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Opening the boxing session on the final day of the Rio Olympics was Team USA’s female middleweight Claressa Shields, and she achieved her goal of becoming a two time Olympic gold medalist in dominant, impressive fashion. Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands never stood a chance. The Dutch woman tried to stay on the outside and box, but the American answered that tactic with hard overhand rights and effective pressure. Shields’ reflexes were top notch in this match, and she taunted Fontijn while making Fonijn miss wildly with punches multiple times in the fight. The woman from Flint, Michigan has extra reason to be proud because she is the first boxer from the USA to ever win gold at back to back Olympics. She is by far the best pound-for-pound female boxer in the world and is one of the top boxers in the world regardless of gender. It remains to be seen whether she will become a professional or stay an amateur and go for a third Olympic gold medal, but whichever way she goes, she will likely be unmatched in any division she fights in. This was a great win and a great way to cap off a much improved performance from Team USA’s boxing squad at this year’s Olympic Games.

Closing the final boxing session of the 2016 Olympic Games was Great Britain’s Joe Joyce, and he will unfortunately have to settle for silver after fighting brilliantly against France’s Tony Yoka but winding up on the wrong end of a split decision. Joyce, the best conditioned super heavyweight at these games, looked to put on pressure and fight at a fast pace from the outset, and he immediately dug combinations to Yoka’s body. Yoga kept a tight guard the whole fight, but Joyce’s punches did get through on many occasions, and Yoka, while accurate and effective with the punches he did throw, didn’t seem to be throwing punches often enough or hard enough to win rounds. However, the judges saw it completely different, rewarding Yoka for his more precise but less frequent work. Certain respected figures in the boxing community also saw Yoka as the rightful winner, but the majority of watchers favored Joyce and it seemed like Joyce did much more damage in the fight. In the end, Yoka won gold, and Joyce took the silver. This medal made the USA Boxing and GB Boxing 2016 Olympic medal counts even at one gold, one silver, and one bronze apiece. Yoka’s gold was France’s second gold medal and sixth medal overall in the boxing ring at the Rio Games. Estelle Mossely, Yoka’s finance, was the other gold medal winner for France.

In the second of the four gold medal bouts today (day 16), and in the first of the day that didn’t involve a boxer from Team USA or Team GB, Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov won an extremely close unanimous decision over Russia’s Misha Aloyan to win the Olympic Championship at flyweight. The fight was not very entertaining, and a fair bit of holding and grappling went on. This was likely because of the fact that they are both southpaws, as  lefties usually aren’t used to fighting other lefties and that results in ugliness when two lefties fight. Zoirov really had to dig deep to win this one. The fight was even on two of the judge’s scorecards going into round three, and the Uzbek was just effective enough in the third round to convince the judges to give him the round — and therefore the fight — unanimously. Zoirov’s gold medal was the second gold medal in boxing for Uzbekistan, which had an unbelievable Olympic Games in the boxing ring.

Uzbekistan won a third gold medal in the third fight of the day, although the Asian country did not really deserve this one. Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, who also won a controversial decision over USA’s Gary Antuanne Russell in the quarterfinals, claimed the Olympic Championship at light welterweight in a fight that his opponent, Azerbaijan’s Lorenzo Sotomayor Collazo, appeared to clearly win. Gaibnazarov fought this fight similar to the way he fought the Russell fight. He started strong and landed good counter punches against the much taller Sotomayor. Collazo appeared to whether the early storm and began to pressure Gaibnazarov in the last two rounds. Gaibnazarov tired out from this pressure and began to hold frequently, just like he did in the Russell fight. Sotomayor Collazo had the momentum completely his way in the last two rounds, but somehow two of the three judges thought Gaibnazarov had done enough to win and saddled the real winner, Sotomayor Collazo, with a split decision loss in the finals. Collazo should be bringing a gold medal back to Azerbaijan, but unfortunately, that is not the way it will be.

These four fights closed out an overall great Olympic boxing tournament. Although some of the judging was ridiculous and seemingly corrupt, Team USA and Team GB, as well as other teams like those from Uzbekistan and France, managed to fair very well in foreign territory. Many of the fights were very exciting, and many of the fighters will likely make major noise in the pros a fews years from now. The Rio Olympic boxing tournament, while often overlooked by the TV networks, was one of the best events of the entire Olympics.

Two opposite emotions, disappointment and elation, marked the past two days for Team GB and Team USA. More gold medal bouts were clinched, more gold medals were won, but devastating losses also occurred. This is a recap of the fights that occurred on days 14 and 15 for the United States, Great Britain, and the other gold medal winning countries.

Clinching the second gold medal for Great Britain’s boxing team was super heavyweight Joe Joyce. It was another dominant win for Joyce, this time against Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko, a top opponent who some were tipping to win gold. Round one was very competitive, with Dychko smothering a lot of Joyce’s punches and neither fighter really gaining an advantage over the other. Rounds two and three were a whole different story. Joyce, who was for once the smaller man in this fight, is a devastating puncher, especially to the body, and he used that power to sap Dychko’s strength and energy from the start of round two on. Dychko was gasping for breathe by round three, and was lucky to last the distance. This was yet another impressive win for Joyce, whose conditioning and power is unrivaled in this division. He has his work cut out for him in the gold medal bout, as his opponent, France’s Tony Yoka, is a quick and fleet-footed boxer who he has both won and lost to before. Both boxers have improved since they last fought each other, and it should be a tremendous gold medal fight.

Team USA’s boxer that earned a spot in the gold medal round on day 14 (August 19) was female middleweight Claressa Shields. To claim her position in the finals, she beat down Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova. This fight was as one sided as any in this year’s Olympic Games. Shields is an all-time great female amateur boxer, and she was levels beyond Shakimova. The American landed five punches or more for every one punch landed by the Kazakh, and Claressa Shield’s punches were much harder. Dariga Shakimova perhaps can take consolation in both the fact that she lasted the distance and that she earned a bronze, but she was destroyed in this fight. Shields used her reflexes, speed, aggression, and combination punching to keep Shakimova constantly off balance and to do major damage. Shields has been increasingly dominant in each of her performances in Rio, and it looks more and more like she become a repeat Olympic Champion. To do that, she will have to go through Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands.

The first Rio Olympic finals bout for Team Great Britain was a glorious victory. Female flyweight Nicola Adams, going for her second straight Olympic gold medal, did just that in this championship match against France’s Sarah Ourahmoune. Adams, who had not looked to be at her best in her opening few fights despite winning them handily, chose this fight to peak, and she really looked phenomenal. Her jab was working from the onset, and while the French woman was competitive, Adams did the much classier work and landed most of the hard punches. Adams, along with the aforementioned Claressa Shields,  is a female amateur boxer way ahead of her time. Both of them dominate women’s competition and would likely fair pretty well in men’s competition. Adams is the first British boxer in 92 years to become Olympic Champion in two consecutive Olympics, and she really did herself and her country proud in this fight.

