By Jake Donovan
Dominic Breazeale becomes the latest member of Team USA to bow out of competition. His loss was the squad's most lopsided thus far, receiving two standing eight counts en route to a 19-8 beatdown at the hands of Magomed Omarov of Russia.
The fight was never competitive, as 20-year old Omarov asserted himself from the opening bell. Breazeale received a count in the opening round, failing to score a single point after the first three minutes although it appeared as if he managed to land a shot or two.
It hardly mattered, as Omarov continued to pour gasoline onto the fire. A lopsided round two carried spilled over into the third, which saw Breazeale rocked late in the fight. A second standing-eight count was mere window dressing, as the American never stood a chance nor did the threat of a dramatic knockout ever surface.
Breazeale's loss makes it five straight exits for the U.S. squad, with seven fighters (four male and three female) remaining in competition. The super heavyweight declared his intentions to turn pro, as has Joseph Diaz Jr., who was eliminated in bantamweight competition earlier this afternoon.
Omarov moves on to face
Magomedrasul Majidov of Azerbaijan, who had his way with Congo's Meji Mwamba. Majidov scored knockdowns in rounds one and two before forcing a stoppage at 2:09 of round two. Mwamba offered no competition whatsoever, as Majidov storms into the quarterfinal round.
Mohamed Arjaoui of Morocco is now a two-time Olympic quarterfinalist after topping Cameroon's Blaise Yepmou, 15-6. The bout was a spirited affair, but one in which the Moroccan heavyweight dominated for the most part.
Arjaoui advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 Beijing Games but was eliminated by Deontay Wilder, who became the lone member of the '08 U.S. squad to win a medal. Four years later, Arjaoui is once again one fight away from the medal round.
Awaiting him in the Elite Eight is Italy's Roberto Cammarelle, the defending Olympic Gold medalist for this division.
Cammarelle is a heavy favorite to repeat, as was displayed in his 18-10 win over Italo Perea of Ecuador. Standing eight counts early in the fight and at the very end helped bookend an impressive showing by Cammarelle, though Perea refused to go out without a fight, momentarily staggering the Italian in the third before falling back behind.
Four more bouts are scheduled for the evening portion.
On the local front, Great Britain's own Anthony Joshua appears in the very last bout of the evening. Awaiting him is Erislandy Savon of Cuba, nephew of the legendary three-time Olympic Gold medalist Felix Savon.
Super Heavyweights Round of 16 (Wednesday, August 1)
Magomedrasul Majidov (Azerbaijan) def. Meji Mwamba (Congo), RSC-2 (2:09)
Magomed Omarov (Russia) def. Dominic Breazeale (USA), 19-8
Mohamed Arjaoui (Morocco) def. Blaise Yepmou (Cameroon), 15-6
Roberto Cammarelle (Italy) def.
Italo Perea (Ecuador), 18-10
Ivan Dychko (Kazakhstan) vs. Erik Pfiefer (Germany)
Simon Kean (Canada) vs. Tony Yoka (France)
Zhilei Zhang (China) vs. Johan Linde (Australia)
Erislandy Savon (Cuba) vs. Anthony Joshua (Great Britain)ght
Super Heavyweights Quarterfinals (Monday, August 6)
Magomedrasul Majidov (Azerbaijan) vs.
Magomed Omarov (Russia)
Mohamed Arjaoui (Morocco) vs.
Roberto Cammarelle (Italy)
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter:
@JakeNDaBox