are some short-term scratches and disappointments.

He is convinced that this is simply part of it, as he says: "You can't buy experience, you have to earn it."