The first Rio Olympic finals bout for Team USA was a heartbreaker. Right on the heels of Adam’s great gold medal victory on day 15, bantamweight Shakur Stevenson lost a razor thin split decision to 2012 Olympic gold medalist and all around phenomenal fighter Robeisy Ramirez, of Cuba, in the bantamweight finals match. Every single round was fast paced and closely contested — so close, in fact, that Ramirez and Stevenson landed within two punches of each other in every single round. Stevenson was the more accurate puncher, but Ramirez was the busier boxer, and that likely was what earned Ramirez the nod on two of the scorecards. The fight just as easily could have gone Stevenson’s way, but Stevenson was tremendously classy and congratulated Ramirez on his victory, saying that the right man won. Stevenson was understandably devastated after this fight, but his future is likely the one of the brightest of all of the boxers who competed at this year’s Olympics. At just 19, he was able to fight on even terms with an elite Cuban (two time) gold medalist. There is no telling how good he will be in a couple of years. He is going to turn pro after the Olympics are over, and he is a lock to win a world title. Ramirez is also very young (he’s only 22), and if he defects and turns pro instead of going for a third Olympic gold medal, and rematch between the two world class talents would make sense way down the line.

Other gold medal bouts happened on days 14 and 15, including a female lightweight finals bout between France’s Estelle Mossely and China’s Junhua Yin. Mossely’s aggressive charge in the later rounds won her the fight by split decision and gave France their first boxing gold medal of the 2016 Olympic Games. Yin started the bout strong, outboxing her opponent with some success in the first two rounds. Her check right-hook counter was especially accurate and repeatedly stopped Mossely from getting inside. Mossely figured Yin out by the second half of round two and began to pick up her aggression. Her forward march in the last two rounds made Yin uncomfortable and really sealed the deal for Mossely. When the decision was read and Mossely was announced the winner, Yin was shocked and started sobbing in the center of the ring. Despite Yin’s shock, the right woman won.

The middleweight finals that happened on day 15 resulted in another gold medal for Cuba. Arlen Lopez was the stronger man in the ring against Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev, and Lopez’s strength and counterpunching resulted in a relatively easy championship match for the Cuban. Every time Melikuziev reached in with punches, he was countered effectively. Not all of Lopez’s counter-attacks landed cleanly, but most of them landed, and Melikuziev could do nothing to stop them. Lopez’s win marked the third boxing gold medal for Cuba in Rio and put Cuba firmly in first place on the Rio 2016 medal standings for boxing.

The Cuban team spoil USA’s hopes once again, albeit barely this time, but Team USA still has one gold medal shot left in the form of Claressa Shields. Team GB also has one gold medal contender left in Joe Joyce. Each team has already done relatively well so far, and the two countries have more chances to add to their’s countries’ medal counts.

 

 

More guaranteed medals and gold medal matches for the USA and Great Britain and more gold medals for fighters from other countries. It is down to two boxers on both Team USA and Team GB, but every one of those boxers is elite enough to beat the best in their respective divisions.

USA’s only fight of days 12 and 13 was another medal winning performance. Middleweight Claressa Shields, the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist, made her 2016 Olympic debut by way of a clear unanimous decision win over Russia’s Iaroslava Iakushina. This was a rematch of a fight between them in 2014 that Shields also won. The Russian middleweight actually had more success in this than fight than in their first encounter, likely because she was far less hesitant when throwing punches and seemingly much more desperate to win. Despite her increased success, Shields was still dominant in this fight. Arguably the best American amateur boxer of this decade, the Flint, Michigan native used her complete skill set to own the fight both on the outside and inside. She was by far the bigger puncher, and she rocked Iakushina with a left hook in the last round, causing a standing eight-count to be administered to the Russian. Shields was not happy with her performance and claimed to feel a little rusty, but she still was able to sweep a top shelf opponent. Her semifinals match will be against Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova.

Great Britain’s female middleweight Savannah Marshall fought shortly after Shields, and she lost by majority decision. Going up against the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn for the fourth time in her boxing career, Marshall actually fought better than she had against the Dutch woman in any of their previous matches. This match had many different shifts of momentum, with Marshall aggressive one moment and then Fontijn aggressive the next. Although the right woman won, the judges were definitely a little harsh on Marshall and did not properly credit her work. However, apart from a strong second round, Fontijn definitely landed the stronger and cleaner punches throughout, and Marshall’s sloppiness on defense caught up to her. Both boxers showcased good offensive skills and good jabs, but Fontijn’s punches often reached the target first. It definitely is not desirable to exit the tournament right before the medal rounds, but Marshall fought valiantly and did not by any means make it easy for Fontijn to grab a spot on the podium. Fontijn will fight Qian Li, of China, in the semifinals.

Opening day 13 for Team GB was the spectacular female flyweight, Nicola Adams. She out-boxed and out-fought China’s Cancan Ren in the semifinals to earn her place in the gold medal bout. If she wins that, she will be a two time Olympic gold medalist (she won gold in 2012) and will be the first British boxer since 1924 to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. She entered the tournament as the favorite, and her performance against Ren did nothing but reinforce that position. Everything was working for Adams in this fight. Her counter right hand was accurate and deadly. She was fast and moved well. She defended responsibly. Ren had a good first round and landed a few right hands, but once Adams figured her out, she swept the remaining three rounds. The Chinese boxer had the look of someone who might have beaten most of the other boxers in the tournament, but Adams was just of a different class. The Brit will fight for gold against the dangerous French-woman, Sarah Ourahmoune.

Team USA’s Shakur Stevenson will also be advancing to the gold medal round after moving through the semifinals on a walkover. He was due to face Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin in the semifinals on day 13, but because Nikitin was beaten so bad and suffered from so much facial damage in his ridiculous “win” over Ireland’s Michael Conlan, Nikitin failed his post weigh-in medical exam and was forced to withdraw from the competition. This means that Stevenson automatically moves to the finals with only two Olympic fights. Across the ring from him will be Cuba’s elite, super-talented Robeisy Ramirez, who is one of the most fantastic fighters in the whole 2016 Olympic Games. He doesn’t look like he can be easily beaten, but if anyone can do it, it’s Stevenson, who isn’t nicknamed “the prodigy” for no reason.

Another two gold medal bouts were wrapped up on days 12 and 13 as well. At welterweight, Kazkhstan’s impressive Daniyar Yeleussinov beat Uzbekistan’s Shakram Giyasov by a dominant unanimous decision to become Olympic Champion. This fight was all Yeleussinov, who adeptly used his southpaw stance and strong left hand to control the Uzbek boxer from the onset. Giyasov came into this fight by beating the number one seed, the number four seed, and the number five seed, but he could not fight well enough against Yeleussinov, the number two seed, to pull off another upset. With the win, Yeleussinov made Kazakhstan the first country to win Olympic boxing gold four times in a row with four different fighters, in one division.

The gold medal winner on day 13 was arguably the pound for pound best amateur in the game right now, Cuban light heavyweight Julio Cesar La Cruz. Against Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov, La Cruz danced, mockingly poked his chin out, and landed rapid fire punches en route to a one sided finals victory. The Cuban, who fights with a style vaguely reminiscent of the late, great Muhammad Ali (who was known as Cassius Clay in his Olympic days), is in a league of his own. He makes top notch fighters look like beginners. When the 2016 Olympic boxing tournament is over, he should be awarded the Val Barker Trophy (given to the best fighter in the Olympic tournament, regardless of weight class) and go down as one of the greatest Olympic boxers ever.

Days 12 and 13 were significant for their gold medal matches as well as for their matches involving Team USA and Team GB. Both teams now have three medalists, and at least one of them on each team has a shot at gold. We will soon find out if the remaining British and US boxers have what it takes to be 2016 Olympic Champions.

