Men’s -51kg
Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan) will enter this tournament as favourite. He won gold at the 2016 Olympics in the light flyweight division when he was awarded the Val Barker Trophy for the best boxer at the Olympics. He is the reigning world champion and an unbeaten pro whose last defeat came in 2016. In the 2023 World Championship final he beat Billal Bennama (France). The Frenchman is a backfoot boxer who also has two World Championship bronzes. There is another world champion in the field, Saken Bibossinov (Kazakhstan). He won in 2021 after taking Olympic bronze in Tokyo and is a tall, rangy southpaw. The man he beat in that final was Roscoe Hill (United States), who is much watch for his unique style and confidence in his reflexes. Another former World Championship medalist is Amit Panghal (India) who won silver in 2019. He has also won the Asian Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Thatisan Panmot (Thailand) qualified for Tokyo at the age of 19, beating former Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov but pulled out with injury. Since then he was the Asian Games silver medalist in 2023. Alejandro Claro (Cuba) is an exciting young Cuban. He boxes from the southpaw stance with impressive footwork and is usually lead-hand-happy. Patrick Chinyemba (Zambia), Rafael Lozano Serrano (Spain) and Yunior Alcantara (Dominican Republic) are other potential names to keep an eye on.
Dusmatov deserves to be one of the strong favourites heading into the event. He has been the dominant boxer of this Olympic cycle. However, the draw has not been particularly kind. He is in the same quarter as Bibossinov, which could have been the final. In the semi final, the winner of that bout will likely come up against either Chinyemba, Panmot or Panghal, The second quarter is the weakest and I think Huysenov can make the medal stage. Bennama is the number one seed and his draw will likely see him box Hill and then Claro. I still think Dusmatov wins gold but it is a horrible draw for him. Huysenov will come through but likely lose in the semi finals. In the the top quarter, Bennama is favourite, I can see him being beaten but am not 100% either Hill or Claro can do it at home. The other quarter is the toughest to predict and I will edge to the wild unpredictability of Pascal Chinyemba.
🥇Hasanboy Dusmatov 🇺🇿
🥈Billal Bennama 🇫🇷
🥉Pascal Chinyemba 🇿🇲
🥉Nijat Huysenov 🇦🇿
Men’s -57kg
The current world champion is Abdumalik Khalokov (Uzbekistan) who moved down from lightweight, where he won silver at the 2021 World Championship. Coming up in weight is Mahmoud Sabyrkhan (Kazakhstan) who won gold at the 2023 World Championship in the Bantamweight division after winning silver in 2021. The 2021 world champion in the Featherweight division was Jahmahl Harvey (United States). Only 21, he is a speedy fighter with good head movement who likes setting traps to counter. In the 2023 Pan-American Games final he beat Saidel Horta (Cuba), himself only 22 and part of the new guard of Cuban boxing. He also won silver at the 2023 World Championship. Jude Gallagher (Ireland) is also 22 and won the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The final notable youngster is Aider Abduraimov (Ukraine) who was the 2022 European youth champion and caused upsets to qualify with his movement and switch hitting. Carlo Palaam (Philippines) was a medalist in Tokyo, winning silver in the Flyweight division. He looks small for the weight but his movement can cause trouble. Munarbek Seitbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) is a World Championship bronze medalist from 2023. Javier Ibanez (Bulgaria) was born in Cuba and won the 2023 European Games. He tends to impress at the Strandja Tournament in his home Bulgaria but often loses bouts he shouldn’t elsewhere. Luiz Gabriel Oliveira (Brazil) is a real talent who won bronze at the 2023 Pan-American Games and is 3-2 down in a series against Jamahl Harvey.
This feels like quite a competitive division with lots of quality. Khalokov is the quality of the division but Sabrykhan especially is a big danger in that matchup. His aggressive pressure and physicality, even in moving up in weight, will put pressure on the gas tank of Khalokov. The draw has matched those up early and I think Sabrykhan get the upset. Senior is a high seed and will likely come up against either Gallagher or Palaam. I think Palaam gets to the semi final but loses to Sabrykhan. The bottom quarter should come down to Abduraimov against Ibanez, in what should be a fire fight. I will edge to Abduraimov. In the third quarter, we see a rematch of Harvery and Oliveira who have both won two bouts against the other. The winner of that will take on Uulu or Horta. Again, I will edge to Harvey but it is no strecth to imagine Oliveira beating him, giving he has done it twice.
