Boxing 2020 Tokyo Olympic Review

Men’s Flyweight (-52kg)

In the top quarter, Ryomei Tanaka (Japan) had a superb win over Yoel Finol (Colombia) using educated pressure and timing. He followed that up by defeating Hu Jianguan (China). Another surprise happened in that top quarter as Yuberjen Martinez (Colombia) pressured Amit Panghal (India) into a split decision defeat. Tanaka put pressure on Martinez, who picked his punches very well early on. As the pace slowed and Martinez threw fewer combinations, Tanaka was able to take over in the third. He was still arguably fortunate to get the decision. In the second quarter, Brendan Irvine (Ireland) lost a split decision to the aggressive Carlo Paalam (Philippines). Paalam went on to beat Mohamed Flissi (Algeria). He then came up against 2016 gold medalist, Shakhobidin Zoirov (Uzbekistan) in the quarter final. Paalam came out fast in the first round, throwing a right-hand left hook combination to take the first round of all five scorecards. The pace had already begun to slow when the two had a clash of headsm which cut Zoirov and sent us to the scorecards, which gave the victory to Paalam. Rodrigo Marte (Dominican Republic) was too passive and went out to Sulemanu Tetteh (Ghana), whilst Patrick Chinyemba (Zambia) upset Alex Winwood (Australia). The round of sixteen bouts went as expected, with Galal Yafai (Great Britain) setting up a bout with Yosbany Veitia (Cuba). Yafai, as in the World Championships, put pressure on Veitia, keeping a tight guard under attack. Yafai won the first round on four scorecards, with Veitia taking the second 3-2. In the final round, Yafai was irrepressible, his non-stop pressure got the decision. In the bottom quarter, Gabriel Escobar (Spain) reversed form with Daniel Asenov (Bulgaria), winning behind relentless punching. Saken Bibossinov (Kazakhstan) upset seeded Billal Bennama (France) in a non-stop contest. Bibossinov scored a knockdown in his quarter-final against Escobar to put him in control. Escobar boxed his way back in, behind a looping overhand left and work rate. Bibossinov took the split decision win behind his sharp work. Paalam made his way to the final, winning a unanimous decision. Yafai started incredibly fast against Bibossinov, giving him a standing count in the first round but Bibossinov bounced back to win 3-2 in the second round. In the third, it came down to the quality of Bibossinov against the pressure and volume of Yafai with Yafai takin a split decision on the cards. In the final, Yafai start aggressively with a tight guard keeping him protected. A one-two scored a big knockdown on Paalam and Yafai was given the first round unanimously. In the second round, Paalam held his feet more, not alolowing him to being backed up on the ropes. Yafai was more defensively responsible, as well as still being able to land hooks and uppercuts to win round two 4-1.  The third saw Yafai more willing to stay away and try to stop the chances of a bad moment costing him Olympic gold.

🥇Gamal Yafai 🇬🇧

🥈Carlo Paalam 🇵🇭

🥉Saken Bibossinov 🇰🇿

🥉Ryomei Tanaka 🇯🇵

Men’s Featherweight (-57kg)

The top quarter was immensely loaded and Duke Ragan (United States) started it off by being gifted a decision against Samuel Kistohurry (France). He then picked off Serik Temirzhanov (Kazakhstan). Also in that top quarter, Kurt Walker (Ireland) surprised number one seed Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov (Uzbekistan), with judges preferring his punch picking and defensive movement to the pressure of the Uzbek. In the quarter-final, Ragan controlled the range and Walker had to change his style in round two by pushing the American back. He shipped a few too many punches in the third round and Ragan was handed the 3-2 split decision victory. In the second quarter, Jean Caicedo (Ecuador) scored a massive upset over Mykola Butsenko (Ukraine) before losing to Samuel Takyi (Ghana). The 20-year-old lost round one on all five cards but, as he begin to make Caicedo miss and make him pay, he managed to turn the judges around. Peter McGrail (Great Britain) was upset in the opening round, as he was unable to slow down Chatchai Butdee (Thailand). Butdee came up against Lazaro Alvarez (Cuba) and employ successful raids on the Cuban, but the Cuban managed to get the split decision victory. The bottom quarter went largely to plan, to set up the quarter-final we all hoped for. Erdenebatyn Tsendbaatar (Mongolia) started at an incredible pace, constantly attacking but easy to hit. He took the first round on every card. In the second round, Albert Batyrgaziev (Russia) upped the work rate but was being hit cleaner. He won two of the five cards meaning he needed a big final round to have any chance. He managed it, forcing a standing count with less than a minute remaining, and getting a 3-2 split decision win. Ragan lost the first round against Takyi. He was picking accurate punches as Takyi stalked him but did not do a lot of work. He was the better boxer when letting his hands go but it was too infrequent and many saw Ragan as lucky to get the split decision victory. Alvarez started his semi-final impressively, picking classy punches. The pressure came from Batyrgaziev slowly ramping up and despite looking tired in the final round, he took the split decision win to make the final. In the final, Batyrgaziev used his pressure. Ragan did not have enough volume to keep up with him in the first and although sharper in the second he would have an unassailable lead, taking a split decision victory to win gold.