It wasn’t easy, but both teams did it. Fighting through tough losses and bad judging, Team USA and Team Great Britain managed to put on enough good performance to guarantee more Olympic medals. History was also made by Team Brazil, and corruption was all too evident in a gold medal bout between Russia and Kazakhstan. This is the breakdown of Team USA and Team GB’s days 10 and 11 as well as the breakdown of day 10 and 11’s gold medal fights.

USA’s tough day 10 began with a close loss for one of its best medal hopes, flyweight Antonio Vargas. He suffered this defeat by way of unanimous decision to Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov in a very competitive fight. Uzbekistan’s boxing team has been outstanding in these Rio summer games, and Zoirov only added to his teams great reputation in this fight. Vargas is a top class operator who won the 2015 Pan Am Games by dominating a Cuban in the finals, and was generally somewhat shut down by Zoirov. The American was on the same level as Zoirov, but the Uzbek boxer just edged the majority of the three round fight with cleaner punching. Vargas had a strong showing in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. This loss was especially tough for Vargas because it came on his 20th birthday, but his skill, talent, and hand speed are such that he should achieve great things in the future. Zoirov’s next fight will be a quarterfinals match against Azerbaijan’s Elvin Mamishzada.

Great Britain’s only bout of day 10 was a shocking upset loss. Flyweight sensation Muhammad Ali (who is obviously named after the all-time great heavyweight champion) was so successful in competition prior to the Olympics that his world ranking earned him a bye through the Round of 32. Venezuela’s Yoel Finol, his Round of 16 opponent, was supposed to be little more than a subject upon which Ali could display his impressive fighting skills and make his much anticipated Olympic debut. But it didn’t turn out that way. Yoel Finol did not think he was going to lose, and he didn’t fight like it either. From the onset, he outworked, out-hustled, and out-fought the talented Ali. The Brit landed good punches but could not match the Venezuelan’s work rate and determination. Perhaps Ali was a bit sluggish from the long wait for his opening bout, or perhaps Finol mas much better than advertised. Whatever the case may be, Finol unexpectedly moves on to the quarterfinals. He will next fight Mohamed Flissi of Algeria.

Capping off the win-less day for Team USA was female lightweight Mikaela Mayer. Her fight against Russia’s Anastsiia Beliakova in the quarterfinals was undoubtedly a close, difficult fight to score, and Mayer easily could have gotten the nod. However, two out of the three scoring judges did not think the American did enough, as Beliakova won a split decision. The fight was a high-paced chess match, with each boxer capitalizing on the other’s mistakes successfully and both displaying various skills. Each round was hotly contested without much separating the two fighters. Both were very confident in the work they were doing, and when the fight was over, both strongly believed they had won the fight. This was no robbery, but due to the closeness of the contest and the good work that Mayer did, it was no surprise that the USA boxing fighter and coaches were outraged that they had lost. In the other corner, the Russian woman celebrated her victory and will now move on to a contest with France’s Estelle Mossely in the semifinals.

The first fighter of both teams to fight on a much more successful day 11 was Team GB’s talented 2012 Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams. After receiving a bye in the Round of 16, the female British flyweight entered her quartfinals match against Ukraine’s Tetyana Kob as the huge favorite. No upset occurred in this match, as Adams rolled to a decision win and guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal. The Great Britain boxer looked very good for the most part, although she was made to work by the tough Ukrainian. The major difference was Adams’ more sound technical skills and jab, and those allowed her to keep Tetyana Kob off of her for much of the fight. If there was anything negative to be said about her performance, it was that Adams might have looked a little rusty in the early goings but she shook that off quickly and looked world-class for the rest of the bout. She looks to be the premiere fighter in the women’s flyweight division, and should she win her next bout against China’s Cancan Ren, she will be nine minutes away from a second Olympic gold medal.

The super-talented Shakur Stevenson opened up Team USA’s day 11 with dominant, medal earning performance. The American bantamweight’s quarterfinals match against Mongolia’s very capable boxer, Tsendbaatar Erdenebat, was little more than a boxing exhibition for the phenom from Newark. Stevenson’s jab was quick and accurate. He moved well. His combinations were strong. His defense was great — he barely got hit with a single clean punch. The smiley 19 year old looks like a potential gold medalist, and he has already caught the eye of significant boxing figures such as Floyd Mayweather, who actually came to Rio with the main goal of asking Stevenson to sign with Mayweather Promotions. The American should be fighting fellow bantamweight all-star Michael Conlan, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Ireland, but due to a bogus decision loss to Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin, Nikitin is Stevenson’s semifinals opponent. Don’t be so sure that that fight is going to happen, either, as Nikitin sustained enough damage in “beating” Conlan that he may not be medically cleared to fight. If that is the case, Stevenson will win by walkover and move on to the gold medal round.

In a day filled with bad judging, USA’s Gary Antuanne Russell lost by one of day 11’s worst decisions in a bout that took place shortly after Stevenson’s. His opponent, Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, fought well in round one and took it on all three scorecards. However, in rounds two and three all he did was run around the ring, throw few punches, and hold onto Russell. Russell landed all of the big shots in the last two rounds and was clearly the effective aggressor. Gaibnazarov, who at one point was avoiding contact so blatantly that the referee had to command him to throw punches, had little argument for winning either of the rounds. The Uzbek got away with an excessive amount of holding without losing any points and ended up winning a split decision, earning at least a bronze medal and ending Russell’s hopes of reaching the podium. Like the aforementioned Michael Conlan, Russell has every reason to be mad. They both lost corrupt decisions. Gaibnazarov now undeservedly moves on to a semifinals match against Russia’s Vitaly Dunaytsev.

In the day 11 afternoon session, Great Britain’s powerful and promising light heavyweight, Joshua Buatsi, had his destructive run at the Rio Olympic Games put to a halt by Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan. This was largely a matter of the experience level of the Kazakh and the inexperience of the hard hitting Brit. Niyazymbetov boxed and moved constantly, and Buatsi could not pin him down and waited way too long to throw punches. When Buatsi landed, the Kazakh boxer clearly felt Buatsi’s power and was shaken. However, the boxer from Great Britain could not land enough punches to inflict a significant amount of damage or gain the advantage on points. Joshua Buatsi looked fantastic in all of his other fights in the Olympic tournament and will return home with a bronze medal, which is something any boxer — especially one with as little major international tournament experience as Buatsi — should be extremely proud of. Niyazymbetov moves on to face the heavily favored Cuban, Julio Cesar La Cruz, in the final.

Joe Joyce ended Great Britain’s day 11 on a high note, laying a beat down on his super heavyweight opponent to guarantee a third medal for Team GB. Joyce is a mountain of a human, and he hits with extreme power. Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov found that out the hard way, getting beaten from pillar to post but somehow lasting the distance with the promising and dangerous Brit. Jalolov was a quality opponent, and Joyce just ran through him. The Uzbek started confidently, but as soon as Joyce hit him to the body a few times, Jalolov was on the run. The referee would have been wise to stop this fight, actually, as more than one time it appeared as though Jalolov had quit. In the end, Jalolov took some standing eight-counts and survived until the final bell. His ability to hold on was not rewarded, obviously, as he lost by completely one-sided margins on the scorecards. Joyce next fights skilled Kazakh Ivan Dychko in the semifinals.