🥇Makhmud Sabyrkhan 🇰🇿
🥈Jamahl Harvey 🇺🇸
🥉Carlo Palaam 🇵🇭
🥉Aider Abduraimov 🇺🇦
Men’s -63.5kg
This feels like a division that has arguably gone backwards since Tokyo due to defections. Sofiane Oumiha (France) remains from 2016 where he won a silver medal. He is a three-time world champion, however, those wins have come at 60kg, but he is a tricky puzzle to solve with lots of experience. In the 2023 final he beat Erislandy Alvarez(Cuba). Not a typical Cuban, he is more of a technical brawler but beat Lazaro Alvarez, a triple Olympic bronze medalist in the trials. Harry Garside (Australia) returns with a bronze medal from Tokyo. The southpaw has also boxed as a professional, going 3-0. The current world champion is Ruslan Abdullaev (Uzbekistan) after he beat Baatasukhiin Chinzorig. The Mongolian would have been seen as a medal contender but a failed drugs test has seen him replaced with Bunjong Sinsiri (Thailand) who won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games and was the 2022 Asian Champion. Bakhodur Usmonov (Tajikistan) won bronze at the 2023 World Championship and is a former Asian Champion who has a 7-0** professional record using his educated pressure. Wyatt Sanford (Canada) was the Pan-American Games winner in 2023 with his physicality from southpaw helping him to beat Lázaro Alvarez. Radoslav Rosenov (Bulgaria) is another with a good youth pedigree. He has not long turned 20 but the southpaw has come up from lightweight. Dean Clancy (Ireland) also had an impressive underage record and won a bronze medal in the 2023 European Games. The silver medalist was Lasha Guruli (Georgia) who is also a reigning double bronze medal winner at Welterweight. Richard Kovacs (Hungary) was the other bronze medalist at the 2023 European Games. Jesus Cova (Venezuela) and Malik Hasanov (Azerbaijan) will also hope to be competitive.
This is one of the weaker divisions. Oumiha is not a fighter that I think wins a gold medal in most divisions. However, at home, with his propensity to be in close fights, I expect he will win a controversial gold. His run is not the toughest with Clancy then Garside the likely opponents. In the semi he will come up against someone from the top quarter. Sanford is the top seed but Abdullaev is in that side of the draw and I think he is too good, if Sanford even gets there, as Rosenov or Usmonov could both beat him. Alvarez will be thankful for his draw, his one test should come against Sinsiri, but I expect he can win, although that will be an intriguing matchup. In the semis he will likely come up against Guruli. I think the Georgian will be too much for him but goes onto lose to Oumiha in the final.
🥇Sofiane Oumiha 🇫🇷
🥈Lasha Guruli 🇬🇪
🥉Ruslan Abdullaev 🇺🇿
🥉Erislandy Alvarez 🇨🇺
Men’s -71kg
Kazakhstan won four straight gold medals in this Olympics until they lost in Tokyo. Aslanbek Shymbergenov(Kazakhstan) will be their representative and is the current world champion, however, he was beaten at the Asian Games. That was won by Sekon Okazawa (Japan), the 2021 world champion. He was potentially robbed against Iglesias in Tokyo and is an awkward combination puncher. He beat Kan Chia-Wei (Taiwan) in the Asian Games final. Another world champion is Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (Uzbekistan) who won his title at Welterweight. Omari Jones (United States) was a World Championship silver medalist in 2021 despite only being 21 when Paris begins. Nikolai Terteryan (Denmark) will be 23 but is a classy operator who won the 2023 European Games beating Vahid Abasov (Serbia) in the final. The losing semi-finalists were Tugrulhan Erdemir (Turkey) and Makan Traore(France), also 23. Marco Verde (Mexico) was the winner of the 2023 Pan-American Games. He is an aggressive southpaw who has shown toughness and heart in bouts. Nishant Dev (India) is also a southpaw and won bronze at the 2023 World Championship. Aidan Walsh (Ireland) has a bronze from the Tokyo Olympics. He has quick hands and is a good punch picker but too often goes into defensive mode in the biggest fights. Zeyad Ishaish (Jordan) also competed in the Tokyo Olympics and was runner-up at the 2022 Asian Championships.
