Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Day 6 Preview
by Brian Taylor, USA Boxing
The sixth day of boxing at the Kokugikan Arena is lining up to be a busy, yet exciting, day for Team USA. Three boxers will box in their round of 16 bouts, including the Olympic debut of super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. (Tulare, Calif.). Joining Torrez will be Virginia Fuchs (Houston, Texas) and Troy Isley (Alexandria, Va.).
Troy Isley vs. Gleb Bakshi/ROC – Session 2, Bout 4 (Approx. 4:45 a.m. EST)
Isley will take to the ring first for USA Boxing against the number two-seed of these Olympic Games, Gleb Bakshi of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Isley put up a strong opening performance against Vitali Bandarenka, taking all five judges’ cards 30-27, to advance to this round of 16 matchup against the 2019 World Champion and top ranked boxer in the Boxing Task Force (BTF) rankings. Isley will have the advantage of already boxing in these Olympic Games, getting out an kinks or nerves before this bout, while Bakshi will be taking to the ring for the first time after receiving a bye in the first round.
Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Chouaib Bouloudinats/ALG – Session 2, Bout 5 (Approx. 5:00 a.m. EST)
Torrez Jr. will make his highly anticipated Olympic debut against two-time Olympian Chouaib Bouloudinats of Algeria, who finished ninth at both his Olympic appearances.
The American earned the third seed of these Olympic Games after being the highest BTF ranked America’s super heavyweight, where he is ranked 17th, while the Algerian is ranked fifth after earning points due to his ninth place finish at the 2019 Elite Men’s World Championships and top finish at the African Olympic Qualifier. The 34-year-old will bring years of experience, having finished top-10 at four Elite Men’s World Championships, however, Torrez Jr. has competed on the international stage since his junior days, setting up an exciting matchup.
Virginia Fuchs vs. Stoyka Krasteva/BUL – Session 2, Bout (Approx., 6:30 a.m. EST)
Fuchs will once again face a familiar opponent from earlier this year in Stoyka Krasteva of Bulgaria.
The flyweight advanced to this matchup after her 3-2 victory over ROC’s Svetlana Soluianova, while Krasteva had her own 3-2 win against Thi Tam Nguyen of Vietnam to make the round of 16. Krasteva is ranked 11th in the BTF rankings and competing in her second Olympic Games, after finishing fifth in London.
Over the years, the Bulgarian has competed at both the flyweight and bantamweight categories on the international stage, with most of her success coming in the bantamweight, where she is a two-time World Championship silver medalist.
Fuchs and Krasteva went head-to-head in this year’s Strandja Tournament semifinal, where Krasteva picked up the win in her home country on her route to win the tournament.
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