Day nine is underway in Rio, and we saw some controversy and some great performances, including our first gold medal winner.
Women’s middleweight (75kg) - Round of 16
Iaroslava Iakushina (Russia) def. Chen Nien-chin (Chinese Taipei)
I missed this one, arriving just at the very end, but I saw no arguments about the decision, though word may not yet have reached the sort of people who decide any loss by anyone from their country must have been a robbery.
Dariga Shakimova (Kazakhstan) def. Ariane Fortin (Canada)
I thought Fortin deserved this one. The scores were 39-37 for Shakimova, 39-37 for Fortin, and then 38-38. Because of that, everyone got together and talked it out and decided Shakimova would win.
Men’s bantamweight (56kg) - Round of 16
Michael Conlan (Ireland) def. Aram Avagyan (Armenia)
Conlan, the top seed in the division, won bronze four years ago at flyweight, then moved up to bantamweight and won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and the 2015 European and World Championships. He was too good here for Avagyan, an opponent he’s faced in the past, and looks very much like a gold medal favorite.
Vladimir Nikitin (Russia) def. Chatchai Butdee (Thailand)
I’m not one to go overboard about robberies. Not every debatable fight is a robbery. It’s a robbery when there’s really no debate to be had. This was one of those fights. Butdee clearly won the first round, and two judges gave it to Nikitin. Butdee clearly won the second round, and one judge gave it to Nikitin (the judge who gave Butdee the first). So it was 19-19 entering the third round, which was the closest of the fight, and Nikitin got the nod on two of three. This was shameful officiating. The referee was constantly on Butdee’s case, too, for no particularly good reason. Just terrible. Butdee absolutely won this fight. He was robbed.
Tsendbaatar Erdenbat (Mongolia) def. Dzmitry Asanau (Belarus)
This one was also flirting with disaster, as two judges gave Asanau a first round that Erdenbat deserved, and then it was 2-1 Erdenbaat in the second, making the third round the capper. That might have actually been Asanau’s best round overall, but Erdenbat did get it, and won a split decision, which was deserved.
Shakur Stevenson (United States) def. Robenílson de Jesus (Brazil)
Stevenson is a very talented young fighter, 19 and says his main influences are Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward, and you can see both in his style. He’s very hard to hit, quick hands, and he outclassed de Jesus pretty badly here, though there was some question of the judging going into the final round.
Men’s lightweight (60kg) - Semifinal
Robson Conceiçāo (Brazil) def. Lázaro Álvarez (Cuba)
This one was close, probably could have gone either way, but for me, Conceiçāo earned it in the second and third rounds after a good start for Álvarez. This is one of the best fights we’ve seen thus far, in terms of the skill level of both fighters, which was expected. Conceiçāo now moves on to fight for gold, while Álvarez gets a bronze, which he also won as a bantamweight four years ago.
Men’s light welterweight (64kg) - Round of 16
Vitaly Dunaytsev (Russia) def. Chinzorig Baatarsukh (Mongolia)
I’m not arguing the decision, really, but boy, Dunaytsev is not fun to watch.
Qianxun Hu (China) def. Hovhannes Bachkov (Armenia)
Hu received a bye in the first round when his opponent (Raúl Curiel of México) failed his medical check. Bachkov had beaten Luis Arcon of Venezuela. This one was competitive, Hu boxing off the back foot a lot, and Bachkov trying to muscle him. Depends on what you liked. I might have gone for Bachkov, but don’t have a problem with the decision.
Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (Uzbekistan) def. Manoj Kumar (India)
Gaibnazarov should have been fighting Evaldas Petrauskas of Lithuania, which would have been a better fight. But Kumar "beat" Petrauskas in the round of 32, so we got this instead. It was an easy win for Gaibnazarov.
Gary Antuanne Russell (United States) def. Wuttichai Masuk (Thailand)
Second Thai fighter of the day to get a raw deal, in my view. I thought the first was close, Masuk clearly won the second, and the third I thought probably should have gone to Masuk, as well. I don’t agree with the decision. Russell is a good young fighter, but I thought Masuk was just better here.
Men’s light heavyweight (81kg) - Quarterfinal
Julio César la Cruz (Cuba) def. Michel Borges (Brazil)
The Cuban was far, far better, and he knew it, taunting Borges a good bit. That was sort of off-putting, but it’s what it is. La Cruz has some showman in him. I’ve mentioned the "Cuban arrogance" we see sometimes in these fighters, and JCLC has it to an extreme degree. That said, once it was over, he did embrace Borges and clap for his opponent, so you have to think it’s at least partially just a mind game thing.
Mathieu Bauderlique (France) def. Carlos Mina (Ecuador)
Bauderlique got a stoppage late in the third round, but he had to earn it. Mina fought his ass off, which got him smashed up a good deal, including this shot:
Mathieu Bauderlique
#FRA drills Carlos Mina
#ECU #Rio2016 #boxing pic.twitter.com/alTG9Y6nlj
— Bad Left Hook (@badlefthook)
August 14, 2016
Men’s light flyweight (49kg) - Final
Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan) def. Yurberjen Martínez (Colombia)
Both men were fighting to become the first gold medalist in this division for their country. It was Dusmatov in this one, as he outclassed his opponent, was elusive, outlanded Martínez, and won every round. Martínez is arguably the best story of the Olympics thus far for boxing, an underdog who knocked off Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba, the gold medal favorite, and has given his country its first ever silver medal in boxing. But Dusmatov was the better fighter, and it was that simple. We’ll have more on this fight shortly.
, the Kazah Shawn Porter pushed him around, roughed him up and bullied him in all 3 rounds. Easy 3-0