The U.S. boxing team had its best performance in the Olympics in 21 years but the men’s gold medal drought continued.
American super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. gave a gallant effort against the much bigger Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan but lost a unanimous decision in the gold medal match — and the final bout of the Tokyo Games — early Sunday Eastern Time.
The U.S. finished with four medals (three silver and one bronze), its best output since it also won four medals (two silver and two bronze) in the 2000 Games in Sydney.
The last American man to win a gold medal was Andre Ward in 2004. Claressa Shields won gold in women’s boxing in both 2012 and 2016.
Torrez faced an uphill battle against Jalolov, who was five inches taller and at least 30 pounds heavier than the product of Tulare, Calif. Plus, Jalolov knocked out Torrez the last time they fought, in the 2019 World Amateur Championships.
The American certainly tried to turn the tables, fighting with do-or-die spirit from the opening bell. He actually got the better of Jalolov in the first round, bobbing and weaving his way inside the big man’s long reach to land some eye-catching blows.
However, the Uzbek, asserting himself, began to land punishing shots in the second round, the hardest of which resulted in a standing eight count.
Jalolov wasn’t quite as dominating in the third round but continued to land more punches than Torrez, who desperately tried to connect on a shot that could turn his fortunes around.
The final scoring was no surprise: 30-26, 30-26, 29-26, 29-27 and 29-27, all in Jalolov’s favor.
Thus, the U.S. men have gone 17 years since winning a gold medal. And they’ll have to wait at least three more to finally get back to the top of the medal podium.
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