Teremoana Junior may be the biggest threat to Bakhodir Jalolov, and they’ll meet in the quarterfinal round.
Australian boxer Teremoana Junior doesn’t have Bakhodir Jalolov’s credentials, but the quarterfinal matchup may be the biggest threat to the defending gold medalist from Uzbekistan — and they’ll meet in the quarterfinal round.
Teremoana and Jalolov both fought and won on Monday in Paris, and both were impressive. Jalolov came into the Summer Games as the heavy favorite to repeat his gold medal run from Tokyo, and with the division quickly shaking out to eight remaining fighters, he still will be.
American top seed Joshua Edwards is out, as he was soundly beaten by Italy’s Diego Lenzi. Teremoana scored a first round knockout of Ukraine’s Dmytro Lovchynskyi in the day’s second session, immediately followed by Jalolov outclassing a game but over-matched Omar Shiha of Norway.
Jalolov is not only the top amateur in his class still, but arguably the sport’s top pro prospect. At 14-0 (14 KO) in the paid ranks, the 30-year-old Jalolov really could have progressed further than he has over the last six years he’s been a pro, but two Olympic cycles have had more of his attention, and it’s possible that he simply cares more about this than he does his professional career.
Teremoana does not have the technique or expert composure of the Uzbek, but he does have frightening power. Listed at 6’6” and somewhere around a solid 270 or 280 lbs, he’s also had four pro fights, going 4-0 (4 KO) with a much lower profile than Jalolov.
The 26-year-old should be an underdog against Jalolov, but his size and the heat with which he throws his power punches make him a sincere threat, and a real wild card in the mix for the super heavyweights in Paris.
The Jalolov vs Teremoana matchup will have a huge impact on what happens after, which is obvious, but specifically I mean that if Jalolov wins, it’s extremely hard to see anyone remaining in the field beating him. It’s the firepower of Teremoana that makes him the biggest danger to Jalolov. On the other hand, if Teremoana is able to get Jalolov with his power, there are others in the field who could come with the right game plan and beat him.
In other words, while this is the most intriguing matchup in the division on paper, it’s not some de facto gold medal matchup happening in the quarterfinals.
Teremoana Junior and Bakhodir Jalolov will face off on Friday, Aug. 2, at 11:54 am ET.
Here’s the full super heavyweight quarterfinal lineup. All fights will be held on Aug. 2.
- Diego Lenzi (Italy) vs Nelvie Tiafack (Germany), 11:38 am ET
- Teremoana Junior (Australia) vs Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan), 11:54 am ET
- Djamili-Dini Aboudou (France) vs Gerlon Congo (Ecuador), 4:08 pm ET
- Ayoub Ghadfa (Spain) vs David Chaloyan (Armenia), 4:24 pm ET
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