Defending his Olympic super-heavyweight title, Bakhodir Jalolov
Uzbekistan’s first-ever Olympic boxing champion, Bakhodir Jalolov, won a brutal final against Richard Tozzer of the United States.
B. Jalolov Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Uzbekistan’s first Olympic boxing champion, Bakhodir Jalolov, extended his arms in triumph after defeating Richard Torrez Jr. of the United States in the super-heavyweight 91 kilogramme division.
It was their second fight in as many years, but unlike their first encounter, the 27-year-old did not violently knock out the American this time around. Even though the 22-year-old had more experience going into the fight, the judges gave Jalolov the win by a score of 5-0.
The Uzbek athlete afterwards commented, “The last bout was incredibly challenging.” Being a champion still seems like a dream to me. Many athletes, I believe, harbour secret ambitions to win an Olympic gold medal.
Like many kids, this was a fantasy of mine when I was younger. With this newfound knowledge, I was able to complete the task.
Being a champion still seems like a dream to me. Many athletes, I believe, harbour secret ambitions to win an Olympic gold medal.
One of My Childhood Fantasies also Involved Doing this.
Thank goodness, I was finally able to succeed.
Torrez and his opponent had last met at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships, but the memory of his loss didn’t appear to bother him as he went into the Kokugikan Arena to the sounds of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” with confidence and poise. He intended to get even, and he was serious.
He came out Swinging in the Opening Round, Creating a Fast Pace and Landing Several Blows.
Although the Uzbek was much taller than Torrez, the latter was the superior fighter. Shots from the recently professionalised Jalolov sailed wide as the amateur American dove out of the way. The first round was a victory, and he celebrated by returning to his corner and his coach, Billy Walsh of the United States.
Jalolov, who placed sixth in the competition at Rio 2016, started hitting his knockout strikes by the second round. Shortly after the referee stopped the bout to tend to Tozzer’s cut, the American resumed the melee.
The world champion appeared dangerous, and despite Tozzer’s best efforts, the champion landed many right jabs.
Nonetheless, Tozzer did a good job of protecting himself, determined that there would be no knockouts. The Uzbek athlete won the round with a unanimous vote from the judges.
The youthful challenger fought valiantly until the final bell of the third round, with support from his American team, but Jalolov, who had also fought valiantly, triumphed by unanimous decision to claim gold in the final boxing match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
His bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was the only previous medal won by a boxer from his country, so his gold medal is more significant.
Tozzer, who had hoped for gold, lamented, “I had the world in my hands, and it slipped, and I watched it fall and break, and I’m trying to pick up the pieces.”
A huge guy, that one. I’d want to offer my sincere congratulations to this amazing competitor.
The act of getting hit while in the ring is not enjoyable. If you were to ask anyone, they would tell you that they have a plan until they got hit in the mouth. I was knocked off balance once, but I got back up and kept going.
Jalolov didn’t Drop a Single game on his Journey to the Championship.
He also won 5-0 over both Satish Kumar of India and Mahammad Abdullayev of Azerbaijan, as well as the bronze medalist, Frazer Clarke of Great Britain.
Torrez beat Kamshybek Kunkabayev, of Kazakhstan, in the semi-finals, and Kunkabayev won bronze.