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Olympic boxing draw complete; gold medalists Jalolov, La Cruz and Lopez return to action

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Bakhodir Jalolov, seen here in his 2022 KO victory over Jack Mulowayi, will be gunning for his second consecutive super heavyweight gold. Photo: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime

Team USA will begin its 2024 Olympic gold-medal campaign on Saturday with the first bout in the women’s 60-kilogram weight class, while Cubans Arlen Lopez and Julio Cesar La Cruz will begin their quest for a third gold.

Jajaira Gonzalez, a 27-year-old from Glendora, California, will be the first American boxer to step into the ring in Paris when she faces French 2016 gold medalist Estelle Mossely in the round of 32.

On Sunday, July 28, Team USA will have a second boxer in action when Roscoe Hill, 29, of Spring, Texas, takes on Omid Ahmadisafa, a 31-year-old Iranian kickboxer who represents the Refugee Olympic team, in the men’s 51-kilogram weight class. On Monday, July 29, the USA will have another boxer in action when super heavyweight Joshua Edwards takes on Italian Diego Lenzi in the men’s round of 16, and 57-kilogram boxer Alyssa Mendoza takes on Mijgona Samadova of Tajikistan in the round of 16 on Tuesday, July 30.

On Wednesday, July 31, two more Americans will compete: Omari Jones (21) of Orlando, Florida, will face Kan Chia Wei of China from Tapei in the round of 16 in the 71 kg weight class, and Jahmal Harvey (21) of Oxon Hill, Maryland, will face Luiz Gabriel Oliveira, the 2023 Pan American Games bronze medalist from Brazil, with whom he has a 3-2 record, in the round of 16 in the men’s 57 kg weight class.

The final Americans scheduled to fight for their first time are Jennifer Lozano and Morelle McCane, who will begin their fights on Thursday, Aug. 1. Lozano, a 110-pound boxer from Laredo, Texas, who received a first-round bye and will face the winner of Sunday’s round-of-32 bout between Pihla Kaivo Oja of Finland and Margaret Tembo of Zambia, while McCane, 29, of Cleveland, will face Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova in the women’s 150-pound round-of-16.

The U.S. men’s team hasn’t won a boxing gold medal since 2016, when Claressa Shields won two consecutive golds, while the American men have had a much longer absence, not winning gold since 2004. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the United States won three silver medals and one bronze.

Lozano told The Ring she believes Team USA will turn a lot of heads at the Olympics in Paris.

“All I can say is that the U.S. has not only worked tough, but sacrificed and become a family,” said Lozano, who won silver at the 2023 Pan American Games. “This year, Team USA Boxing will be the most history-making team in boxing in terms of gold medals. And that includes the men. The U.S. men have a good chance to end that streak.”

Arlen Lopez and Julio Cesar La Cruz will be looking to join Laszlo Papp, Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon in a distinguished group of boxers who have won three Olympic gold medals.

Lopez, now 31, will be back in action next Friday, August 2 in the men’s 80-kilogram quarterfinals when he faces the winner between Eumir Marcial of the Philippines, the 2020 bronze medalist, and Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan, who will meet on Tuesday. Lopez won gold at middleweight in 2016 and moved up to the heavier weight for 2020 to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

La Cruz, who won lithe heavyweight gold at the 2016 Rio Games and heavyweight gold in Tokyo in 2020, will face another Cuban in the 92kg round of 16 on Sunday when he takes on Loren Alfonso, who currently represents Azerbaijan. The two previously fought in 2019, with La Cruz winning by unanimous decision in the Czech Republic.

Despite lifting the ban on women’s boxing last year, Cuba has failed to qualify any women for the Olympics. As a result, the amateur boxing powerhouse will have just five boxers in Paris, including Erislandy Álvarez (63.5 kg), Alejandro Claro (51 kg) and Saidel Horta (57 kg).

