The last man standing on the Canadian Olympic boxing team has a lump on his nose and a small welt beneath his left eye. The good news is, Andrew Kooner of Windsor has until Monday night to heal.

He came here to Athens as the best bet -- and still an upset bet -- for a medal in boxing and, looks aside, remains the only Canadian left in the draw.

"I'm so close to a medal, it's right there for me to grab," said Kooner, who craftily and maturely pounded his way to a 37-20 win over Alexander Espinoza of Venezuela in the bantamweight division at the Peristeri Boxing Hall yesterday.

"I'm not concerned at all," Kooner said of the facial marks, one difficult win away from at least a bronze medal. The one thing you don't want in a tournament such as this is a cut that may open upon contact. "I'm worried I won't be able to pick up a lot of girls (looking like that)."

The last line might have been an unintentional reference to the disappointing and dysfunctional 2000 Canadian Olympic boxing team. Four years ago, Canada sent seven boxers to the Olympics with hopes of performance. Instead, the fighters turned their Olympics into a party of few wins but lots of finger-pointing.

"This team is different," said Kooner, who was cheered on last night by the entire Canadian boxing contingent and was around later on to watch Benoit Gaudet's disappointing defeat in the second round of the featherweight division.

"This team is close and supportive of each other. We're all cheering for each other."

The only controversy with this team came before the Olympics -- when three boxers went to arbitration after the Canadian Olympic Committee initially excluded them from the team. But all three, who fought to get on the team, fought well in Athens.

Gaudet, like light-heavyweight Trevor Stewardson, had won his opening bout, and thought he won yesterday against an awkward Korean named Jo Seok Hwan. He was one of few who thought that way.

In a bout that was as much wrestling and pushing as boxing, Gaudet wasn't active enough or impressive enough to get the judges' attention in a fight that was scored 28-16.

The final score was ludicrous. The decision was correct.

In the ring, Gaudet bounced on his toes thinking he had won before the winner was announced and mockingly he waved his left arm when the decision went against him.

He may have received less than sterling advice from Canadian boxing coach Stephane Larouche, who told him he was ahead after each round: Officially, on the scorecards, he lost all four rounds, three of them handily.

"If Stephane thought I was behind, he would have changed the way I fought," Gaudet said.

Say this much for the undermanned Canadian boxing team: The entire group performed well here, meeting and probably exceeding expectations. Jean Pascal, probably the most talented fighter here, drew a tough Cuban in his first and only bout. Stewardson won a round and fought his heart out in losing in Round 2. Gaudet also won a bout before losing yesterday.

"Everybody here fought their hearts out for Canada," Gaudet said. "I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of all of them. It's a bit sad what happened here because (after all the controversy) we deserved more."

Kooner will need to defeat an impressive Uzbekistan fighter, Bahodirjob Sooltonov, to be assured a medal.