This feels like an open division. Again, it has a weak number one seed in Shannon Davey and the top quarter is weak. I think this actually comes down to Durkacz or Jones, but will edge to the talented American. Current world champion Shymbergenov has a bit of a horror draw. He will need to come through Ishaish, Okazawa and Richardson just to win a medal. The bottom quarter comes down to Dev and Verde, I will edge to the aggressive Mexican. In the bottom quarter this should come down to a great quarter final between Muydinkhujaev and Terteryan. I am big fan of the Dutchamn and will edge him to cause the upset here. Okazawa has split bouts with Shymbergenov and I actually could see this going either way. I will edge to the Kazakh and then think he goes onto win the tournament, although I would consider it an incredible run if he is able to manage it.
🥇Aslanbek Shymbergenov 🇰🇿
🥈Nikolai Terteryan 🇩🇰
🥉Marco Verde 🇲🇽
🥉Omari Jones 🇺🇸
Men’s -80kg
This looks a lot stronger than it did in Tokyo. There, Oleksandr Khyzhniak (Ukraine) looked like the Olympic champion in waiting until halfway through the final round of the final when he was stopped. He was a 2017 world champion and is one of the best pressure boxers in the sport. Arlen Lopez (Cuba) was a 2016 Olympic champion at middleweight before moving up to light heavyweight where he took gold. He is a typical Cuban fighter with flair and excellent punch variety. Another Olympic medalist from Tokyo is Eumir Marcial (Philippines). He won World Championship silver in 2019 and has since turned professional. He is 4-0, an athletic southpaw with speed and power. The current world champion is Nurbek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) after he beat Tuohetaerbieke Tanglaithan(China) in the World Championship final. The result was reversed in the 2023 Asian Games that Tanglaithan went on to win. In the semi-finals, he beat Turabek Khabibullaev (Uzbekistan) who is only 20 and looks like an exciting talent. Hussein Ishaish (Jordan) was the Asian champion in 2022 and has moved down weight at both of the last two Olympics. Wanderley Pereira (Brazil) was runner-up at the 2023 Pan-American Games to Lopez and was a medal winner down at Middleweight in the 2023 World Championship, where he won silver. Weerapon Jongjoho(Thailand) won bronze at Middleweight in 2021. He was an impressive youth boxer, who has a powerful right hand and beat former World Champion Rahim Gonzalez to qualify. Cristian Pinales (Dominican Republic) also beat a World Championship medalist to qualify in Gazimagomed Jalidov. He is an underrated boxer but can be dangerous here.
This feels like a top-heavy division. A Khyzhniak v Lopez is surely what we should all be clamouring for and would be one of the bouts of Paris. If it comes down to that the pressure and sheer volume of Khyzhniak would have me favouring him. Lopez should be landing cleanly though and he will need to stop the Ukrainian to win. Lopez does also go through lulls where he doesn’t perform to his best although the Olympics seems to bring his best out of him. I find it far more likely that of the two he gets beat before the final. The draw means that will happen in the semi final, but Lopez will need to beat either Marcial or Khabibullaev. Peters is seeded and a matchup with Oralbay will be interesting as the Kazakh had had issues with his gas tank previously. I do still see him making his way through and making the final. The top seed is Tanglaithan and he will come up against the winner of Jongjoho vs Pinales. I think Jongjoho's power could be the difference in both of those fights and see him winning a bronze medal.
🥇Oleksandr Khyzhniak 🇺🇦
🥈Nurbek Oralbay 🇰🇿
🥉Arlen Lopez 🇨🇺
🥉Weeraphon Jongjoho 🇹🇭
Men’s -92kg
This is all about Julio Cesar La Cruz (Cuba). He is arguably the greatest amateur boxer of his generation with five world titles and Olympic titles at two weights. He has long been defined by his incredible movement and defensive reflexes but even as those wane with age he still remains competitive. He was beaten in the 2023 World Championship by bronze medal winner Lazizbek Mullojonov (Uzbekistan). He is a southpaw puncher who is a 4-0 professional having moved down from super-heavyweight. The current world champion is a Russian but will miss out on the Olympics. Aziz Abbés Mouhiidine (Italy) has won silver at the last two World Championships as well as dominating European competitions. Jack Marley (Ireland) was runner-up at the 2023 European Games. He qualified at only 20, in a division where youth doesn’t tend to be an advantage. Georgii Kushitashvili (Georgia) won at the 2023 European Games, down at Cruiserweight. Victor Schelstraete (Belgium) has also come up from Cruiserweight where he won bronze at the 2021 World Championship. Keno Machado (Brazil) won silver at the World Championship at Cruiserweight. He has moved up since the last Olympics where he lost a close bout with Ben Whittaker. Two Cuban-born boxers will compete for other nations. Loren Alfonso (Azerbaijan) won bronze in Tokyo at the weight below. He fights in a typically Cuban style, slick and looking to use his timing. Emmanuel Reyes(Spain) is someone who uses speed to get in and out of range and won World Championship bronze in 2021. Aibek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) isn’t regarded at the same level as his twin but he was Asian Champion in 2022. Davlat Boltaev (Tajikistan) was the Asian Games winner in 2023.
