Men’s Flyweight

Ryomei Tanaka (JPN) defeated Yuberjen Martínez (COL) – In one of the decisions, I strongly disagree with hometown fighter Ryomei Tanaka, the elder brother of pro, Kosei Tanaka, got a split-decision win in a fight in which he threw more punches, but I am not sure he landed the better shots. Tanaka will now have at least a bronze medal to show from the Olympic Games and faced a murderer’s row of fighters, which is impressive.

Martinez has a ceiling to me of a fighter like Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, as despite being undersized throws technical punches in an offensive manner and lands combinations in great volume. Tanaka fought with all of his heart, and despite a hot start, just couldn’t overcome the volume and skill of Martinez. I would be shocked if Martinez doesn’t win gold.

Carlo Paalam (PHI) defeated Zoirov (UZI) – Paalam was landing a lot in the first round, and more so in the second, as Zoirov, a pure amateur boxer, a fighter who is not the easiest to watch if you are used to a pro-style of fighting saw the end bout end when both fighters were cut, but Zoirov had a cut over his eye halting the bout in the second. The feints of Paalam drew Zoirov in, who couldn’t adjust.

Semi-Finals | Tanaka (JPN) vs. Paalam (PHI) – A evenly matched bout, that will see two fighters with cuts face each other in a bout that will come down to Tanaka’s size vs. Paalam’s ability to walk people into shots. I am not sure if Tanaka will be able to fight in two days with his cut and Tanaka was taken from the arena in a wheelchair so I believe this will be a walkover, but if he does fight, I give the edge to Paalam.

Galal Yafai (GBR) defeated Yosvany Veitía (CUB) – Yafai fought one of the best fights at the tournament, and not unlike his previous contest with Patrick Chinyemba, Olympic judges do not always reward the obvious with Yafai, who has been nothing short of dominant. Steady pressure, and a slew of body punches, gave Veitía all he could handle, and Yafai finished even stronger

Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) defeated Gabriel Escobar (ESP) – Bibossinov edged out a narrow victory, as his awkward style along with a steady follow was enough to get him over the top, and earn him an Olympic medal. Bibossinov seems to be the best Kazakh from this Olympic class and will be tested well in the next round.

Semi-Finals | Yafai vs. Bibossinov – Yafai has the more glamourous style, and more than likely will have the more successful pro career, but for Yafai to get more than bronze he will need to stop the movement of Bibossinov, which can be tricky. Bibossinov is a boxer, who never turns down a good

Men’s Featherweight

Duke Ragan (USA) defeated Samuel Takyi (GHA) – Duke Ragan continues to impress as he rises to the moment each and every time as the already pro fighter, signed to Top Rank Inc, is having the moment of his life. Ragan had the hardest path of any featherweight to make it to the finals and made it to the finals. Salute Duke Ragan for this amazing performance.

Albert Batyrgaziev (ROC) defeated Lázaro Álvarez (CUB) – In a close bout, Batyrgaziev edged the 3-time Olympic legend, Alvarez in a competitive affair. Batyrgaziev is what we see often at the highest levels of amateur boxing, a good boxer, who knows how to put pressure on, if the fight is up in the air. This is Batyrgaziev’s first Olympic Games at 23-years-old and now will head to the finals.

Finals | Ragan vs. Batyrgaziev – Duke Ragan has had an incredible tournament, that I don’t know how anyone with a heart wouldn’t want to see him win gold in, that being said he will have to earn it as Batyrgaziev will not just allow him to win it. Ragan is fighting as well as anyone in the tournament, and this is his fight to lose, that being said Batyrgaziev beating Alvarez shows he knows how to win against a proven winner, which is a major statement.

Bronze Medals: Samuel Takyi (GHA), Lázaro Álvarez (CUB)

Samuel Takyi overachieved and won bronze which is awesome to see. Takyi is still a very raw talent but will be a major spark for the Ghana boxing community being the first fighter from Ghana to medal at the Olympics.

Lazaro Alvarez will win his second Olympic bronze medal, as the Cuban boxing legend, might go for one more Olympic games in 2024, but is widely respected by his peers. Like most Cuban fighters, he is a great backfoot fighter, and struggles at times with work on the inside.

Men’s Lightweight

Keyshawn Davis (USA) defeated Gabil Mamedov (ROC) – Keyshawn Davis is so special that despite judges having a fight he was clearly winning, as an even fight through two rounds, Davis gave Mamedov a standing-eight count in the third round, and nearly stopped Mamedov in the final round. This performance sums up why Davis is so special, he looks unstoppable at this Olympic Games, and each performance is building upon his last.

Hovhannes Bachkov (ARM) defeated Elnur Abduraimov (UZB) – Bachkov is a fun pressure fighter, who stalks forward, and is not a crude technician, as he is setting up his power shots. More so, Bachkov is brutal as he near lets off the gas in his bouts, especially against Abduraimov as he continued to land power punches late into the bout with devasting force and intention.

Semi-Finals | Davis vs Bachkov – An interesting style clash as the unstoppable force, Davis meets the immovable object, Bachkov. Davis is the more skilled of the two, but Bachkov is a big-puncher with a lot of pressure, and more skill than people give him credit for. Davis is the obvious favorite, but this is going to be a fun bout to watch.

Andy Cruz (CUB) defeated Wanderson Oliveira (BRA) – Andy Cruz knows how to win an amateur fight, and it is a shame one of my favorites, Oliveira ran into before the medal rounds, because he is quite good. Cruz is an elusive and tricky fighter with one major flaw, when he turns one direction he won’t throw punches that way, just focuses on defense. Cruz is the favorite for the gold medal, albeit I think Keyshawn Davis is ready to beat him.

Harry Garside (AUS) defeated Zakir Safiullin (KAZ) – Garside, a largely unknown fighter, compared to the big names like Keyshawn Davis, Hovhannes Bachkov and Andy Cruz, Garside defeated a favorite and becomes an Olympic medalist. Garside has the unlucky draw of Andy Cruz next

Sem-Finals – Cruz vs. Garside – This will be a very hard fight for Garside to win, as he just doesn’t have the same level of experience as Andy Cruz. Garside will have to fight the fight of his life to win this bout, as Cruz is looking like a lock to make to the finals.

Men’s Welterweight

Roniel Iglesias (CUB) defeated Pat McCormack (GBR) – In a mild shocker, Olympic gold medal favorite Pat McCormack greatly struggled in the finals. Iglesias gave him massive issues with movement, and dropped him in the second round which was a harsh wake-up call for those like myself writing biographies on McCormack prior to the bout. Iglesias is now a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Men’s Heavyweight

Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (ROC) defeated David Nyika (NZL) – Gadzhimagomedov is the best heavyweight, which is cruiserweight in professional boxing, but he fights like the Tim Duncan of boxing. Everything is sound, he is hard to beat, but nothing leaps off the page about him as he truly is a fighter that is all about managing the fight.

Julio César La Cruz (CUB) defeated Abner Teixeira (BRA) – In one of the hardest divisions to watch from an entertainment standpoint, the Cuban Cesar La Cruz got the win, in a bout that was not easy on the eyes.

Finals | Gadzhimagomedov vs. Cesar La Cruz – Two career professionals will face off for the Olympic gold medal in what will be more than likely a tactical bout between the best two fighters of the tournament.

Bronze Medals: David Nyika (NZL), Abner Teixeira (BRA)

Nyika will be a solid pro, and at 6’6″, he will more than likely find himself at heavyweight as a professional. Nyika can box well and though a bit raw, has a lot of potential to be a good pro, if developed right.

Teixeira is a good pressure fighter, who had one of the more fan-friendly styles in an Olympic weight class that seemed void of truly pro-ready talent, as most of the fighters felt like life-long amateur boxers with habits that might make them flawed.

Women’s Featherweight

Sena Irie (JPN) defeated Nesthy Petecio (PHI) for gold.

The host country of Japan won its first gold medal in boxing in 2020 with Sena Irie winning on all five of the judges’ scorecards against Nesthy Petecio of the Philipines in the finals of the women’s featherweight tournament.

Irie, who is 20-years-old will now be a Japanese folk hero as she ran through a tough gauntlet to face the tournament favorite and beat Petecio in their fourth meeting in international competition. Irie started the Olympics with a win over Yamileth Solorzano of Estonia, in a bout that she outclassed her in, outboxing her from the outside.

Irie’s style is that of an elusive backfoot boxer, who is not trying to fight in the inside, but instead, move, and gain points through speed and volume.

If you want to see a vintage Irie Olympic performance I would look at her bout in the round of sixteen in which she fought Khouloud Hlimi of Tunisia, and was rarely hit. Irie at her best is a fighter who lives by the motto of hit and not get hit.

Irie narrowly beat Maria Nechita of Romania in the quarterfinals, in a fight that saw Nechita have a lot of success with brute force. In the round prior, Nechita overwhelmed Ramla Ali, a tournament favorite, but couldn’t have the same luck with Irie who gutted out a close win.

Irie’s bout against Karriss Artingstall of Great Brittan came down to what type of work you favor more in a fight, as well as let’s be honest, where the location of the Olympics. Artingstall would’ve won the fight if it was a pro fight, and I favored her, but Irie did enough to win and advance to the finals.

Her gold medal match, tonight, saw her beat Nesthy Petecio, one of the shining stars of the tournament, and a master of fighting on the inside but never could get on the inside on Irie who fought the fight of her life in the finals in truly a gold medal deserving performance.

Irie, a native of Tokyo, Japan, now will be the first-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s featherweight as the division was introduced for this Olympic year. Things of note about her, her nickname is the Irie Crocodile and is currently a student at Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo.

Irie began to box at the age of seven in 2008 at Sugar Knuckle Boxing Gym in Yonago, Japan, the same town she was born in. Irie found inspiration to start training boxing based on a cartoon show that featured boxing. Irie stated that she looked up to the characters with championship belts. Thirteen years later, now Irie has one of the most sought-after prizes in all of boxing, an Olympic Gold medal.

Women’s Lightweight

Kellie Harrington (IRE) defeated Imane Khelif (ALG) – Harrington looks like the goods, the Irish fighter heavily inspired by Katie Taylor is looking to be the favorite to win gold.

Sudaporn Seesondee (THA) defeated Caroline Dubois (GBR) – Seesondee is a high-volume fighter who took the fight from one of the most experienced fighters in the tournament.

Semi-Finals | Harrington vs Seesondee – This will show where both fighters are at as Harrington is a boxer who can bang, and Seesondee is a volume puncher who at times can box if need be. This will be the battle of adjustments.

Beatriz Ferreira (BRA) defeated Raykhona Kodirova (UZB) – Ferreira is a talented, and strong high motor fighter who just had too much gas in the tank for Kodirova who couldn’t move around enough to outpoint the physical Ferreria.

Mira Potkonen (FIN) defeated Esra Yıldız (TUR) – Potkonen at 40-years-old is looking every bit as good as her performance at Rio 2016. Potkonen is a smart fighter, who now will need to use all of her in-ring skills to get to the finals.

Semi-Finals | Ferreira vs. Potkonen – This will be a battle of Ferreira’s volume vs. Potkonen’s power and toughness, along with experience as this will be interesting match-up.