Gonzalez talks about 20.000$ bribery attempt in Rio

Cuban world champion Asley Gonzalez, who won this year's World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was offered thousands of dollars to lose the final match against Georgia's Varlam Liparteliani, Cuban online sports magazine JIT reported Wednesday.

Gonzalez, who competes in the 90-kg category, said he was first offered 15,000 U.S. dollars, then 20,000, to hand the gold medal to Liparteliani, whom he had defeated twice previously in other international competitions.

"I don't trade my medal for money," Gonzalez told the JIT. " They showed me the figure on a cellphone, trying to convince me to lose the final match, but my principles and my dream of becoming world champion never made me waver."

"I also couldn't let down my coach Justo Noda, my people and the revolution that has always inculcated honor and dignity above all," he said.

The young judoka, 23, winner of the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, was the sensation of his division in Rio, after defeating the Greek Ilias Iliadis, Olympic champion and world champion, and going on to face off against Liparteliani.

Gonzalez started practicing judo at age 11 and first competed in a national tournament in 2006, garnering a bronze. He debuted internationally at the World Cup in Birmingham, England, that same year, and has since been considered among the best in the world. His favorite technique is the Uchimata.

After being eliminated in the previous three editions of the World Championships, Cuba made a strong comeback in Rio thanks Gonzalez's gold medal, and Idalis Ortiz, who competed in the women 's division.