🥇Albert Batyrgaziev 🇷🇺

🥈Duke Ragan 🇺🇸

🥉Lazaro Alvarez 🇨🇺

🥉Samuel Takyi 🇬🇭

Men’s Lightweight (-63kg)

Lightweight largely went to form in the opening round. The only small surprise was Luke McCormack (Great Britain) edging a split decision against Manish Kaushik (India). In round two, McCormack came up against Andy Cruz (Cuba), who operated at a level above. The bout of the round saw Hovhannes Bachkov (Armenia) beating Javid Chalabiyev (Armenia) in a war that surely saw both men throw over 100 punches a round. Wanderson Oliveira (Brazil) upset Dzmitry Asanou (Belarus). The bout of the round came as Keyshawn Davis (United States) took on number one seed Sofiane Oumiha (France). The classy American edged the intriguing first round, but landed a massive overhand right in the second that left the Frenchman on unsteady legs and the referee stopped the contest. Davis continued to impress with his stick-and-move style. In the following round he took on Gabil Mamedov (Russia). Despite most observers seeing him ahead, he lost the second round on all scorecards, but dropped Mamedov in the third to take the victory. Backhov put Elnur Abduraimov (Uzbekistan) under immense pressure, making him miss and punishing him with body shots to make the semi-final. Cruz took on Wanderson Oliveira (Brazil) in one of the speediest bouts in the tournament. He put on a defensive masterclass, taking the victory. In the other quarter final, Harry Garside (Australia) edged a split decision over Zakir Safiullin (Kazakhstan). The two were tied heading into the final round and the Kazakh arguably won that round most decisively, even rocking Garside, but was not handed the decision. In the first semi-final, it looked as if Davis’ speed and timing were too much for Backhov in the opening round. A point deduction for holding in the second round made things nervy for Davis, as he tried to avoid the Armenian’s pressure. In the third round, Davis once again dominated with his speed and took a unanimous decision. In the other semi, Garside was a level or two below what was needed to trouble Cruz. He made it awkward early but Cruz soon took over and gave the Australian a standing count in the third on his way to victory. The final was always going to be a high-level affair. It started cagey without a lot of punches but Cruz accelerated through the final minute and took the round on four cards. In the second round, Davis increased his aggression and, pace landing the bigger punches to take the second round unanimously. Cruz improved defensively in the third, hardly shipping a punch whilst landing his flurries to take the split decision victory.

🥇Andy Cruz 🇨🇺

🥈Keyshawn Davis 🇺🇸

🥉Hovhannes Bachkov 🇦🇲

🥉Harry Garside 🇦🇺

Men’s Welterweight (-69kg)