In other action, 57kg Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam will begin his bid to improve on his silver medal in Tokyo when he faces Ireland’s Jude Gallagher in the round of 16 next Wednesday. Paalam, 26, was sidelined from the first round of the world championships in March by a shoulder injury but came back mighty to win the quota fight in the last chance round in June, securing his place at the Olympics.

Paalam will be joined by fellow Filipino silver medalist Nesthy Petecio, who will begin his tournament on July 30 in the round of 32 of the women’s 57 kg against Jaismine Lamboria of India. The winner of that bout will face Frenchwoman Amina Zidani, who won gold at the 2023 European Games.

Hasanboy Dusmatov, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist from Uzbekistan, will return to the Paris Olympics, where he will face Juanma Lopez de Jesus of Puerto Rico in the men’s 51-kilogram round of 16 on July 30. His teammate, super heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov, will once again take a break from his 14-0 (14 knockouts) professional career as he attempts to repeat his gold medal from the 2020 Games. The 30-year-old left-hander, who stands 6-foot-7, will face Omar Shiha on Monday, July 29 in the round of 16.

The first gold medal match is scheduled for August 6 in the women’s 60 kg weight class, while the last four finals will be held on August 10.

Olympic boxing will be broadcast live in the United States on Peacock. The full schedule is below, courtesy of Peacock.

Saturday, July 27
9:30am EST: Women’s Bantam (R32), Men’s Airy (R32) and others
2:00 PM EST: Women’s lithe (R32), men’s medium (R32) and others

Sunday, July 28
5:00 AM EST: Men’s heavyweight (R16), women’s flyweight and welterweight (R32) and others
9:30am EST: Men’s pen (R32), Women’s welter (R32) and others
2:00 PM EST: Men’s heavyweight (R16), women’s flyweight and welterweight (R32) and others

Monday, July 29
5:00 AM EST: Men’s Super Heavyweight (R16)
9:30am EST: Men’s and women’s lightweight (R16), men’s super bulky (R16) and others
2:00 PM EST: Lightweight women’s (R16), super heavyweight men’s (R16) and others

Tuesday, July 30
5:00 AM EST: Men’s Fly & Middle (R16), women’s Feather (R32) and more
9:30am EST: Men’s bow tie and medium (R16), bantam bow tie (R16) and others
2:00 PM EST: Men’s Medium (R16), Bantam Bantam (R16) and others

Wednesday, July 31
5:00 AM EST: Women’s Medium (R16), Men’s Pen (R16) and others
9:20 EST: Women’s Lightweight (QF), Men’s Welterweight (R16) and others
2:00 PM EST: Women’s lightweight (QF), men’s featherweight (R16) and others

Thursday, August 1st
5:00 AM EST: Women’s Welterweight (R16), Men’s Heavyweight (QF) and more
9:30am EST: Women’s Bantamweight (QF), Men’s Lightweight (QF) and more
2:00 PM EST: Massive male (QF), bantam female (QF) and others

Friday, August 2nd
9:30am EST: Men’s Super Massive (QF), Women’s Feather (R16) and more
2:00 PM EST: Super Massive Men’s (QF), Fly Men’s (QF) and others

Saturday, August 3
9:30am EST: Men’s Feather (QF), Women’s Airy (SF) and others
2:00 PM EST: Women’s Lightweight (SF), Men’s Welterweight (QF) and others

Sunday, August 4th
5:00 AM EST: Medium Male (SF), Female Bantam (SF) and others
9:30am EST: Massive Male (SF), Bantam Female (SF) and others

Tuesday, August 6
3:30 PM EST: Women’s Lightweight (Final), Men’s Welterweight (SF) and more

Wednesday, August 7
3:30 PM EST: Men, Middleweight, Lightweight (Finals) and Others

Thursday, August 8
3:30 PM EST: Men’s fly, women’s bantam (finals) and others

Friday, August 9
3:30 PM EST: Men’s and women’s Welter, men’s heavyweight, women’s flyweight (finals)

Saturday, August 10
3:30 PM EST: Men’s and Women’s Featherweight, Women’s Middleweight, Men’s Super Heavyweight (Final)

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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