By Jake Donovan

Vincenzo Picardi of Italy came into the 2012 Games hoping to improve on his Bronze medal winning effort four years ago in Beijing. An opening round bye pushed him one step closer to that dream, but old nemesis  Tugstsogt Nyambaya of Mongolia brought the Italian hopeful crashing back down to reality with a 17-16 win.

The final flyweight bout of the day saw Picardi jump out to an early lead as Nyambaya took a round or so to get untracked. The strong start by Picardi turned out to be an illusion, however as fatigue would quickly set in. Nyambaya turned the tide in round two to even up the score at 10-10, before surging ahead in the final three minutes to score what is perceived as a minor upset.

Nyambaya scores his second major win over Picardi, having defeated him in the 2009 World Amateur Championships en route to a 2nd place finish. History proved to repeat itself, as Nyambaya advances to the quarterfinals, much to the dismay of Picardi, who dropped to his knees in a mixture of disbelief and disappointment once the final score was read.  

The win disrupted plans for a rematch to last year's quarterfinals in the 2011 World Amateur Championships, where Picardi fell short to  Jazurbek Lapitov of Uzbekistan. 

Lapitov cruised to the quarterfinals with a 21-11 win over Egypt's  Hesham Abdelaal. The bout marked the first appearance for Lapitov, who was granted a first-round bye on the strength of his 3rd place finish in last year's world championships. 

Seven days into competition and hungry to fight, Lapitov came out of the tunnel looking like a fighter ready to wreck anything and anyone in his path. He did just that to Abdelaal, who never gave himself a chance as the Egyptian was hesitant on far too many exchanges.

A standind eight count in round two helped turn a mismatch into a rout as Lapitov moves to within one win from a guaranteed medal. 

Defending World Amatuer lightweight champion Misha Aloyan fought for the first time in the 2012 London Games after receiving an opening round bye. While the top seed in the lightweight field, his 14-9 win over Samir Brahimi was evident of a fighter who remains the odds-on favorite.

Aloyan took well over a round to get going, even though he led every step of the way. A narrow one-point lead for the Russian began to grow as Aloyan settled into a groove. Brahimi offered a good account of himself, but just couldn’t put together enough punches to sway the judges.

With the win, Aloyan moves onto the quarterfinals. He will face Jeyvier Cintron of Puerto Rico, who scored an 18-13 win over Juliao Henriques of Brazil.

Cintron was given all that he could handle in clinging on to a two-point lead through two rounds before surging head in a dominant third round. Henriques was valiant in his effort, but found himself under siege and on the defensive in the final three-minute period that ultimately determined the fight. 

Cintron is the youngest member of the baby-faced squad from Puerto Rico. None of the fighters on the five-man squad are old enough to drink (not that amateur boxers do that!), while Cintron at age 17 is barely old enough to drive. All that matters, though, is that he's old enough to fight - and fight well. 

LATER TODAY

Rau’shee Warren will make history the moment he steps in the ring to represent the 2012 U.S Olympic boxing squad. His appearance will make him the first ever American boxer to have fought in three separate Olympic Games.

That moment will Friday evening (London time). Warren is slated for the first slot of the bottom half of flyweight Round of 16 competition, where he faces Nordine Oubaali of France, who cruised to a 22-9 win over Afghanistan’s Ajmal Faisal.

Team USA has lost seven straight in 2012 Olympic boxing competition after sprinting out to a 4-0 start. 

The London crowd will also have to wait to cheer on countryman Andrew Selby, who doesn’t appear until the very last fight of the Round of 16 competition later in the evening. Awaiting the Welsh flyweight is Kazakhstan’s Ilyas Suleimenov. 

Round of 16 Matchups (Friday, August 3):
Samir Brahimi (Algeria) vs. Misha Aloyan (Russia)
Jeyvier Cintron (Puerto Rico) def.  Juliao Henriques Neto (Brazil) , 18-13
Jasurbek Latipov (Uzbekistan) def.  Hesham Abdelaal (Egypt), 21-11
Tugstsogt Nyambayar (Mongolia) def. Vincenzo Picardi (Italy), 17-16
Nordine Oubaali (France) vs. Rau'shee Warren (United States /Received 1st round bye)
Duke Michah (Ghana) vs. Michael Conlan (Ireland)/Received 1st round bye)
Chatchai Butdee (Thailand) vs. Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)
Ilyas Suleimenov (Kazakhstan) vs. Andrew Selby (Great Britain/Received 1st round bye)

Flyweight Quarterfinals (Tuesday, August 7):
Misha Aloyan (Russia) vs.  Jeyvier Cintron (Puerto Rico)  
Jasurbek Latipov (Uzbekistan)  vs. T ugstsogt Nyambayar (Mongolia)
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA

Flyweight - Round of 32 Results (Monday, July 30):
Samir Brahimi (Algeria) def. Jackson Darren Woods (Australia), 14-12
Juliao Henriques Neto (Brazil) def. Jong Chol Pak (North Korea), 12-8
Jeyvier Cintron (Puerto Rico) def. Oteng Oteng (Botswana), 14-12
Hesham Abdelaal (Egypt) def. Benson Njangiru (Kenya), 19-16
Tugstsogt Nyambayar (Mongolia) def. Elvin Mamishzada (Azerbaijan), 18-11
Nordine Oubaali (France) def. Ajmal Faisal (Afghanistan), 22-9
Duke Micah (Ghana) def.  Jason Lavigilante (Mauritius), 18-14
Chatchai Butdee (Thailand) def. Selcuk Eker (Turkey), 34-10
Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba) def. Katsuaki Susa (Japan), 19-7 
Ilyas Suleimenov (Kazakhstan) def. Salomo Ntuve (Sweden), 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox