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If you haven't been following the Olympic boxing so far, you've missed some entertaining stuff. But today is must-see -- there are some really good fights lined up, plus after the round of 32 has been completed, we're starting the round of 16 today, which means that the heavyweights and super heavyweights get started, and the very entertaining bantamweight division returns.
[ London 2012 - Round of 32 Boxing Recap ]
Three Americans fight today, all this morning. The very first fight of the second round at 8:30 a.m. EDT will see bantamweight Joseph Diaz Jr, a first round 19-9 winner over Ukraine's Pavlo Ishchenko, take on top-seeded Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba. They have met before, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Amateur Championships in Baku. Alvarez won, and went on to win gold at the event.
American heavyweight Michael Hunter Jr will face Russia's Artur Beterbiev at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Berterbiev is a former light heavyweight, but has a wealth of experience at international competitions, too. Hunter does not. At 10:30 a.m. EDT, Team USA super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale will face another Russian, Magomed Omarov. Omarov won gold at the 2011 European Amateur Championships, beating highly-regarded Italian Roberto Cammarelle in the final. Cammarelle won gold at the 2008 Olympics, so this is a big task for the inexperienced Breazeale, a former quarterback in college football at Northern Colorado.
The biggest match of the day, though, is probably the last one, as a pair of favorites in the super heavyweight division meet in front of what should be an electric crowd. Anthony Joshua of Great Britain faces Erislandy Savon of Cuba in that bout. According to one sportsbook I looked at, Joshua is the top favorite to win gold, while Savon is ranked fourth.
Full lineup after the jump.
Bantamweight (123 lbs/56kg)
8:30 a.m. - Lazaro Alvarez (Cuba) vs Joseph Diaz Jr (United States)
8:45 a.m. - Sergey Vodopiyanov (Russia) vs Robenilson Vieira (Brazil)
9:00 a.m. - John Joe Nevin (Ireland) vs Kanat Abutalipov (Kazakhstan)
9:15 a.m. - Oscar Valdez (Mexico) vs Anvar Yunusov (Tajikistan)
Heavyweight (201 lbs/91kg)
9:30 a.m. - Artur Beterbiev (Russia) vs Michael Hunter Jr (United States)
Winner will face Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine), who has a bye.
9:45 a.m. - Tervel Pulev (Bulgaria) vs Xuanxuan Wang (China)
10:00 a.m. - Yamil Peralta Jara (Argentina) vs Chouaib Bouloudinats (Algeria)
Super Heavyweight (201+ lbs/91+kg)
10:15 a.m. - Magomedrasul Medzhidov (Azerbaijan) vs Meji Mwanba (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
10:30 a.m. - Magomed Omarov (Russia) vs Dominic Breazeale (United States)
10:45 a.m. - Mohammed Arjaoui (Morocco) vs Blaise Yemou Mendouo (Cameroon)
11:00 a.m. - Ytalo Perea Castillo (Ecuador) vs Roberto Cammarelle (Italy)
Bantamweight (123 lbs/56kg)
3:30 p.m. - Luke Campbell (Great Britain) vs Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello (Italy)
3:45 p.m. - Ibrahim Balla (Australia) vs Detelin Dalakliev (Bulgaria)
4:00 p.m. - Mohamed Amine Ouadahi (Algeria) vs William Encarnacion (Dominican Republic)
4:15 p.m. - Satoshi Shimizu (Japan) vs Magomed Abdulhamidov (Azerbaijan)
Heavyweight (201 lbs/91kg)
4:30 p.m. - Teymur Mammadov (Azerbaijan) vs Jai Tapu Opetaia (Australia)
4:45 p.m. - Julio Castillo Torres (Ecuador) vs Siarhei Karneyeu (Belarus)
5:00 p.m. - Jose Larduet (Cuba) vs Ali Mazaheri (Iran)
5:15 p.m. - Tumba Silva (Angola) vs Clemente Russo (Italy)
Super Heavyweight (201+ lbs/91+kg)
5:30 p.m. - Ivan Dychko (Kazakhstan) vs Erik Pfeifer (Germany)
5:45 p.m. - Simon Kean (Canada) vs Tony Yoka (France)
6:00 p.m. - Zhilei Zhang (China) vs Johan Linde (Australia)
6:15 p.m. - Erislandy Savon (Cuba) vs Anthony Joshua (Great Britain)