Two more weight classes in the tournament reached their finals in the past two days (August 16 and 17), and two more gold medalists were crowned. However, in the first of these matches, the judges decision at the end of the fight was unbelievably bad. Kazakhstan heavyweight Vassiliy Levit appeared to dominate all three rounds of his fight against Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko, but somehow lost a decision in the most important fight of his life. It was unfair; it was wrong; it was corrupt. Levit was the aggressor, landed far more punches and far more hard punches, and really was clearly the winner of the fight. Levit was very classy and even tried to quiet the crowds that were booing Tishchenko. The Kazakh can do nothing but accept his silver medal and appreciate the fans’ support for him and condemnation of the AIBA (the organization that runs all major amateur international boxing tournaments). That being said, Levit should without a doubt be the 2016 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist.

The second gold medal bout featured far less corruption, far more excitement, and an incredible atmosphere. Fighting in front of a packed stadium filled with adoring fans, Brazilian lightweight Robson Conceicao won the first Olympic gold medal Brazil has ever won in a boxing ring by defeating the tough and gutsy Sofiane Oumiha of France in a scintillating performance. This was an amazing thing to watch. Two top fighters putting forth two brave efforts in front of a raucous crowd with history being made in the finish. Conceicao was the better fighter throughout and landed some tremendous combinations, but Oumiha never stopped trying and had a good third round. The bout was high paced and filled with excitement, and when Conceicao was rightfully anounced the winner, he dropped to his knees with emotion as the Riocentro Pavilion erupted with cheers. This is what the Olympics is all about.

It was a good two days for both teams, with Team USA and Team GB successfully debuting some fighters and advancing others past the preliminary rounds. The United States now has four boxers in the quarterfinals (Shakur Stevenson, Gary Antuanne Russell, Mikaela Mayer, and Claressa Shields) and Great Britain has three in the quarterfinals (Joe Joyce, Savannah Marshall, and Nicola Adams) and one in the semifinals (Joshua Buatsi), so days eight and nine were days of significant USA and GB advancement in the tournament.

Opening day eight (August 13th) for the United States was flashy flyweight Antonio Vargas, and he had to face both a Brazilian fighter, Juliao Neto, and a hostile crowd. Vargas smiled through the boos as he walked into the arena and put on a good display, despite some questionable judging. Vargas won a split decision, but he appeared to be the clear winner of the fight. Vargas has lightning-fast hands, and those hands found Neto’s head and body very often. Neto was much older than Vargas and very awkward, but his attacks were much less frequent and strong than those of Vargas. Somehow two different judges thought Neto did enough to win round one and round two, but after Neto lost a point in the third round for holding, Vargas was locked in as the winner. Vargas has all the talent in the world and got past a major obstacle in facing a Brazilian in front of a fully pro-Brazil crowd (obviously). This was a tough introduction to the Olympics, but Vargas was very prepared. Vargas’ next opponent is Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan.

Joe Joyce, the British Super Heavyweight, made his Olympic debut later in the day and did not disappoint. Against Cape Verde’s Davilson Dos Santos Morais, the massive Joyce registered a brutal knockout. Morais was one of the more under-qualified Olympic boxers, and it showed. Not long into the contest, Joyce connected with a powerful left-hook that staggered Morais and the referee jumped in to give Morais a standing-eight count. Morais tried to hold on and survive after that, but it was only a matter of time until Joyce connected with something big. That big punch came in the form of an overhand-right moments before the bell sounded to end round one. Morais went down hard and was in no shape to continue when he got up, so the referee properly stopped the contest. Joyce is a little slow, but he has pretty good skills and has tremendous power. Joyce is without a doubt one of Britain’s stronger medal contenders. He moves on to a fight with talented Uzbek Bakhodir Jalolov in the quarterfinals.

Day nine was a busy and successful day for both Great Britain and the USA, with the USA registering multiple wins in the morning session and GB doing so in the afternoon. Making his highly anticipated debut for Team USA was bantamweight Shakur Stevenson. After a bye in the Round of 32, Stevenson fought his Round of 16 fight against Brazil’s Robenilson de Jesus. Like his teammate Antonio Vargas, Shakur Stevenson was showered with boos by the crowd but he wore a smile on his face from the moment he entered the ring to the moment he left the ring after winning a unanimous decision. The Newark native Stevenson has been touted as a potential gold medalist, and with good reason. He showcased the elite skills and talent that have everyone so excited about him in this bout against de Jesus, landing tremendous combinations and seldom taking a punch in return. De Jesus was beaten down in every round, much to the dismay of the crowd, and Stevenson now moves on to a quarterfinals match against Tsendbaatar Erdenebat of Mongolia. The USA boxer has the look of something special.

Fighting his second fight for team USA in these Rio Olympics was light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell. In this Round of 16 fight against Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk, Russell made the contest much tougher for himself than it needed to be. When Russell came forward, threw his jab, and followed up with combinations to the body and head, he easily gained the upper hand. That was exactly what he did in round one, and he took that round on all three judges’ scorecards. But then, in the second round, he decided to stop doing what was working for him and he became much less aggressive. The result: Masuk landed good left hands, took the round on all three judges’ scorecards, and evened up the fight. After some words from his coaches in the corner between rounds, Russell fought the third much like he fought the first. Masuk had his moments in the last round too, but Russell outworked him and outalnded him to win the round and take the split decision victory. The American did not endear himself to the crowd by showboating in the middle of the third round, but regardless, he won and now moves on to a quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov.

First up for GB on day nine was female middleweight Savannah Marshall. She pounded out a unanimous decision over Sweden’s Anna Laurell Nash, but boy did she look sloppy doing so. After Nash clearly took the opening round, Marshall turned it up a notch in the final two frames. It was enough to get the win, but it was not enough to outclass an  opponent who would likely not be competitive with most of the top seeded boxers in the division. That’s not to say Marshall is a bad boxer — she is very good. It’s more to say that this was a rocky entrance to the Olympic Games. She clearly has solid fundamentals and although she is somewhat easy to hit, Marshall can take a punch very well. She made it through a tough Rio 2016 debut and proved that she can battle back from adversity. However, if she wants to beat the top dogs of the division and win Olympic gold, she is going to have to be a lot less sloppy. Her next fight will be against Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands.

Next up on the British squad was light welterweight Pat McCormack, and in this fight, he did not bring home a win. Fighting outstanding Cuban technician Yasniel Toledo, McCormack lost a split decision. McCormack certainly had his moments, but he seemed to choose the wrong strategy for the opponent he was fighting. Against a Cuban known for his elite defensive and tactical skills, McCormack tried to win by fighting a slow-paced, defensive fight. If that sounds like a bad idea, that because it is. McCormack possessed the skills to make a fight of that nature competitive, but almost no boxer in the world can clearly take the advantage over a Cuban in a defensive fight; to beat Cuban fighters, usually the best strategy is to make them stand toe-to-toe and trade punches. Like most of the team GB fighters who have lost so far, McCormack looked pretty good in defeat and showed he can compete with the best of the best. What’s next for him remains to be seen, but what’s next for Toledo is a quarterfinals match against Azerbaijan’s Lorenzo Sotomayor Collazo, who is actually originally from Cuba.

