Olympics Women's Middleweight Semis: Shields In Finals

By Jake Donovan

Claressa Shields has given the United States its first Olympic boxing finalist in eight years, after her emphatic 29-15 storming of Kazakhstan's Marina Volnova.

Serving as the last remaining fighter - female or male - on Team USA, the 17-year young Shields proudly carried a nation on her back. Her performance was by far the most dominant of any American fighter in this year's competition.

The tone was set early as Shields was bombs away from the opening bell. A 7-5 lead was the first enjoyed by anyone on Team USA since her own win on Monday. The margin continued to grow, though Volnova was believed to still have a fighting chance by the halfway point.

Shields put an end to that in a hurry, delivering an epic beatdown in the final two rounds. Standing eight counts were issued in the third and fourth rounds, though the latter official knockdown was window dressing at that point. An 8-3 third round put the fight well out of reach, as Volnova was never a threat to pull off a one-punch knockout. 

The win puts Shields in the Gold medal round, the first time any US Olympic boxer has reached that stage since Andre Ward's memorable victory tour in the 2004 Athens Games. It is also the first time in eight years in which Team USA takes home at least a silver medal; the 2008 squad came home with just one bronze medal. 

Awaiting Shields in the finals is Nadezda Torlopova of Russia, who advanced after a 12-10 win over China's Jinzin Li.

The win wasn't easy for Torlopova, who overcame a slow start and an early deficit. By round two, the difference in class slowly became evident, as Torlopova chipped away until surging ahead and never looking back. 

Li was issued a standing-eight count in the final round to help seal her fate. However, the ending was delayed by more than a minute as the judges took their time in tabulating the scores. 

Similar pauses have meant a countback was in order, which would have been absurd in this case as Torlopova was a clear winner regardless of scores. The brief scare proved to be a false alarm, however, as the two-point for the Russian lightweight confirmed what appeared to be the obvious.

The middleweight finals take place on Thursday, August 9.

Claressa Shields (USA) vs. Nadezda Torlopova (Russia)

Round of 16 Results (Sunday, August 5):

Marina Volnova (Kazakhstan) def. Elizabeth Andiego (Kenya), 20-11

Anna Laurel (Sweden) def. Naomi Fischer-Rasmussen (Australia), 24-17

Jinzi Li (China) def. Roseli Feitosa (Brazil), 19-14

Edith Ogoke (Nigeria) def. Elena Vystropova (Azerbaijan), 14-12

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