La Cruz would cement his place as the best amateur boxer for generations with a gold medal here. Unfortunately, I cannot see it coming despite an easy run, His run will likely see him against Alfonso then Oralbay to get to the medal stages. From there, he is in the easier side of the draw. Reyes looks past his best and Plodzicki-Faogali is one of the weaker number one seeds. Instead the awkward Schelstraete can make it through. The other side of the draw is much tougher. I think the gold medal winner comes from the winner of Mouhiidine vs Mullojonov which takes place in the first round whilst Machado is the likely second round matchup and will struggle. Down the bottom of the draw, I think Marley will have a chance but ultimately come up a little short against Boltaev. If he had a year or two more experience, I would favour his talent but Boltaev is a savvy competitor.
🥇Aziz Abbas Mouhiidine 🇮🇹
🥈Julio Cesar La Cruz 🇨🇺
🥉Victor Schelstraete 🇧🇪
🥉Davit Boltaev 🇹🇯
Men’s +92kg
This feels like as sure a thing as heavyweight boxing gets. Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan) has not lost since 2018 and that includes amassing a 14-0 professional record. He is the reigning Olympic champion and at 6’7 is an imposing figure with strong fundamentals in his southpaw stance. Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kazakhstan) has a win over Jalolov in 2017 but has since lost five straight. He won bronze in Tokyo after two World Championship silver medals. Mahammad Abdullayev (Azerbaijan) has won bronze medals at the last two World Championships but could only win silver at the 2023 European Games where he lost to Delicious Orie (Great Britain). The big Briton also won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and converted over from basketball recently. Joshua Edwards (United States) is at the other end of the spectrum, measuring 6’3. He is a boxer-puncher who uses his speed though and did win the 2023 Pan-American Games. The runner-up was Abner Teixeira (Brazil) and he was a bronze medalist in Tokyo. Davit Chaloyan (Armenia) was runner-up at the 2021 World Championship but arguably deserved gold. Another World Championship medalist is Ayoub Ghadfa (Spain) who won bronze in 2023. He was also the 2024 European Champion after winning silver in 2022. The champion in 2022 was Nelvie Tiafack (Germany). Another European contender is Djamili Aboudou Moindze (France), a southpaw with a particularly dangerous straight left. Gerlon Congo (Ecuador) qualified by upsetting former World Championship silver medalist Fernando Arzola. Teremoana Junior (Australia) is 6’6 with power in his hands which he has shown as an unbeaten pro.
Jalolov is the clearest of the boxing favourites in Paris. None of the potential opposition has shown the level that would be required to beat such a quality operator. Teremoana Junior may have been his biggest contender but they will meet in the quarter final and you have to favour Jalolov. Abdullayev would probably be my number two but the draw has not been great for him and he will likely have to beat Tiafack then Edwards. The third quarter is the weakest and I think Moindze will just about edge favouritism although Congo showed in the qualifying tournament that he is dangerous. Chaloloyan will expect to come through the bottom quarter although Kunkabyev will be a big challenge.