Fortunately for Great Britain, day nine ended with a significant win that guaranteed them at least a bronze medal. Power punching light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi rolled through his quarterfinals fight against Algeria’s greatest hope for a medal, Abdelhafid Benchabla, to secure his place in the semifinals. He did not knock his opponent out this time, but he gave the Algerian two standing eight counts and won a dominant unanimous decision over a very good opponent. Buatsi is so strong for for his weight and every time he ate a punch in this fight, he gave back two harder punches in return. He is the major breakout star of these games so far, and should he turn pro after these games, he will have plenty of major promoters looking to sign him. The other elite fighter at light heavyweight is Cuban Julio Cesar la Cruz, and should Buatsi get past Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov and la Cruz get past France’s Mathieu Bauderlique, a fight between Buatsi and la Cruz would be a special gold medal fight.

The first gold medal match of the games actually occurred on day nine in the light flyweight division. Hasanboy Dusmatov, the Uzbek boxer who beat USA’s Nico Hernandez in the semi finals, took a clear unanimous decision over Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez, who was on an incredible run, to win the finals and become the Olympic champion. Martinez had all the heart and determination in the world, but the skills gap was wide between him and Dusmatov and Dusmatov schooled him. Both fighters have a lot to be proud of, as Martinez is the first ever boxer from Colombia to get any medal above a bronze in the Olympics, and Dusmatov took the first gold of the tournament. The rest of the finals will come in the next week or so, and hopefully some fighters from the USA and Great Britain make their way into those bouts.

Positive news for the British Olympic Boxing Team! Their light welterweight representative made his debut, the team got some quality victories, and their light heavyweight beast stormed his way into the quarterfinals. The US Team did not have such fortunes. They came out of these past two days with two less contestants in the competition. For the first time since the Rio Olympics began, Team USA’s boxing squad lost more than one fight in a row, and now only five American boxers remain in competition.

No American boxers fought on the sixth day of the Rio Olympics, but three British boxers did, and two of them came away victorious. The first of the two victories for Team GB came from light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi by way of a crushing third round knockout. The victim, Uzbekistan’s Elshod Rasulov, was a very qualified opponent. Rasulov was a two time bronze medalist and one time silver medalist at the World Championships, and was considered by some a medal favorite. Buatsi walked through him with complete ease. The Ghanaian-born Brit showcased great poise, strength, conditioning, and punching power from the opening bell. Rasulov tried to use movement to confuse Buatsi, but Buatsi skillfully cut off the ring and unleashed powerful punches when he trapped Rasulov on the ropes, which was very often. In the third round, with the bout already well in hand, Buatsi uncorked a left hook-right hand combination that knocked the Uzbek down hard. Rasulov had enough heart to get up and try to survive but moments later he was down again, simply because his legs were too weak to hold him up. The ref gave Rasulov one last chance, but Buatsi came out and flattened him with a left hook-right hand-left hook combination and emphatically won his second match of the tournament. Buatsi, who also won his first fight by knockout, is Britain’s brightest light at the moment. He next fights Algeria’s Abdelhafid Benchabla in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Great Britain’s second fight of day six was also a victory for the island nation. Light welterweight Pat McCormack made his his Olympic Games debut in style, soundly out boxing Ablaikhan Zhussupov, of Kazakhstan, to advance to the Round of 16. McCormack was the faster and much more experienced fighter, and these two factors were too much for Zhussupov to overcome. McCormack looked pretty sharp in a somewhat low-action fight. He flicked his jab quickly and accurately, and countered whenever Zhussupov got too close. McCormack took very little punishment and did not seem to exert too much energy in this match, which should bode well for him in the rest of the tournament. If you are looking for McCormack to be in a more competitive fight, you should look no further than his next match against Cuba’s phenomenal light welterweight, Yasniel Toledo. Toledo took silver in the London Olympic Games, losing by razor-thin decision to Ukrainian legend Vasyl Lomachenko, who is considered by many to be the best amateur boxer of all time. Like many of his British teammates, McCormack will be in tough very early in the tournament, but he is very talented and quick, so don’t write him off just yet.

Great Britain’s only defeat in day six of the boxing tournament came in the form of a unanimous decision loss in the welterweight division. However, like many of the losses Great Britain has taken in these games, Josh Kelly’s coming up short against Kazakh boxer Daniyar Yeleussinov can not be held against Team GB too much. Prior to the Olympics, Yeleussinov was ranked as the number one fighter in the world at welterweight and had won silver and gold at the World Championships. Josh Kelly was only a few days removed from illness too, and he still performed valiantly. Yeleussinov clearly took the first round using his greater speed and awkward southpaw style. Kelly, sensing he was down on points, upped his punch output and pressure in round two and had much more success. His reflexes were solid, he landed a couple counter punches, and he seemed to arguably take the round, but Yeleussinov’s good defense and effective return fire still caught the judges’ favor. Kelly continued to pressure and throw punches in the final round, but just like what happened in the second, the Kazakh boxer landed just enough punches without taking huge punishment in return to take the round on the judges’ scorecards. It was a tough but understandable loss for Kelly, and Kelly did perform well in defeat. Yeleussinov’s next fight will be against Gabriel Mastre Perez, of Venezuela.

Day seven got off to a pretty bad start for USA Boxing, with back-to-back American boxers losing. The first of these Americans was light flyweight Nico Hernandez, who faced off with Uzbekistan’s dangerous southpaw, Hasanboy Dusmatov in the semifinals. The silver lining in Hernandez’s unanimous decision loss to Dusmatov is that this defeat sealed Hernandez’s position as a bronze medalist (in boxing, both losers in the semifinals receive a bronze medal). Nonetheless, Hernandez was very disappointed and was vocal about his aspirations for a gold medal. The match started much like the other matches Hernandez has been involved in in these Olympic Games, with his opponent taking the early advantage. Dusmatov countered Hernandez with his strong left hand whenever Hernandez lunged in. The Uzbek was elusive and did not give the American much of a target to aim at. Round two was a bit tighter, as Hernandez became more active with his punches and more responsible on defense. Dusmatov still found a home for his quality counter punches and he landed enough of them to take round two on all three judges’ scorecards. Suffering from a cut and down on points, Hernandez knew he needed a strong effort in the last round and he came out with all he had. Round three was a war and Hernandez, the bigger man and bigger puncher, took it on two of the three judges scorecards. It wasn’t enough to win the fight, but it won Hernandez the adoration of the crowd and the respect of his skilled opponent. Its a tough loss for Hernandez, who was doing so well against highly regarded opponents, but he gets to assume the title of Olympic bronze medalist and be the first American male boxer to win a medal in eight years. Dusmatov faces Colombia’s
Yuberjen Herney Martinez Rivas, who in his last fight upset Cuba’s Joahnys Argilagos, in the light flyweight finals.

The second loss in a row for the States was especially tough to take considering how close lightweight Karlos Balderas was to winning another medal for the USA. The Californian had to face Cuban star and gold medal favorite Lazaro Alvarez in the quarterfinal, but in a fair world these two boxers should not have met until the gold medal match. I am confident that Balderas would have beaten any other lightweight in the tournament, but in Olympic boxing (and amateur boxing in general) the tournaments brackets are created randomly, so Balderas will have to settle for missing out on a medal by one fight because of the tough random matchmaking. Balderas gave Alvarez a hell of a fight, too. Round one started off with the southpaw Alvarez out boxing Balderas at range, but by the final minute, Balderas had closed some distance and landed with his right hand. In the last ten seconds of round one, Alvarez and Balderas fought toe-to-toe. The Cuban asserted himself a little more in round two and landed some good left hands. Balderas had some success with his jab, but Alvarez controlled most of the second round. With the fight slipping out of reach going into round three, Balderas, like his teammate Nico Hernandez, came out guns blazing and fired away at Alvarez. This round was as close as it gets, and could have easily gone to Balderas. In the end, the judges did not see it that way, and they gave all three rounds to Alvarez, which I believe was very harsh on Balderas. Alvarez will next fight the Brazilian Robson Conceicao, who he beat by close decision in the finals of the 2013 World Championships.

Female lightweight Mikaela Mayer took the sting off of Hernandez’s and Balderas’ losses by ending the day for Team USA with a dominant win. She faced off with Micronesia’s Jennifer Chieng, and for the three rounds of the fight, Mayer beat her down. The American possessed major speed and size advantages, and she used them to dart in and out, land strong combinations, and keep the compact Chieng a safe distance away. Mayer is very raw, but she is undeniably talented and has lots of tools to work with. In between absorbing jabs, hooks, and right hands from Mayer, the Micronesian woman had her moments. She often found a home for her overhand right, as Mayer stood straight up with her chin in the air almost every time she threw a flurry of punches. However, Chieng’s attacks did not compare to Mayer’s attacks in any round. Mayer was so devastating in round two that she was awarded and extra point on the judges scorecards even though she did not score a knockdown. This was a positive way to end the day for team USA and a positive way to start the tournament for Mayer, who certainly can go far. She is now in the quarterfinals and will next fight Russia’s Anastasia Belyakova.

USA went 1-2 and Great Britain went 2-1 over the past two days, but those short term records are not necessarily indicative of things to come. Both teams have boxers who have not yet fought, and some of these boxers (Claressa Shields and Shakur Stevenson for USA and Joe Joyce and Nicola Adams for GB) have been considered favorites to win a medal. The winners and the losers on both sides of the pond have looked world class in terms of skill, talent, and conditioning. All of the tools are there, and soon we will see if both teams’ remaining boxers can pull it together and make it to the medal rounds.

Neither team is unbeaten anymore, but the two boxing powerhouses have veered in very different directions. Over the past two days, Great Britain has seen more of its team get eliminated while team USA has already clinched one medal. The British Olympic boxing team, which started with 12 combatants, and the United States team, which started with eight, now both have seven fighters remaining in the games.
Starting off team USA’s action on day four (August 9) was lightweight Karlos Balderas, who was fighting for a spot in the quarterfinals. Across the ring from him was Japan’s Daisuke Narimatsu, a very well conditioned and determined boxer. Balderas looked absolutely elite in this Round of 16 bout, much like he did in his first fight of the tournament. Narimatsu brought good skills and a great work rate to the table, but Balderas figured him out relatively quickly and worked him over throughout the three round match. Everything was working for Karlos Balderas.  His jab was accurate, his power punches were rapid and damaging, and his defense was beautiful to watch. The warrior from Japan was very good in every category, but just a step below the American fighter. Narimatsu had some success during the stretches where the two fighters traded punches at close quarters, but Balderas’ punches were noticeably harder and the American was more accurate. Balderas got the unanimous decision win, and if he didn’t have to fight Cuban 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and gold medal favorite in his next match, the American would be a lock for a spot in the medal rounds. But don’t count him out of his match with the Cuban — Balderas could have what it takes to pull off the upset.

Great Britain’s only boxer who fought on day four was lightweight Joseph Cordina. His results did not help team GB. Against 2008 Olympian Hurshid Tojibaev, of Uzbekistan, the British man lost a very closely contested split decision. He was not outclassed and he was not beaten by a fighter who was that much better than him — he simply did not throw enough punches to convince the judges in his favor. Cordina showcased a great jab and world-class movement in round one. The first minute and a half of the fight looked easy for him and Tojibaev looked slightly frustrated. But then, after getting hit with a few counter shots and tasting Tojibaev’s dangerous power, Cordina’s activity level began to wane. He was still moving side to side with great skill, but he was not offering up enough offense. With not much resistance coming at him, Tojibaev was able to become much more aggressive and land more punches. It wasn’t that Cordina wasn’t throwing any punches; he just wasn’t throwing enough. He was accurate, but Tojibaev’s activity and aggression made two of the three judges declare him as the winner. Tojibaev next fights talented Brazilian Robson Conceicao in the quarterfinals.

The second team USA fighter to compete on August 9 gave USA Boxing its first loss in the 2016 Olympic Games. However, 18 year old middleweight Charles Conwell has nothing to be ashamed of, as he gave his all and arguably deserved the decision in losing to Krishan Vikas, of India. Like many other Indian boxers, Vikas is a skilled defensive fighter and he used his height and elusiveness to outmaneuver the aggressive Conwell. Conwell was clearly the smaller man, but he was definitely the bigger puncher. All three rounds played out in much the same way, with Conwell stalking and Vikas jabbing and keeping on the outside. Conwell’s downfall was likely his lack of activity and Vikas’ ability to tie him up when Conwell got into close range. Sensing that he might be down on points, Conwell upped his punch output in round three and ended up winning that round on the judges scorecards. It turned out to be too little, too late, because Vikas got the unanimous points win. It was a tough loss, but at 18 years old, Conwell’s boxing career is really just getting started. Vikas’ next fight comes against Onder Sipal, of Turkey.

Day five spelled more defeat for team Great Britain, this time in the bantamweight division. Qais Ashfaq, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 2015 European Games bronze medalist, was matched tough in his opening bout. He had to fight Chatchai Butdee, who was a 2012 Olympian for Thailand. The difference in this fight was Butdee’s defense and power. The two boxers let their hands go throughout, and Ashfaq even had a good speed advantage, but Butdee adeptly avoided most of Ashfaq’s attacks and countered with punishing shots. Round one was very competitive, but in the second and third, Butdee really pulled away. The result was a unanimous decision win in Butdee’s favor, advancing him to a Round of 16 matchup against Russian powerhouse Vladimir Nikitin. This was a great learning experience for the 23 year old Ashfaq, and like Conwell and his 24 year old teammate Cordina, he has plenty of time to come back stronger.

The USA didn’t have any fights on day five until five fifteen in the afternoon, Rio time, but boy were those fights worth the wait. Light flyweight Nico Hernandez got the United States started with his quarterfinals fight against Carlos Quipo Pilataxi, of Ecuador. This fight was a closely contested war that was almost dead even until the very last second of the match. The two boxers wasted almost no time getting started. Early in round one, they were already trading big shots. If good skills, good power, good speed, and lots of landed punches is your thing, then this match was for you. At the end of the first round, the Ecuadorian seemed to have a slight edge. Hernandez has seemed to have a habit of coming on strong in the second round so far in these games, and he did just that in this fight. The 108 pound American began to throw more straight shots and appeared to win the close second round. With the fight dead even going into round three, both fighters laid it on the line. There was basically nothing to split the two fighters, who were going punch for punch, until the final minute of the round. Hernandez landed a strong right hand that buzzed Pilataxi and then followed up with an effective flurry of punches to seal the deal. With the unanimous decision victory, Nico Hernandez clinched a bronze medal (or better, if he wins the semi finals or the whole tournament) and became the first boxer in eight years to win an Olympic boxing medal for team USA. He also became the first American to win an Olympic medal at light flyweight in 28 years. His semifinals bout will be against Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov.

