By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Bahodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan stands 6’7” and had reach advantage. Ricardo Torrez Jr. of the United States stands 6’2”. Torrez won the first round on three of five scorecards. Torrez, who looked like an outclassed shorter foe compared to his giant opponent, tried to get inside and work the body with bloody blows. Jalalov used his size to simply overpower Torrez in rounds two and three, and win the super heavyweight gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Jalolov’s win closed out the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Torrez did better than when he was knocked out by Jalolov in 2019. However, Andre Ward remains the last American Gold Medalist in boxing, which happened back in 2004.
The last American Olympic medalist in the heavyweight division was Riddick Bowe in 1988. Lightweight Keyshawn Davis and featherweight Duke Regan also won American silver medals in boxing in Tokyo. Jalolov won Uzbekistan’s only gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Uzbekistan won seven medals, three of them gold, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.