There were a few bad decisions in this weight class. Thankfully for Pat McCormack (Great Britain), he avoided that. He cruised through his quarter, including a battling win against Bobo-Usmon Baturov (Uzbekistan), using his ability to make opponents miss. In the second quarter, the major benefactor of a fortunate decision was Merven Clair (Mauritius) who seemed lucky against Zeyad Eashash (Jordan) before Aidan Walsh (Ireland) beat him in the quarter-final. Delante Johnson (United States) also received a gift against Brian Arregui (Argentina), but his sharp punches impressed when upsetting Ablaikhan Zhussupov (Kazakhstan). In the quarter-finals, he came up against Roniel Iglesias (Cuba), who rallied in the third round to edge Sewon Okazawa (Japan), who looked impressive in that bout and when defeating Vikas Krishan (India). Eskerkhan Madiev (Georgia) stopped Lorenzo Sotomayor (Azerbaijan) on cuts, to set up a quarter-final against Andrey Zamkovoy (Russia). Zamkovoy was another clear winner. In the semi-finals, Walsh pulled out due to injury, no doubt pleasing McCormack, who had suffered a cut against the rugged Uzbek. Iglesias put in his best performance of the Olympics by pushing Zamkovoy back and picking effective punches. He bettered it in the final when handing Pat McCormack a bit of a lesson. It was a high-level chess battle but Iglesias took the first round on four scorecards. Iglesias arguably scored a knockdown in the second that the referee called a slip, although he took the round unanimously.

🥇Roniel Iglesias 🇨🇺

🥈Pat McCormack 🇬🇧

🥉Andrey Zamkovoy 🇷🇺

🥉Aidan Walsh 🇮🇪

Men’s Middleweight (-75kg)

Oleksandr Khyzhniak (Ukraine) cruised through to the quarter-final where he was drawn against Euri Cedeno (Dominican Republic). Arman Darchinyan (Armenia) set up his contest against Eumir Marcial (Philippines), who scored a stoppage in his opening bout. The first round upsets came in the bottom half. Ashish Kumar (India) was upset by Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan (China). David Tshama (Congo) scored the other opening round upset, beating Wilfried Ntsengue (Cameroon). Neither would play a part in the latter stages of the tournament. Hebert Conceicao (Brazil) set up a quarter-final with Abilkhan Amankul (Kazakhstan), whilst Darrelle Valsaint (Haiti) was no doubt happy with his soft draw, which put him through to a bout with Gleb Bakshi (Russia) who had edged Troy Isley (United States) the round prior. Cedeno came out fast against Khyzhniak and looked to match the work rate of the Ukrainian. Khyzhniak was relentless though and even Cedeno giving him a standing count in the final round, could not bring him the upset. Marcial showed his power with a stoppage against Darchinyan in the opening round, with a one-two right hook combination. The third quarter-final was the one expected to be close and so it proved. They each took one of the first two rounds on three of the judges' scorecards. It came down to whether you preferred the pressure of Amankul or the sharper punch picking of Conceicao. The judges went for the Brazilian. In the final quarter-final, Bakshi won a lacklustre decision against a tough Valsaint, in a bout which often ended up in periods of wrestling. Marcial was arguably the semi-finalist with the most chance of beating the Ukrainian favourite. He was landing the better punches, often looping lefts or hooks. He took both of the first two rounds 3-2 on the scorecards, but on different cards. The pressure and work rate of Khyzhniak got him in the third, as he took it unanimously to reach the final. The other semi-final was a lower quality affair, but similar as Conceicao landed the classy shots against the pressure and power of Bakshi. This time, the judges went with the classy work of the Brazilian. As always the Khyzhniak bouts would see the Ukrainian marching forward with a high work rate, even if his opponent landed classier shots. Despite the classier work, the Ukrainian took round one in the final. The second round would be scored the same. Incredibly 2-0 down, Conceicao pulled out a left hook as the pair exchanged, that would flatten the Ukrainian and seal his gold.

🥇Hebert Conceicao 🇧🇷

🥈Oleksandr Khyzhniak 🇺🇦

🥉Gleb Bakshi 🇷🇺

🥉Eumir Marcial 🇵🇭

Men’s Light Heavyweight (-81kg)

