By Jake Donovan

Roniel Iglesias captured Olympic bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games, but his lack of spectacular credentials paved a long road to climb if he is to become a two-time Olympic medalist. 

Bumping off the division’s top seed is a heck of start. 

What would be regarded as a major upset in most circles was instead merely a stiff test for Iglesias en route to the quarterfinals. Iglesias topped defending World Amateur champion Everton Lopes of the Brazil with an 18-15 win in the first bout of the Round of 16 light welterweight competition. 

The action was slow at the start but heated up in a round two that saw both fighters land hard and often. Iglesias was momentarily shook up but disguised the discomfort well enough to avoid an eight count. Lopes was his way to taking the lead, but Iglesias dug deep and unloaded with numerous scoring blows, enough to build a sizable lead that held up three minutes later to secure the win.

Iglesias will next face Uktemjan Rahmonov of Uzbekistan, who powered his way to a 16-8 win over Turkey’s Yakop Sener. 

A relatively close opening round turned out to be a mirage. Rahmonov beat down Sener in a landslide round two that saw an official knockdown and a look of resignation on the face of the Turkish boxer. Rahmonov refused to rest on his laurels, surging forward in the final round to add to his already sizable lead and put an exclamation point on matters.

Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan barely broke a sweat in scoring a 19-10 win over Iran’s Mehdi Toluitibandpi. Yeleussinov was in charge throughout, building an early lead and never looking back. The Kazakh fighter will now face Vincezno Mangiacapre of Italy, who scored a 20-14 win over Gyula Kate of Hungary.  

Toluitibandpi’s loss knocks Iran out of boxing competition, while Hungary is down to one fighter after Kate’s exit.

Four more Round of 16 bouts air later this evening (9:30PM local time, 3:30PM ET) for the light welterweight division.

Round of 16 Matchups (Saturday, August 4):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Everton Lopes (Brazil), 18-15
Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan) def. Yakop Sener (Turkey), 16-8
Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan) vs. Mehdi Toluitibandpi (Iran), 19-10
Vincenzo Mangiacapre (Italy) def. Gyula Kate, 20-14
Manoj Kumar (India) vs. Tom Stalker (Great Britain/Received 1st round bye)
Richarno Colin (Mauritius) vs. Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia)  
Jeff Horn (Australia) vs. Abderzarrak Houya (Tunisia)
Anthony Yigit (Sweden) vs. Denys Berinchyk (Ukraine/Received 1st round bye)

Light Welterweight Quarterfinals (Wednesday, August 8):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) vs. Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan)
Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan) vs. Vincenzo Mangiacapre (Italy)
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA

Light Welterweight - Round of 32 Results (Tuesday, July 31):
Roniel Iglesias (Cuba) def. Cesar Villarraga (Colombia), 20-9
Uktemjan Rahmonov (Uzbekistan) def.  Anderson Rojas (Ecuador) , 16-10
Yakop Sener (Turkey) def.  Serge Aambomo (Cameroon) , 19-10
Daniyar Yeleussinov (Kazakhstan) def. Jamel Herrring (USA) , 19-9
Mehdi Toluitibandpi (Iran) def.  Jonathan Alonso (Spain), 16-12
Gyula Kate (Hungary) def. Eslam Mohamed (Egypt), 16-10
Manoj Kumar (India) def.  Serdar Hudayberdiyev (Turkmenistan), 13-7
Richarno Colin (Mauritius) def.  Abedelhak Aatakni (Morocco) , 16-10
Uranchimegiin Monke-Erdene (Mongolia) def.  Zdenek Chladek (Czech Republic), 20-12
Jeff Horn (Australia) def. Gilbert Choombe (Zambia), 19-5
Abderzarrak Houya (Tunisia) def. Gaybatulia Gadzhialiyev (Azerbaijan), 19-16
Anthony Yigit (Sweden) def. Francisco Vargas (Puerto Rico), 13-9

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