🥇Bakhodir Jalolov 🇺🇿
🥈Davit Chaloyan 🇦🇲
🥉Muhammad Abdullayev 🇦🇿
🥉Djamil Aboudou Moindze 🇫🇷
Women’s -50kg
Two former Olympic medalists will compete in Paris. Ingrit Valencia (Ecuador) won bronze in 2016. She won World Championship silver in 2022 before taking bronze in 2023. Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Turkey) won bronze in Tokyo but has since gone on to be the world champion in 2022. Both of these competitors are southpaws. The 2023 world champion was Nikita Zareen (India) after moving down in weight, she also won a world title at Flyweight in 2022. She did lose at the Asian Games to Chuthamat Raksat (Thailand) who went on to lose in the final to Wu Yu (China) who was the 2023 world champion at Flyweight. Nazem Kyzaibay (Kazakhstan) is a double world champion, winning world titles in 2014 and 2016. Yasmine Moutaqui (Morocco) was a 2023 World Championship bronze medalist but that was down at Minimum-weight. Wassila Lkhadiri (France) was also a bronze medalist in 2023, returning after taking a break from boxing to become a mother. She was also the runner-up at the 2023 European Games losing to Cakiroglu. Caroline de Almeida (Brazil) won at the 2023 Pan-American Games and is a southpaw who has a dangerous straight left, right hook combination. The 2023 European Games bronze medalists were Giordana Sorrentino (Italy) and Laura Fuertes (Spain). Sorrentino is only 5’0 and has lost in the quarter-finals at the last two World Championships. Fuertes went a step further in 2022 winning bronze before bowing out at the 2023 quarter-final stage. Daina Moorehouse (Ireland) is another short fighter but has performed very well of late with all of her recent losses being tight split decisions. Sabina Bobokulova (Uzbekistan) is another talent who was recently the Asian under-22 Champion.
This is a strong, relatively open division. The top quarter is tough with Bobokulova, Raksat, Yu, and Zareen. I think this comes down to Bubokulova against the experience of Wu and will go for the young Uzbeki to come out best. The second quarter looks like the weakest and I think this comes down to Sorrentino vs Valencia. Cakioglu is the seed in the third quarter and I think the strongest boxer overall. Down the bottom this should come down to Lkhadiri and Moorehouse. I will edge to the French lady, mainly due to home advantage.
🥇Buse Naz Cakiroglu 🇹🇷
🥈Sabina Bobokulova 🇺🇿
🥉Giordana Sorrentino 🇮🇹
🥉Wassila Lkhadiri 🇫🇷
Women’s -54kg
This was not a weight division in Tokyo so the winner will be the first person to take gold. Stanmira Petrova (Bulgaria) competed in Tokyo after being a World Champion in 2014. Her successes lately have been in European tournaments, as she won the 2023 European Games. In Tokyo, she lost to Yeni Arias (Colombia) who was the World Championship silver medalist in 2023. Lenuta Perijoc (Romania) won silver at both the 2023 European Games and the 2022 World Championship. At the World Championship, she was beaten by Hatice Akbas (Turkey) for gold but got that win back at the European Games. The other medalist was Charley Davison (Great Britain), a southpaw who competed in Tokyo. At the 2023 World Championship Jutamas Jitpong (Thailand) was a bronze medalist after winning silver in 2022 at flyweight. Huang Hsiao-wen (Taiwan) won Olympic bronze in Tokyo, down at flyweight. She is a double world champion, winning in 2019 and 2023. Another world champion is Pang Chol-mi (North Korea). She won her world title in 2018 at flyweight before winning bronze in 2019. She did win the 2023 Asian Games, beating Chang Yuan (China). She won back in 2018 and is a tricky southpaw who prefers being at range where she uses her accuracy to pick quality punches. Preeti Pawar (India) won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games, qualifying at the age of 2019. The other bronze medalist was Nigina Uktamova (Uzbekistan) who was an Asian under-23 champion. She will also use her pressure, fighting behind a high guard. Im Ae-ji (South Korea) was a strong youth boxer and is a tricky southpaw.
This is another tough division to call. Petrova enters as the top seed and will likely come up against Yuan in the quarter finals. However, prior to that she would have to beat Hsiao-Wen in a big early matchup. Cirkovic is an impressive young boxer, but her path is nice and she should come up against Chol-mi in the quate final. Davison vs Akbas is the tie of the first round with Perijoc likely waiting for the winner in the quarter final here. I believed all three to be potential medalists and will edge to Davison making her way through. The bottom quarter is weakest and we likely see Ae-Ji come up against Pawar to advance.
🥇Huang Hsiao-Wen 🇹🇼
🥈Charley Davison 🇬🇧
🥉Pang Chol-mi 🇰🇵
🥉Preeti Pawar 🇮🇳
Women’s -57kg
Two of the medalists return from Tokyo. Nesthy Petecio (Philippines) won silver after being the 2019 world champion. Irma Testa (Italy) won bronze and is the current World Champion, after winning silver in 2022. She only won bronze at the 2023 European Games where Amina Zidani (France) took gold, adding to her bronze medal in the 2023 World Championship. Initially so did Yu-ting Lin (Taiwan) before she was disqualified for failing to meet eligibility criteria. Before that she is a double world champion, taking the crown in 2018 and 2022. Karina Ibragimova (Kazakhstan) was a bronze medalist in 2022 and upgraded to silver in 2023. Initially, Parveen Hooda was going to represent the Indian team but after three whereabouts failures, has been replaced by Jaismine Lamboria (India) who was a quarter-finalist at the last two World Championships, at lightweight. Michaela Walsh(Ireland) competed at the last Olympics and was the 2922 Commonwealth Games winner. She has medalled in most European continental competitions as well. In 2023, Svetlana Staneva (Bulgaria) won silver at the European Games as well as making the World Championship quarter-final. Jucielen Romeu (Brazil) has been knocked out at the same stage of the last two World Championships and won the 2023 Pan-American Games. Alyssa Mendoza (United States) and Julia Szeremeta (Poland) are also competing.
I thought Testa had a massive chance in Tokyo and would make her favourite again. However, Petecio beat her in Tokyo and remains a horrible matchup. I would not shock me though if Lamboaria beats Petecio before she could challenge the Italian. If that is the case, Testa should make it through. I think she can go onto the final, as the bottom section of the draw is weaker, with Ibrahimova the likely favourite to advance past Szeremeta. The second quarter is also not particularly strong and I think this comes down to Romeu or Yildiz. Lin will likely come out of the top quarter although Walsh and Staneva are both tough opponents.
🥇Irma Testa 🇮🇹
🥈Yu-ting Lin 🇹🇼
🥉Karina Ibragimova 🇰🇿
🥉Jucielen Romeu 🇧🇷
Women’s -60kg
This looks like the strongest of the female divisions. Kellie Harrington (Ireland) is the reigning Olympic champion and has barely lost since the last Olympics. She is a tall boxer who looks to pick opponents off and used her skills to beat Beatriz Ferreira (Brazil). She is the current world champion, her second title and won silver in 2022. Estelle Mossely (France) was the 2016 Olympic champion. She has returned from the professional ranks where she had an 11-0-1 record. Alessia Mesiano (Italy) is a former world champion, but that was in 2016 and at a lighter weight class. However, she did win bronze at the 2022 World Championship. So did Donjeta Sadiku (Kosovo) and she also won bronze at the 2022 European Championship. Another World Championship is Angie Valdes (Colombia) who took silver at the 2023 World Championship. Yang Wenlu (China) was a bronze medal winner and also won at the 2023 Asian Games. Oh Yeon-ji (South Korea) won bronze medals in 2018 and 2023. She’s a triple Asian Champion but will be 34 at the Olympics. She beat Amy Broadhurst to qualify and is a tricky opponent, looking to use her quick movement on the back foot. Another former World Championship medalist is Chelsey Heijnen (Netherlands) who won bronze at Light-Welterweight in 2022. Agnes Alexiusson (Sweden) competed in Tokyo but she tends to always find a few too good. Natalia Sadrina (Serbia) won silver at the 2023 European Games. Wu Shih-yi (Taiwan) is a tall fighter, who won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games.
Boxing enthusiasts will be desperate to see the rematch between Ferreira and Harrington. In the amateur ranks, both have had one loss since the Tokyo Olympics. I will give the edge to Ferreira to have improved since Tokyo by a greater amount. However, this will come in the semi finals rather than the final. They will both need to perform well to make that stage as the draw is not easy. Harrington will have to beat Mesiano and either Sadiku or Valdes. Ferreira will need to beat likely Mossely and Heijnen. I think the four best boxers are all in that half of the draw. That means we will likely see a shock medalist. I think we get quarter finals of Wenlu vs Shadrina and Alexiusson vs Yeon-ji.
