Team USA isn’t going home with a gold medal in boxing this year. The 17-year gold medal drought in USA boxing continues.
Keyshawn Davis settled for silver after a split decision loss to Cuba’s Andy Cruz in the lightweight gold medal match. An hour after – with one last chance – Richard Torrez Jr. lost the clash against Uzebekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov via unanimous decision in the super heavyweight final.
The last male boxer to win gold for Team USA was Andre Ward in 2004 in Athens, Greece.
But for another country, they finally earned their first gold in boxing.
Galal Yafai notched the first gold medal in boxing for Great Britain at Tokyo Olympics 2020. The 28-year-old featherweight beat Philippines’ Carlo Paalam to become the gold medalist.
Yafai stamped his authority from the first round as he dropped his opponent with a left blow. The second round was more competitive, however, he won it on four of five judges’ cards.
The Philippines will have to wait for the next Games to win their first gold in boxing. The Filipino team has won two silver medals and a bronze overall.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Hebert Sousa has stopped Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak with the punch of the tournament. The Brazilian middleweight knocked out his opponent in the final round to bag the gold.
#JuegosOlimpicos #Tokyo2020 #Boxing #Boxeo | peso medio masculino (-75kg):
Tremenda final.
🥇 #BRA – Hebert Sousa
🥈 #UKR – Oleksandr Khyzhniak
🥉 #PHI – Eumir Marcial
🥉 #ROC – Gleb Bakshi pic.twitter.com/u5ouRDtoOc— Andrés Yossen (@FinoYossen) August 8, 2021
Top-seed Khyzhniak was down on the judges’ scorecards after two rounds 20-18. Almost halfway into the final round, the cards did not matter. Sousa landed a powerful blow after which Khyzhniak was not able to recover.
The Ukrainian boxer stood back up, but he was not on steady legs and that showed that Sousa’s hook had done the damage. The referee then called an end to the contest and Khyzhniak had to settle for silver.