Bakhodir Jalolov won his second consecutive Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal at Roland Garros on Saturday.
The giant Uzbek fighter defeated Spain’s Ayub Gadaffa in impressive fashion, giving his opponent two standing counts in the first round to win by unanimous decision.
That final was the final bout of the Paris 2024 tournament and is currently the final Olympic boxing bout.
The sport is not included in the programme for the next Olympic Games in 2028, as it currently has no recognised governing body.
The IBA, the federation that has historically run international amateur sport, is banned from operating Olympic competition. The IOC is adamant that boxing can only return to the Olympics under the jurisdiction of a new federation.
A new organisation, World Boxing, has been formed that hopes to save the Olympic sport, but time is running out.
Australia’s Caitlin Parker, who received the middleweight bronze medal at Saturday’s medal ceremony, said: “I think it’s very important to have boxing at the next Olympics. It’s one of the oldest Olympic sports. I think we’ve shown today and throughout this whole competition how important boxing is. It’s popular, it draws people in and I think people need to make sure that happens.”
“I will keep talking about it because it’s every kid’s dream. It was my dream and to be on the podium at my second Olympics, it’s a dream come true.”
“And I want that to happen to other people, too.”
China’s Olympic champion Li Qian also added her voice to the campaign, stating plainly: “I support it.”
An impressive super-heavyweight
Jalolov put in a brilliant performance to win possibly his last Olympic gold medal in boxing.
He outmuscled Gadaffa with long right-hand jabs and used his opportunities to land heavy straight lefts.
A high cross earned the Spaniard a standing count in the first round. Jalolov then leapt in, trying to attack while Gadaffa was vulnerable, but he accidentally went to Gadaffa’s right.
However, that prompted a strong reaction, and another powerful jab gave the Spaniard a second chance at the bell.
He stayed on his feet, but couldn’t get a foothold on the competition.
Jalolov continued his aggressive approach in the second round. He confused Gadaffa, attacked with his left shot and then followed up with a strong right shot. The Spaniard was not prepared for those shots and they hit him cleanly.
The Uzbek controlled him, knocking Gadaffi back with a left hook, and repeated the shot to end the round.
However, he neglected to strive for spectacular finishes. Instead of looking for knockouts, he made sure there was no room for error.
Jalolov didn’t rush things. He allowed Gadaffi to find his openings and defeated the Spaniard with hard counter-punches to win by unanimous decision.
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