Australian boxer Teremoana Jr. is not as strong as Bakodir Yarolov but may pose the biggest threat to the defending gold medallist from Uzbekistan in their quarter-final clash.
Teremoana and Jarolov faced off in Paris on Monday, both impressive in their victories. Jarolov entered the Summer Olympics as the heavy favorite to repeat his gold medal streak in Tokyo, and he remains the heavy favorite as the weight class quickly narrows to just eight athletes remaining.
Top American seed Joshua Edwards was soundly defeated by Italy's Diego Renzi and was eliminated. Teremoana knocked out Dmytro Lovchinskiy of Ukraine in the first round in the day's second session, and soon after, Yarolov outplayed Norway's Omar Siha by one game but fell short.
Jarolov is not only still one of the best amateurs in the division, but he is also arguably the best professional prospect in the sport. At 14-0 (14 KOs), the 30-year-old Jarolov could have improved a lot in the past six years as a pro, but he has focused on two Olympic cycles and may simply be more concerned with those than he is with his professional career.
Teremoana lacks the Uzbek's technique or skilled poise but has fearsome power. Listed at 6-foot-6 and weighing around 270 or 280 pounds, he is far less well known than Jalorov, with a record of 4-0 (4 knockouts) in his four professional bouts.
The 26-year-old should be the underdog against Yarolov, but his size and the heat with which he delivers his powerful punches make him a real threat and a real wild card for the super heavyweight fighters in Paris.
The match between Jarolov and Teremoana will have a big impact on the rest of the match. It is clear, but specifically, if Jarolov wins, no one in the field will be able to beat him. Teremoana's firepower is Jarolov's biggest threat. On the other hand, if Teremoana can beat Jarolov with his strength, some of the field can beat him with the right game plan.
In other words, this is the most intriguing matchup in the division on paper, but… de facto The gold medal match will take place in the quarterfinals.
Teremoana Jr. and Bakodir Jarolov will face off on Friday, August 2nd at 11:54am ET.
The full super heavyweight quarterfinal bout lineup is here. All bouts will take place on August 2nd.
- Diego Renzi (Italy) vs. Nervi Tiafac (Germany), 11:38 a.m. ET
- Teremoana Jr. (Australia) vs. Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan), 11:54 a.m. ET
- Jamili Dini Abdou (France) vs. Gerlon Kongo (Ecuador), 4:08 p.m. ET
- Ayoub Gadfa (Spain) vs. David Charoyan (Armenia), 4:24 p.m. ET
