Trent Reinsmith
- Date & Location: Sunday, August 8 in Tokyo
- Odds: Richard Torrez Jr. (+375) vs. Bakhodir Jalolov (-600) via Bovada.
- Prediction: Jalolov via knockout
The last American man to take home a gold medal in boxing was Andre Ward. Ward won his medal in 2004. The first American man to have a shot at gold in Tokyo was Duke Ragan. Ragan fell short against Albert Batyrgaziev of the Russian team and took home a silver. The next American to have a shot at boxing gold is 22-year-old Richard Torrez Jr. of Tulare, California. Unlike Ragan, Torrez is an amateur fighter. Torrez is a significant underdog to Jalolov, who was the pre-tournament favorite to take home the gold medal. The last American to medal in the super heavyweight division was Riddick Bowe, who took home a silver in 1988. He lost to Lennox Lewis. The last American to win the super heavyweight gold medal was Tyrell Biggs in 1984.
TORREZ vs. JALOLOV PREDICTION & PICK
This is a rematch of a 2019 bout. Like today, the American fighter was an amateur while Jalolov was a 6-0 pro. Jalolov won that fight by knockout in the first round.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said on Twitter that the fight was ‘brutal and criminal’ after Torrez left the ring on a stretcher. Today Jalolov’s pro record is 8-0. He has won each of those fights by knockout. Half of Jalolov’s wins have come by way of first-round stoppage.
It’s hard to see a way that Torrez ends America’s gold medal drought against his more experienced opponent.
Prediction: Jalolov -600 via betway.
BETTING VALUE WITH JALOLOV
Jalolov was the pre-Olympic favorite to win the gold medal, and that has not changed since Torrez punched his ticket to the final bout of the super heavyweight division. I don’t think it will matter that Torrez has improved since the first time these two met because his improvements have come as an amateur while Jalolov has improved as a pro. I don’t think this fight ends as brutally as the 2019 scrap, but I do think it ends early.
Pick: Jalolov via knockout -571 via 22bet.
WHO HAS THE EDGE?
Jalolov has the experience edge and has faced better quality of opponents. He is also larger than Torrez. I don’t see a single category where Jalolov doesn’t hold an advantage over his opponent in this matchup.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The gold medal is the big prize here, but for Torrez, a win would avenge a brutal loss as well as bring home the first gold medal for American men in boxing since 2004, which would give Torrez a huge profile in American boxing betting circles.