The United States’ second and last fight of day 5 was another unanimous decision win. In an unusual situation, USA’s light welterweight representative Gary Antuanne Russell fought USA born and raised Richardson Hitchins, who was fighting for Haiti because he did not make the US Olympic team, in a rematch of their fight in the US Olympic Trials. It was a competitive but clear win for Russell, who possesses very fast hands just like his brother, 2008 Olympian and WBC featherweight champion Gary Allen Russell Jr.,  but has a very different style than his brother. The 2016 US Olympian is an aggressive southpaw likes to smother and swarm his opponent (his brother is a defensive counterpuncher), and he did just that against the talented Hitchins. The Haitian representative landed quite a few clean punches, but for the most part was stifled by Russell’s  constant pressure and good head movement. At times the bout was very entertaining, and at times the bout was filled with grappling and ugliness. Nevertheless, it was another win in the books for the USA. Russell’s next fight will be against Wuttichai Masuk, of Thailand.

The remaining US and Great Britain combatants all have the potential to medal, but each one has their work cut out for them. Cuba and Uzbekistan both have phenomenal fighters remaining in every division, and these fighters, especially light heavyweight Julio Cesar la Cruz and bantamweight Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba) and super heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan), are formidable threats. Many of the Brazilians have looked dangerous as well. No medals will come easy, but for team USA and team GB, it is entirely possible that more medals will come.

It was a fairy tale start on both sides of the pond, but Sunday and Monday saw only one country continue its undefeated streak in the boxing tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games. It was tough luck for Great Britain and good fortune for the United States, but both countries still have fighters with the potential to advance to the medal rounds.

It was a quiet Sunday for both teams, but British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi, who originally hails from Ghana, added a notch to his team’s win column and a feather to his own cap by scoring Rio 2016’s first stoppage win over tough Ugandan Kennedy Katende. Buatsi, who was the bigger, better conditioned, and stronger man, patiently walked down his opponent and landed hard shots to the body. Buatsi showed great stamina, as he remained in good form the whole time and never once looked fatigued. The same could not be said for Katende, who was finished by the middle of the third round. Buatsi appeared to knock him down , but the referee ruled it a slip, and Buatsi responded by pounding Katende for a standing eight-count, which subsequently caused Katende’s corner to stop the fight. The British man may go far, but he has his work cut out for him. Like the rest of the GB team, he given a tough break in his bracket and up next, he will have to face Asian Games champ and World Championships silver medalist Elshod Rasulov of Uzbekistan.

Great Britain’s luck ran out on Monday morning, as the super-quick light flyweight Galal Yafai dropped a split decision to Cuba’s former youth star Joahnys Argilagos. It was a competitive fight the whole way through, but Argilagos was just slightly better over the course of the fight. The Cuban’s defensive prowess forced Yafai to come forward and be aggressive. Yafai, who is much more comfortable on the back foot (not being the aggressor), repeatedly walked into counter punches, although he did land some shots of his own. Yafai got some credit with the judges, as one judge favored his aggression enough to declare him the winner. In the end, the decision in Argilagos’ favor was fair and while Yafai may understandably be bitter about his loss in the short term, he performed very well against a top notch opponent. Argilagos will next fight Kenya’s Peter Mungai Warui.

USA’s lone fight of the past two days was another victory, and an impressive one at that. Light flyweight Nico Hernandez paid no attention to his underdog status as he outfought and overpowered European champion Vasili Egorov, of Russia, to win a unanimous decision. From the onset, the Russian fighter looked to swarm the American with flurries of punches. Hernandez was not to be deterred, and after a tense first minute, he began to open up with big shots of his own. The fight was a quite a war, with both fighters letting their hands go frequently. Hernandez found the target early and often, and his punches were the more telling blows. He appeared to hurt Egorov with a right hand in the second round, but the tough Russian fought through it. Knowing he was down on points entering the third round, Egorov came out for the third round trying to knock Hernandez out. Hernandez made it through that final round and picked up his second win of the tournament. The American has looked better and better with each fight, and he needs just one more win to guarantee a medal for team USA. He next fights Ecuador’s Carlos Quipo Pilataxi.

Great Britain did have some success today, as welterweight representative Josh Kelly out-boxed Egypt’s Walid Mohamed to a unanimous decision win. Kelly, who had been sick in the days leading up to the bout, did not look his best, but for the most part did as he pleased against the tough Egyptian. Kelly fights with a confident, hands down style and relies a lot on his reflexes. In this match, his reflexes started out a little slow. Mohamed was able to find the target early on and appeared to be working his way toward an upset. However, class showed over time and by the end of round one, Kelly was dodging more of Mohamed’s punches and landing telling blows of his own. By the end of the third and final round, there was no doubt who the better man was, and that man notched another win for Great Britain. Kelly looked well conditioned, muscular, and strong, so his stamina should hold up for the tournament as long as his sickness goes away. He will need to bring his A-game to his next fight, as he fights Kazakh technician Daniyar Yeleussinov this Thursday.

The next British fighter up, middleweight Anthony Fowler, was given no favors in his Olympic journey. He had multiple tough fights when he qualified for the Olympics, and in his very first bout of the tournament, he was matched against Kazakhstan’s Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, who won both the World Championships and the Asian Championships in 2013. Fowler, who is as likable and talented a person there is in the sport of boxing, took a bit of a beating from the taller, rangier Kazakh. Fowler actually had a decent round one and appeared to be competing on relatively close terms with Alimkhanuly, but the 2013 World Amateur Champion knocked Fowler down in the second round and from that point on was in full command. Fowler is as tough as they come, and could have been a medal contender if he hadn’t drawn such a tough opponent in his first fight. The Kazakh’s next opponent will be the winner of the Congo vs. Algeria fight, which takes place on Tuesday.

Britain’s final Olympic boxing match of today (Monday) was another loss, but not one that team GB should be ashamed of. Heavyweight Lawrence Okolie, in only his 26th fight, stepped in the ring against Cuban beast Erislandy Savon in Okolie’s second fight of the Rio Games. This was a rematch, as Savon knocked Okolie out previously in a WSB (World Series of Boxing) match, but Okolie fared much better this time. Other than going down on a flash knockdown in round one, Okolie looked like a vastly improved fighter from their first match, and was competitive with Savon in every round. Savon, whose cousin is three-time Olympic gold medalist Felix Savon, is a brilliant ring general and was the boss in each round, but Okolie showed a great jab and landed a couple good right hands. Okolie has great athleticism and is learning fast. The main thing that worked against him in these games was inexperience. He is only 23, so he has plenty of time to improve. Savon, on the other hand, is as complete as a fighter can get. He looks like a gold medal favorite, and will next showcase his skills on Wednesday against Argentina’s Alberto Yamil Peralta.

Quite a few fighters from other countries have looked impressive lately as well. French welterweight Souleymane Cissokho took apart Imre Bacskai, of Hungary, in his Olympic debut using blinding speed, good combinations, and deft footwork. Spain’s light flyweight Samuel Carmona Heredia looked better than ever before in scoring a major upset over Ireland’s two time Olympic Bronze medalist, Paddy Barnes. He fought toe to toe with Barnes and showcased a great left hook in his victory. Nduku Okwiri, of Kenya, scored a major upset in the welterweight division when he beat Andre Zamkovoi, of Russia, with his high punch output, toughness, and determination. The Rio boxing tournament is talent-laden in every division, and the remaining fighters from Great Britain and the USA fit right in.

