Davis and Torrez Jr. Set to Box for Gold on Final Day of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
by Brian Taylor, USA Boxing
The final day of boxing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will see two Americans take to the ring in the Kokugikan Arena looking to become the first male Olympic gold medalist since Andre Ward.
Lightweight Keyshawn Davis (Norfolk, Va.) will meet a very familiar foe in Cuba’s Andy Cruz. Cruz, a two-time World Champion, holds three victories over Davis, setting up an exciting final for gold. Cruz and Davis previous meetings came in the finals of the Pan American Games Qualifier (3-2 decision), Pan American Games (4-1 decision) and the 2019 Elite World Championships (5-0 decision).
Davis, who will be boxing for the fifth time in Tokyo, entered these Olympic Games unseeded, therefore had one of the more difficult paths to this gold medal bout. Davis defeated Enrico Lacruz (5-0), top seed and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Sofiane Oumiha (RSC), Gabil Mamedov (4-1) and Hovhannes Bachkov (5-0), and will be looking for one more this evening.
A Davis victory will add his name to the likes of previous lightweight Olympic Champions from the United States such as Oscar De La Hoya (1992), the last American lightweight to win gold, and Pernell Whitaker (1984), also from Norfolk.
Super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.) is the first American super heavyweight to compete in an Olympic Games final since Riddick Bowe in 1988. Torrez Jr., who was the third seed in Tokyo, will face top seed Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan.
Torrez and Jalolov met in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Elite World Championships, which saw the Uzbek take a knockout victory over Torrez, setting up a redemption story made for a movie.
Often described as an undersized super heavyweight, Torrez has turned many heads throughout these Olympic Games with three impressive and dominate wins to make this rematch come to a reality. Torrez journey to this rematch included victories over two-time Olympian Chouaib Bouloudinats (5-0), Cuba’s Dainier Pero (4-1) and 2019 World Championship silver medalist Kamshybek Kunkabayev (RSC).
A Torrez victory will make him the first super heavyweight Olympic Champion since 1984, when Tyrell Biggs won in the divisions Olympic debut. Torrez medal makes him just the third super heavyweight medalist overall for Team USA.
Both bouts can be seen live through NBC Olympics livestream by clicking here. Cable subscription login provider is needed.
Final Day Schedule
63 kg: Keyshawn Davis, Norfolk, Va./USA, vs. Andy Cruz/CUB – Bout 2, approx. 1:15 a.m. EST
91+ kg: Richard Torrez Jr., Tulare, Calif./USA, vs. – Bout 4, approx. 2:15 a.m. EST