American Richard Torrez Jr. to Fight for Super Heavyweight Gold

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United States’ men’s super heavyweight boxer RIchard Torrez Jr. will fight for the gold medal after winning his semifinal bout. 

The contest between Torrez Jr. and Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev ended with a referee stoppage due to injury. Torrez Jr. was up on all five judges’ cards at the time of the stoppage. 

With the victory, Torrez Jr. will be the first American super heavyweight to medal since 1988 when Riddick Bowe won silver and will try to be the first American to win gold at that weight since Tyrell Biggs in 1984.

Torrez Jr. started off the Games with a 5-0 win against Algeria’s Chouaib Bouloudinats in the preliminaries before beating Cuba’s Dainier Pero in a 4-1 decision in the quarterfinals.

The 22-year-old American will square off against the top-ranked super heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan. That fight is schedule for Sunday, Aug. 8 at 2:15 a.m. ET.

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