Arguably one of the most exciting divisions in the tournament. The round of 32 largely went to seed, but that changed in the round of sixteen. Number one seed Bekzad Nurdauletov (Kazakhstan) was beaten by Imam Khataev (Russia) in a brilliant contest with massive exchanges. Gazimagomed Jalidov (Spain) edged Paulo Aokuso (Australia) in another quality bout. An upset came as Rogelio Romero (Mexico) beat Luka Plantic (Croatia) and yet another shock came as the second seed Dilshodbek Ruzmetov (Uzbekistan) lost to classy Loren Alfonso (Azerbaijan). The quarter-finals had a lot to live up to. Khataev after dominating Jalidov, crushed him with a massive right hand in the third round and stopped the fight. Ben Whittaker (Great Britain) edged Keno Machado (Brazil) but was arguably lucky to receive the decision. Arlen Lopez (Cuba) and Alfonso made the semi-final in the other half. The first semi saw the pressure of Khataev against the classy punch picking of Whittaker. Whittaker looked stronger, never allowing Khataev to set his feet and get comfortable. Despite losing the first round, probably behind a lack of successful offence himself, he went on to win the 4-1 split decision, with neither man landing many punches. The other semi-final saw two Cuban-born boxers face off. Both took one of the first two rounds on a 4-1 split. In the third, it was Lopez who put the pressure on a tiring Alfonso to get the victory. The final was high-level chess with Lopez moving forward allowing him to take the first round unanimously. Whittaker was perhaps unlucky in the second as he landed more punches but lost the round 4-1 which sealed the gold for Lopez.

🥇Arlen Lopez 🇨🇺

🥈Ben Whittaker 🇬🇧

🥉Loren Alfonso 🇦🇿

🥉Iman Khataev 🇷🇺

Men’s Heavyweight (-91kg)

Abdelhafid Benchabla (Algeria) upset Sanjar Tursunov (Uzbekistan) in the first round, but was eliminated by Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (Russia), who cruised through to the semis. He came up against David Nyika (New Zealand) who had similarly progressed comfortably. The pressure of Hussein Eashash (Jordan) helped him to take a victory over the seeded Julio Castillo (Ecuador). He would lose out to Abner Teixeira (Brazil), who had already beat Cheavon Clarke (Great Britain). The bottom quarter was the most notable in the tournament. Emmanuel Reyes (Spain) stopped Vassiliy Levit (Kazakhstan) with a superb left hook, right-hand combination. In the quarter-final, he was drawn against Julio Cesar La Cruz (Cuba), who just had a bit too much. The two favourites made their way into the final, setting up the much-desired clash. Nyika could not get to grips with the size and awkward angles of Gadzhimagomedov. La Cruz was incredible sharp with his counter punching, but was caught with big punches occasionally by Teixeira. In the final, it was a cagey opening with La Cruz being the faster fighter and avoiding the Russian with leans. Gadzhimagomedov began to find his range and land some bigger punches, meaning La Cruz only took the opening round 4-1. The second round went 10-9 to La Cruz meaning that the Cuban would take the win unless something big occurred. It did not and La Cruz became a double Olympic champion.

🥇Julio Cesar La Cruz 🇨🇺

🥈Muslim Gadzhimadomedov 🇷🇺

🥉David Nyika 🇳🇿

🥉Abner Teixeira 🇧🇷

Men’s Super Heavyweight (+91kg)

The opening rounds went almost exactly to from, which did mean that the quarter-final lineup was an exciting one. Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan) cruised through his fight against Satish Kumar (India). The second was a whole lot more anticipated, as Fraser Clarke (Great Britain) took on Mourad Aliev (France). Both would land big straights in the opening round and a head clash opened up a cut on Clarke. Both exchanged big punches in the second, but a point was deducted in the second round. The Frenchman, lost it, spitting his gum shield out and was promptly disqualified leaving Fraser Clarke in the semi-final. The best quarter-final came as Richard Torrez (United States) edged Danier Pero (Cuba) with his aggression and superior work rate, setting up a semi-final with Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kazakhstan). Jalolov started impressively, backing up Clarke and landing good punches. Clarke landed warning shots and wobbled him in the second, leading to a standing count. However, Jalolov reopened a cut and the bout was stopped in the third. The other semi saw Kunkabayev looking to punch pick against Torrez, however, the American continued his massive hooks and stopped the Kazakh in the third round. In the final, Torrez start the contest dipping low and looking to come over the top. He did about a minute into the first round, severely wobbling Jalolov, which handed him the first round on three scorecards. The second round saw Jalolov begin to land his bigger punches and Torrez was given a standing count. Torrez was still finding a home for his big punches though. It was a much closer bout this time around but Jalolov was handed the victory on the scorecards.

