By Jake Donovan

Day Six of Olympic competition features the Round of 16 matchups in the lightweight and middleweight divisions. 

Kicking off the afternoon portion (London time) was the first appearance of Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko, who captured Olympic Gold in the 2008 Beijing Games. Now the world's best amateur lightweight boxer, Lomachenko barely broke a sweat in cruising to the quarterfinals with a 15-3 win over Wellington Arias of the Dominican Republic.

Lomachenko scored standing eight counts in each of the first two rounds and put on a boxing clinic the rest of the way. Arias had no answers - and nearly no clean punches landed, scoring just one point through two rounds.

The loss for Arias means an end to the Olympic dreams of the Dominican Republic boxing squad, as all three of its members have been eliminated.

Team Ukraine still has six remaining contestants. Five (including Lomachenko) were granted opening round byes, emphasizing its dominance on the world level. Lomachenko is chief among the lot, as he is heavily favored to become a two-time Gold medalist. His '08 Gold medal came in the featherweight division, which is no longer featured in Olympic competition. 

Awaiting Lomachenko in the quarterfinals is Felix Verdejo of Puerto Rico. The silky smooth Boricua boxer put on a dazzling boxing display in a 16-7 win over Ahmed Mejrl of Tunisia.

While not as lopsided as the afternoon's opening bout, Verdejo was still able to put it in cruise control after a certain point in the fight. The threat of an upset never surfaced, as Mejrl was game but ultimately outclassed.  

Gani Zhailauov delivers win number seven for Team Kazakhstan after a 16-8 victory over India's Jai Bhagwan. 

Zhailauov fell behind early in an awkward opening round, but a 10-3 drubbing in round two helped turn things around and send the bout to the point of no return. A foul at the end of the round was the nail in the coffin for Bhagwan, who struggled to adjust once Zhailauov was able to turn the tide. 

Despite Kazakhstan's success thus far on the boxing side of the 2012 Summer Games, a stiff challenge awaits its lightweight in the quarterfinals. Y asniel Toledo of Cuba advances on the strength of a 14-10 win over China's  Liu Qiang in the final lightweight bout of the afternoon portion.

The bout was fought on a very high skill level, but took a couple of rounds before the entertainment portion kicked in. Qiang was tentative early, which led to his falling behind by two points heading into the final round. The third round saw the 30-year old attempt to rally, but Toledo - nine years Qiang's junior - managed to remain a slight step ahead. 

LATER TODAY

Team USA is in desperate need of a life preserver, suffering five straight losses after winnings its first four contests in Round of 32 action. The rescue mission won’t begin until the very last bout of the day at lightweight later this evening, when Jose Ramirez takes on Fazliddin Gaibnazarov of Uzbekistan.

The evening portion also boasts the return of Great Britain’s lightweight Josh Taylor, whose close but clear win over Brazil’s Robson Conceição put him in line for a quarterfinals slot. Even with home field advantage, Taylor faces an uphill climb as he meets three-time Olympian Domenico Valentino of Italy.

All winning fighters from Thursday will advance to the divisional quarterfinals, which takes place on Monday, August 6. 

Round of 16 Matchups (Thursday, August 2): 
Vasyl Lomachenko (Ukraine) def.  Wellington Arias (Dominican Republic), 15-3
Felix Verdejo (Puerto Rico) def. Ahmed Mejrl (Tunisia), 16-7
Gani Zhailauov (Kazakhstan) def. Jai Bhagwan (India) , 16-8
Yasniel Toledo (Cuba) def. L iu Qiang (China), 14-10
Josh Taylor (Great Britain) vs. Domenico Valentino (Italy/Received 1st round bye)
Soon-Chul Han (South Korea) vs. Vasgen Safaryanta (Belarus/Received 1st round bye)
Evaldas Petrauskas (Lithuania) vs. Fatih Keleş (Turkey)
Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (Uzbekistan) vs. Jose Ramirez (USA)

Lightweight Semifinals (Monday, August 6)
Vasyl Lomachenko (Ukraine) vs. Felix Verdejo (Puerto Rico)
Gani Zhailauov (Kazakhstan)  vs.  Yasniel Toledo (Cuba)
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA

Lightweights - Round of 32 Results (Sunday, July 29): 
Wellington Arias (Dominican Republic) def. Eduor Marriaga (Colombia), 17-8
Ahmed Mejrl (Tunisia) def. Shafiq Chitou (Benin), 16-9
Felix Verdejo (Puerto Rico) def. Juan Huertas (Panama), 11-5
Gani Zhailauov (Kazakhstan) def. Saylom Ardee (Thailand), 12-12 (Zhailauov wins on countback)
Jai Bhagwan (India) def. Andrique Allison (Seychelles), 18-8
Liu Qiang (China) def. Luke Jackson (Australia), 20-7
Josh Taylor (Great Britain) def. Robson Conceição (Brazil), 13-9
Evaldas Petrauskas (Lithuania) def. Miklos Varga (Hungary), 20-12 
Fatih Keleş (Turkey) def. Abdelkader Chadi (Algeria), 15-8 
Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (Uzbekistan) def. Yhyacinthe Mewoli (Cameroon), 11-6
Jose Ramirez (USA) def. Rachid Azzedine (France), 21-20
Soon-Chul Han (South Korea) dec. Mohamed Eliwa (Egypt), 11-6

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