Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.) W3 Chouaib Bouloudinats (Algeria)... American super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.) made his Tokyo debut after almost a week waiting for his turn to take to the ring. Torrez, the first super heavyweight boxer to represent Team USA since 2012, put on a strong opening round performance against Algeria’s Chouaib Bouloudinats to be the first American super heavyweight to reach the quarterfinals since Jason Estrada in 2004. The first round saw Torrez land a body shot that dropped his oppontent to the canvas, leading the ref to give Bouloudinats a standing eight count. After the bell, Torrez was up, 5-0, which saw two judges’ scoring the round 10-8. The third-seeded super heavyweight in these Games continued to show superior boxing to his opponent, taking all five judges’ cards in the second and third round, including two more 10-8 cards for the final round, to take the unanimous decision victory. The 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalists will have a few days of rest for his quarterfinal bout with Cuban Dainier Pero, which will be a rematch of the 2019 Pan American Games semifinals, where Pero took a 3-2 decision over Torrez.
Gleb Bakshi (Russia) W3 Troy Isley (Virginia)... Middleweight Troy Isley (Alexandria, Va.) saw his Olympic run come to an end after a close 3-2 decision against the 2019 World Champion Gleb Bakshi of the Russian Olympic Committee
Stoyka Krasteva Bulgaria W3 Virginia Fuchs (Texas)... Flyweight Virginia Fuchs (Houston, Texas) could not revenge her loss against Stoyka Krasteva of Bulgaria from earlier this year, falling short in an unanimous decision to the two-time Olympian.
Lauren Price (GB) W3 Atheyna Bylon (Panama)... Team GB secured it fourth boxing medal at Tokyo 2020 when Lauren Price defeated Atheyna Bylon of Panama in her middleweight quarter-final. It means the team is only one medal away from equalling the total of five medals from London 2012, which was Great Britain’s best return since 1908. Next, Price will face her long-time rival, Nouchka Fontijn of Netherlands, in the semi-final. Price will become the first Welsh female boxer ever to win an Olympic boxing medal Price said: “I’m making history all of the time, it’s a bit crazy really. But I am just loving the journey. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but this has been my dream since I was an eight-year-old. It’s been an emotional week seeing the team medalling. You’ve kind of got to hold it back and think of yourself. We’ve got a great team and there is many more medals to come. It just goes to show how much work GB Boxing has put into us, even through the pandemic, and it shows how much they sacrificed and pushed us.”
Gamal Yafai (GB) W3 Patrick Chinyemba (Zambia)... Great Britain's Galal Yafai overcame a spirited challenge from Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba to secure a split decision (3:2) win and a place in the flyweight quarter-final when he will have the chance to guarantee a medal.
Irie Sena (Japan) W3 Karriss Artingstall (GB)... Great Britain's Karriss Artingstall lost the narrowest of split (3:2) decisions to Irie Sena of Japan. A slow first round hindered her chances and despite a spirited onslaught in rounds two and three Artingstall was not able to make-up the deficit. Sena will fight for the gold medal while Artingstall departs the Olympic competition with a bronze medal. She'll receive it at her ceremony on Tuesday. Artingstall said: “I knew it was close. I started a bit slow and playing catch-up is a nightmare. You can ask any boxer, losing that first round and having to catch up, it’s horrible. I’m not going to moan about the decision it was very close and goes to show how much that first round can make a difference. Unfortunately, today wasn’t my day but I’ve been part of the GB Boxing squad for two-and- a-half years, and I’ve got an Olympic, world and European medal...come Paris I’ll be taking that top spot.”
Three boxers will represent Team GB tomorrow (Sunday August 1): First up will be Pat McCormack who takes on Ireland’s Aidan Walsh in the welterweight semi-final... also in semi-final is light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker. He will face ROC’s Imam Khataev... boxing to guarantee a medal is super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke. The 29-year-old will be up against Mourad Aliev of France... Two Americans, Duke Ragan (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.), will box in their quarterfinal bout tomorrow, where they will look to guarantee themselves a medal with winning performance.