🥇Bakhodir Jalolov 🇺🇿

🥈Richard Torrez 🇺🇸

🥉Kamshybek Kunkabayev 🇰🇿

🥉Fraser Clarke 🇬🇧

Women’s Flyweight (-51kg)

Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Turkey) was the number one seed and came through her quarter. The bout she struggled with most was against Tursunoy Rakhimova (Uzbekistan), who had caused a mini upset against Sandra Drabik (Poland). Another upset came in the opening round of the second quarter as Mandy Bujold (Canada) was not allowed to control the centre ring by Nina Radanovic (Serbia), who was knocked out in the quarter-final by Huang Hsiao-wen (Taiwan). In the third quarter, Ingrit Valencia (Colombia) won a classy chess battle against Mary Kom (India), by split decision to set up a quarter-final with the brilliant Tsukimi Nakimi (Japan). Nakimi looked incredible in the quarter-final, constantly moving forward and triggering before landing accurate punches. In the bottom quarter, Stoyka Krasteva (Bulgaria) made herself tough to hit and took a unanimous decision victory over Virginia Fuchs (United States). Chang Yuan (China) showed her class when dominating Charley Davison (Great Britain). The quarter-final was a bit of a nothing bout, but Krasteva was preferred by the judges, as Yuan struggled with range. In the semi final, Krasteva was scrappy early on, but as the contest progressed she began to land on Nakimi on her way in. The buzzy Japanese boxer would arguably feel a bit hard done by, taking a unanimous loss. In the other semi-final, Cakiroglu was a level above Hsiao-wen and won the semi unanimously. The final started tentatively, with both boxers looking only to exchange jabs. Krasteva was the boxer on the front, pushing the Turkish boxer back but Cakiroglu was happy to look to counter. Krasteva was given the first round unanimously and Cakiroglu started the second round on the front foot. She would up her punch output but it was not enough as Krasteva took the round 4-1.

🥇Stoyka Krasteva 🇧🇬

🥈Buse Cakiroglu 🇹🇷

🥉Huang Hsiao-wen 🇹🇼

🥉Tsukimi Nakimi 🇯🇵

Women’s Featherweight (-57kg)

As expected, this was a fascinating category. Nesthy Petecio (Philippines) got the games off to a strong start with a good win. In the second round, she came up against the number one seed Lin Yu-ting (Taiwan) who was tentative, often boxing outside of range, allowing Petecio to get the split decision victory. She beat Yeni Arias (Colombia), in the quarter-final who had upset Stanmira Petrova (Bulgaria). Petecio came up against Irma Testa (Italy) in the semi-final, who had battled through against Liudmilla Vorontsova (Russia) and Michaela Walsh (Ireland). In the semi-finals, Petecio lost round one, but adjusted and behind her overhand right managed to get the win. Karriss Artingstall (Great Britain) made her way through the quarter-finals, defeating the seeded Jucielen Romeu (Brazil). She came up against Skye Nicholson (Australia), who had beaten Im Ae-Ji (South Korea) on a split decision. That quarter-final was an excellent clash, with Artingstall keeping the pressure on and looking to land her big punches against the counter-punching of Nicholson. It was incredibly close and though I thought Nicholson had it, the decision went to Artingstall. The bottom quarter saw Maria Nechita (Romania) beat Ramla Ali (Somalia), before being eliminated by Sena Irie (Japan), whose speed made the difference. In the semi-final, Irie used her speed to counter Artingstall, winning the first round unanimously. This left the Brit with a mountain to climb, but in the second she found a home for her southpaw rear. In the last round, the two went to battle. Irie had a tighter guard, which allowed her to find a home for her straight work, whilst Artingstall pushed forward. Irie got the 3-2 split decision to make the final. In the final, Irie started impressively using her sharp counter-punching to take round one unanimously. It was scrappy whenever the two got on the inside. In the second, Petecio upped the work rate, it remained scrappier but she landed some better punches and was given the round on four scorecards. Petecio continued to put the pressure on with Irie looking better at range. Who would the judges prefer? It was Irie, taking the win on all five scorecards, winning the third round on all five scorecards.

