Shakhobidin Zoirov's pro career remains on hold in pursuit of a second Olympic Gold medal. A significant step was taken by the Uzbek boxer, who advanced to the round of 16 following a one-sided unanimous decision win over Turkey's Batuhan Ciftci.
Imam Khataev kept the momentum going for independent Olympic team ROC, blowing past Morocco's Mohamed Assaghir to win via RSC (Referee Stops Contest) in the third round.
Luis Richarno Colin (Mauritius) outpointed Abdelhaq Nadir (Morocco) in a competitive Round of 32 lightweight bout. Colin won by scores of 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, while Nadir was awarded a 29-28 score on the card of judge Zhang Guo (China).
Ginny Fuchs fought like she was waiting four years for this moment. The 33-year-old southpaw from Houston effortlessly overcame height and reach disadvantages to outpoint Svetlana Soluianova (ROC) over three rounds Sunday afternoon at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. Fuchs won by scores 30-27 on three cards—offsetting matching cards of 29-28 for Soluianova—to earn her place in the Round of 16.
Uzbekistan's Tursunoy Rakhimova rallied from an opening round deficit to outpoint Poland's Sandra Drabik in the first women's flyweight bout Sunday morning at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. Rakhimova won by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28; Drabik won 29-28 on the dissenting card turned in by USA judge Andrew Mustacchio. She will now go on to face Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Turkey), the bracket's number-one seed in the Round of 16 on Thursday, July 29.
For an aspiring music artist, Benjamin "B£NZO" Whittaker makes a hell of a fighter.The 6'3" light heavyweight provided Great Britain with another entry in the Round of 16 after outpointing two-time Olympic participant Jorge Luis Vivas (Colombia). Whittaker won by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, while judge Radoslav Simon (Slovakia) had Vivas winning 29-28 on the dissenting card.
Delante 'Tiger' Johnson survived a hellacious scare to advance to the Sweet 16. The Cleveland-bred welterweight used a final round rally to outpoint Argentina's Brian Arregui in their opening round battle Saturday afternoon at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. Johnson won by scores of 29-28 on three scorecards, with the same score landing in favor of Arregui on the remaining two cards.
Ireland's Kurt Anthony Walker fought through a mid-fight surge from Spain's Jose Quiles and a late round cut to advance in featherweight competition. Walker won by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 to move on to the Round of 16.
Nesthy Petecio made history for the Philippines. The 29-year-old southpaw posted the first win of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, outpointing Congo's Marcelat Sokabi in the opening round of competition in the women's featherweight bracket. Petecio won by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on the five judges' scorecards.