🥇Beatriz Ferreira 🇧🇷
🥈Yang Wenlu 🇨🇳
🥉Kellie Harrington 🇮🇪
🥉Oh Yeon-ji 🇰🇷
Women’s -66kg
Busenaz Surmeneli (Turkey) is looking to repeat as Olympic champion. She also won the 2019 and 2022 World Championships. She seems to have the full package, putting all her skills together with style. The last woman to beat her was Aneta Rygielska (Poland). The reigning world champion is Yang Liu (China) who also triumphed at the 2023 Asian Games. She beat Janjaem Suwannapheng (Thailand) in both of those finals after she won a bronze medal in 2022. Angela Carini (Italy) is a former world champion, winning at welterweight in 2019. Alcinda Panguana (Mozambique) is a World Championship silver medalist from 2022 at Light-Middleweight. Chen Nien-chin (Taiwan) was a world champion in the higher weight but that was back in 2019. Imane Khelif (Algeria) won bronze at the 2023 World Championship before being disqualified due to high testosterone. She is a tall boxer with nice movement. Navbakhor Khamidova (Uzbekistan) was the benefactor, taking bronze after losing in the 2022 quarter-finals. One of the older boxers competing in Paris is Oshin Derieuw (Belgium) at 37. She was an unbeaten professional with a 19-0 record but was runner-up at the 2023 European Games. Rosie Eccles (Great Britain) is another European medalist in various continental competitions. Grainne Walsh (Ireland) won bronze at the 2019 European Games. She was part of the controversial Irish selection.
Suremeneli was the standout boxer in Tokyo for me. She has only lost twice since 2020 and I don’t see anyone with the capability of beating her in Paris. The last person to beat her was Rygielska and they are drawn to box in the second round, if the Pole can get past Eccles. None of the three will be happy with their draw. Walsh and Khelif will likely battle in the quarter final of section two. I edge to Walsh but do not see much between the pair. Chen has an easy-ish quarter and should make her way through to the medal rounds.The bottom section should be won by Yang Liu and it will be a blockbuster semi final.
🥇Busenaz Surmeneli 🇹🇷
🥈Yang Liu 🇨🇳
🥉Chen Nien-chin 🇹🇼
🥉Grainne Walsh 🇮🇪
Women’s -75kg
This looks like another strong competition. The current world champion is Lovlina Borgohain (India) who will be looking to improve on her bronze from the Tokyo Olympics. Tammara Thibeault (Canada) was the world champion in 2022 improving from bronze in 2019. Atheyna Bylon (Panama) won silver in 2022 and is also a former world champion, winning in 2014. Li Qian (China) is another former world champion, winning in 2018. She has an Olympic silver from Tokyo and won bronze in 2016. Khadija El-Mardi (Morocco) is a world champion, moving down in division from heavyweight. She did win bronze in this weight at the 2019 World Championship. Caitlin Parker (Australia) won silver at the 2023 World Championship and is a double Commonwealth Games medalist. She is a classy boxer who tries to dictate using her straight punches and speed. Davina Michel (France) is the other World Championship medalist, winning bronze in 2022. She was also runner-up at the 2023 European Games. She lost to Aoife O’Rourke (Ireland) who also won the 2019 and 2022 European Championships. Elzbieta Wojcik (Poland) won a bronze at the 2023 European Games. She was an impressive youth boxer but has arguably never lived up to that billing. Sunniva Hofstad (Norway) was the world youth champion and is an incredible talent. Cindy Ngamba (Refugee) also looks like a big talent. Based in Britain she has put together some strong results. Baison Manikon(Thailand) was a bronze medalist at the 2023 Asian Games.
This is a tough weight class to get the measure of. It feels the strongest, with as many as ten potential medalists. The top quarter has Borgohain, Hofstad and Qian. All three are capable. I am a massive fan of the talent of Hofstad, but coming up against that much experience will be tough. Parker and El Mardi will be a tough quarter final between a stylist and a power puncher. The third quarter is the best of them all, with four possible medalist. Thibeault is my favourite for the competition, She has not lost since the last Olympics and will have to overcome Ngamba and then either Manikon or Michel. It is a tough draw but she remains my pick to take gold. The weakest of the quarters is the bottom one and it should see O'Rourke come through Bylon to get to the medal rounds.
🥇Tammara Thibeault 🇨🇦
🥈Li Qian 🇨🇳
🥉Khadija Mardi 🇲🇦
🥉Aoife O’Rourke 🇮🇪
Comentários