 

 

On the inaugural day of Rio 2016 Olympic boxing tournament, boxing’s two major powerhouses on either side of the pond got off to as good of a start as they could get, going undefeated and for the most part, looking good doing so.

In the morning session, light flyweight Galal Yafai started Great Britain off with a win over Fotsala Simplice of Cameroon. The southpaw Yafai landed a strong left hand and right hook throughout the contest, but had a little bit of trouble with the tough Cameroonian at times. In the end, Yafai was sharper technically and the much speedier fighter and he cruised through the three rounds of the fight to a clear decision win. He should go far in this competition

Also fighting in the morning session was American lightweight Karlos Balderas. He upset  the odds makers’ favorite, Berik Abdrakhmanov, of Kazakhastan, by impressive unanimous decision. USA’s lightweight Olympian really looked good here against a solid, aggressive opponent. He defended well, looked very fast and relaxed, and did not get caught up in the nerves that come with being in the Olympics. Abdrakhamanov tried, but could not land enough punches to really have an impact in the fight. Balderas has some solid competition in his division, including Honduras representative Teofimo Lopez and Thai former professional champion Amnat Ruenroeng,  but his talent is undeniable, and so is his potential to reach a spot on the podium.

In the afternoon session, USA’s Nico Hernandez beat Italy’s Manuel Cappai by unanimous decision. There was no doubt about the result of this clash, but 2012 Olympian Cappai gave Hernandez all he could handle in this fight. The Italian won the first round and threw a lot of punches to make the American feel uncomfortable. Hernandez really had to dig deep, but by the halfway point of round two, he was landing combinations of his own and defending more responsibly. This was a good win to start off the tournament for Hernandez, as Cappai had worthy Olympic credentials.

Great Britain’s first fighter of the afternoon, Joe Cordina, went up against Charly Suarez of the Philippines and what a good, close fight this was! The favored Cordina had to give everything he had to gain the edge over the tough Filipino, who gained the crowd’s support as the fight went on. Cordina had the speed edge, but Suarez was determined as ever, and they both skillfully found ways to land punches on each other throughout the fight. How tough to score was this match? So close that through two rounds, one judge had Cordina up 2-0, another judge had Suarez up 2-0, and the third judge had the contest even. In the end, Cordina got the split decision win and moves on to face more tough competition.

The final British candidate of the day was Lawrence Okolie, and he took on Poland’s Igor Jakubowski. Lawrence Okolie’s victory in this fight was only his 25th victory, and because of his marked inexperience, he will likely be the official underdog in every bout in this tournament. However, this status by no means reflects his talent. Okolie is somewhat reckless, but he is fast, has a powerful right hand, has a good jab, has good movement, and has good stamina. He used all of those attributes as well as effective combination punching to shut down the sturdy Polish man, who was the World Olympic Qualifier champion at heavyweight. Okolie faces Erislandy Savon in his next fight, and that should be a tough challenge, as he was knocked out by Savon when they previously fought.

Overall, the 2-0 start by the US and the 3-0 start by Great Britain are positive signs of things to come for these two teams. Neither team benefited from easy seeding (especially Great Britain), but today’s fights showed that the members of these two teams can give their best performances against top competition. These two teams are beginning the tournament with great momentum.

 

 

 

 

Don’t get me wrong — Hitchins has about as good of a chance to medal as anybody in this year’s Games, but the journey he took to get to Rio as Haiti’s only representative for boxing was far from the typical path the world’s premiere athletes take to make it to the most significant athletic event on Earth.

December, 2015. Richardson Hitchins, a Brooklyn native who trains out of the Atlas Cops and Kids Gym, is preparing to leave for the most important tournament of his life: the United States Olympic Trials. By no later than December 13th, Hitchins plans to win the contest in the 141 pound division and hopefully join his good friend and fellow boxer, Shakur Stevenson, in becoming a member of the United States Olympic team.

Misfortune strikes almost immediately.

Hitchins loses a decision — a split decision — to Tyrek Irby that easily could have gone in Hitchins’ favor. But that isn’t the end; since the Trials is a double elimination tournament, if you lose twice you’re out. The Brooklyn boxer gets a second chance the next day, but his fate is again negative. Hitchins comes up short in losing a unanimous decision to the eventual tournament winner and 2016 US Olympian, Gary Antuanne Russell.

Disappointed, the fighter heads home. Determined to not let this be his downfall, he decides to do one more amateur  tournament, the Golden Gloves (first the New York and if he wins that, the Nationals), and then turn pro.

January, 2016. The Golden Gloves begin. For Hitchins this is familiar territory. He won the 2015 New York Golden Gloves, so this is nothing he can’t handle. His training is going well, and he is getting over his loss at the trials.

February, 2016. Richardson Hitchins takes on his first opponent of the Golden Gloves, Michael Hughes, at Gleason’s Gym, and Hughes is there to win. They battle it out for three tough rounds but Hitchins’ speed and reflexes are the difference. He takes home a unanimous decision win as well as the award for Bout of the Night.

March, 2016. The Brooklyn boxer gets an easy win in his second bout. He faces Brandon Idrogo and wins a wide unanimous decision that advances him to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he runs into a bit more resistance. In the very first round, Hitchins appears to get knocked down by a perfect counter left-hand by his opponent, Dashaun Johns. The referee, however, misses the punch and rules it a slip. Hitchins goes on to outbox Johns over the remainder of the fight, but the knockdown provides a little bit of adversity for the talented New Yorker.

April, 2016. Richardson Hitchins has reached the finals. On April 19th, over a year after his last appearance in the finals, Hitchins walks into the Barclays Center arena to fight for his second New York Golden Gloves championship. The Atlas Cops and Kids trained boxer is on a mission tonight, and unfortunately for his opponent, Christian Coakley, he is extra motivated to put on a show. In front of family and friends, Hitchins puts on a boxing clinic to become a back-to-back New York Golden Gloves champion. This win advances him to the National Golden Gloves (a.k.a. the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions) in Salt Lake City. In his mind, he plans to win that tournament, and then start to work on making his professional debut. The Olympics are nowhere near his plans anymore.

May, 2016. Everything changes. After a loss to Vergil Ortiz causes Hitchins to leave the Tournament of Champions early, Hitchins is back at home preparing to become a professional fighter. Suddenly, he gets a call from Shakur Stevenson, now the 123-Lb Olympian for Team USA, and Julie Goldsticker, the USA Boxing public relations consultant. They tell Hitchins shocking news — former welterweight champion and Haitian Olympian Andre Berto is going to pay for Hitchins to go to the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Because Hitchins’ parents are Haitian and Haiti has no Olympic boxers, Hitchins can qualify for them. Even more shocking — Hitchins has never been to an international tournament before and only has two weeks to prepare.

June, 2016. The time to qualify has come. This is Hitchins’ second chance, and he is not going to pass it up. He has never fought outside of the US before, but he has his sights set on the Rio games and remains fully unfazed. First he beats Iraq. Korea goes down second. Spain is no match for Hitchins in his third fight. His next fight is the most important one of his life. If he wins it, he advances to the semifinals of the tournament and becomes a 2016 Olympian (a fighter has to place in the top five of the tournament to qualify). In his biggest moment to date, Hitchins comes through with a win over Greece and achieves his biggest dream: he is going to Rio.