🥇Sena Irie 🇯🇵

🥈Nesthy Petecio 🇵🇭

🥉Irme Testa 🇮🇹

🥉Kariss Artingstall 🇬🇧

Women’s Lightweight (-60kg)

This was a weight class that seemed to be all about the final. Beatriz Ferreira (Brazil) and Kelly Harrington (Ireland) were seeded one and two respectively, and were the two previous world champions. Ferreira won unanimous decisions all the way through to the final. Her toughest opponent was Mira Potkonen (Finland), who had made her way through to the semi-finals with a series of split decision victories. She was classier against Maiva Hamadouche (France), outworked Oh Yeon-Ji (South Korea) and edged young Esra Yildiz (Turkey). On the other side of the draw, Harrington cruised through to the semi-final. The second quarter saw Caroline Dubois (Great Britain) earn arguably a lucky decision against Rashida Ellis (United States), who had been deducted a point in the third. She then took on Sudaporn Seesondee (Thailand), who found her range and had the edge on quality punching in a close encounter. Harrington beat Seesondee in the semi to set up the dream final. In that contest, Ferreira started quicker but by the end of the round, Harrington was starting to time her attacks. In the second round, she was landing the better punches, straight shots with her hands down and using her head movement. The third saw more of the same and it was the punch picking of Kelly Harrington that got her the gold.

🥇Kelly Harrington 🇮🇪

🥈Beatriz Ferreira 🇧🇷

🥉Sudaporn Seesondee 🇹🇭

🥉Mira Potkonen 🇫🇮

Women’s Welterweight (-69kg)

Busenaz Surmeneli (Turkey) made her path to the semi-final look easy, boxing with a swagger and professional style that saw her cruise to two unanimous decision wins. In the semi-final, she came up against Lovlina Borgohain (India), who managed two tough split decision wins, over Nadine Apetz (Germany) and Chen Nien-chin (Taiwan). Oshae Jones (United States) was arguably lucky against Brianda Cruz (Mexico), but her looping shots saw her beat Maria Moronta (Dominican Republic) impressively, even giving her a standing count. Gu Hong (China) looked classy throughout as she cruised through to the semi-finals. Surmeneli pressured Borgohain, who was looking to keep it scrappy and land her powerful punches. However, it was Surmeneli who showed her power, giving Borgohain a standing count. The other semi was a slower affair, with Jones waiting for gaps. Instead, Hong would pump out a left hand. She would nullify the inside work of Jones by keeping it long and take a unanimous victory to the final. The final was an intriguing tactical battle. The length and counter picking of Hong against the pressure and combination punching, especially on the inside of Surmeneli. Hong took the opening round 4-1, despite Surmeneli starting to land the better punches by the end of the round. The second round was made interesting by Hong being deducted a point for holding. With twenty seconds to go in a close round, Surmeneli scored a standing eight count and took the round unanimously. Needing to win the round and do enough for judges to pick her as the winner, Hong started the third round more aggressively. It was a scrappier round, but Surmeneli took it on two scorecards to get the gold.

🥇Busenaz Surmeneli 🇹🇷

🥈Gu Hong 🇨🇳

🥉Oshae Jones 🇺🇸

🥉Lovlina Borgohain 🇮🇳

Women’s Middleweight (-75kg)

Lauren Price (Great Britain) looked a class above when making the semi-final. Her speed was a massive advantage against Atheyna Bylon (Panama) in the quarter-final, who had impressively defeated Caitlin Parker (Australia) in the round before. Nouchka Fontijn (Netherlands) had a tough route, but reached the semi impressively, beating Tammara Thibeault (Canada). Zemfira Magomedalieva (Russia) was awkward to watch, outmuscling her opponents despite looking quite slow and lumbering. She would come against Li Qian (China) in the semi-final, who had looked classy in the early rounds, very hard to hit. Price came up against Fontijn, a familiar foe for both of them. Price used her speed, but it was a scrappy bout and she was deducted a point in the second, having already lost the first round 3-2. It was not easy on the eye at all but Price pulled through with a split decision victory. In the other semi-final, Qian used her fast counter punches to keep herself out of trouble and Magomedalieva had no answers. In the final, it was a tactical contest. Price was trying to get in range, and although not a lot landed, it was Price who was controlling the round. That pattern would continue throughout the bout, landing snappy combinations without taking damage when she did get in the range.

🥇Lauren Price 🇬🇧

🥈Li Qian 🇨🇳

🥉Nouchka Fontijn 🇳🇱

🥉Zemfira Magomedalieva 🇷🇺