Tokyo Olympics: Richard Torrez Jnr seeks brutal KO revenge against Bakhodir Jalolov for super heavyweight gold
- American and Uzbek in Olympic super heavyweight showdown at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on Sunday
- Jalolov KO’d Torrez when they met at 2019 AIBA Champs, despite having turned professional
Super heavyweight boxing gold will be decided at the Kokugikan Arena on Sunday and it would be fair to say that Richard Torrez Jnr is the underdog in his quest to win Olympic gold.
The 22-year-old US amateur takes on Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan, a 2.01m (6-ft-7in), 27-year-old with eight KOs in professional bouts under his belt.
What’s more, the last time Torrez and a Jalolov met in the ring, the American was on the end of a brutal knockout, left unconscious by the Uzbek’s hammer fist.
Torrez Jnr and Jalolov were drawn together in the AIBA World Championships in September 2019, meeting in the quarter-finals.
Jalolov knocked out the smaller Torrez, with the KO proving controversial at the time because the Uzbek had already turned pro.
“Brutal and criminal to allow a professional boxer Jalolov from Russia with 6-0 as a pro to fight outclassed, outweighed and far smaller USA 20-year-old amateur Torrez AIBA world championship in Russia,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman tweeted at the time.