Americans Keyshawn Davis And Richard Torrez Go For Gold Sunday

Coming up Sunday afternoon in the concluding day of the year-delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, two American boxers will attempt to become the first to win a men’s Gold Medal since 2004. This, as Lightweight Keyshawn Davis from Virginia and California Super Heavyweight Richard Torrez look to be the first male tandem to take home top honors at the same Olympics since 1988.

Keyshawn Davis will fight for GOLD! #TokyoOlympics x @TeamUSA x @USABoxing pic.twitter.com/eq6gpCHGpY

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2021

Hear us previewing the chances of Davis and Torrez from our “Big Fight Weekend” podcast, as Sr. Writer for the site, Marquis Johns, and I discuss their bouts and what could be historical moments for one or both at the boxing competition.

The 22 year old Davis defeated Armenian Bachkov by unanimous 5-0 decision Friday to advance Sunday’s Gold medal bout. He is the first American Lightweight since 1992 to fight for the Gold. That’s, when Oscar De La Hoya did it and was victorious in Barcelona.

It will not be easy for Davis, who turned pro earlier this year with three wins already, but was allowed back back into the Olympics under an IOC boxing ruling that pros who intended to fight at the originally scheduled 2020 games, could come back for 2021. This is, because he’s fighting a Cuban Lightweight that has had his number.

Andy Cruz, who dispatched Australia’s Harry Garside to advance in the other semifinal is 3-0 against Davis all time. This is, including a win in the Gold medal bout at the 2019 World Championships. So, Davis will be an underdog on Sunday, but has already said leading up to their fight, that he’s a better more experienced fighter now and ready to get the win.

As for Torrez, he will battle Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan for the Gold medal Sunday afternoon in the concluding bout of the entire boxing tournament Sunday.

The Californian Torrez pulled an upset with a third-round TKO over Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the semifinals on Wednesday. That assures Torrez of at least a Silver medal at Super Heavyweight, the first for the United States since Riddick Bowe in 1988. The last American Gold in that division is Tyrell Biggs in the 1984 L.A. Games.

Torrez will also be an underdog, as Jalolov already scored a brutal one punch KO of Torrez in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Championships.

Cincinnati’s Featherweight Duke Ragan was the first American to go for the Gold earlier this week, but he was beaten on a 3-2 spit decision by Russian Albert Batyrgaziev on Thursday.

The last U.S. Gold medal in men’s boxing is Andre Ward in the Light Heavyweight division of the 2004 Athens Games. And the last time the U.S. had at least two Gold’s from the men in the same Olympics was when Kennedy McKinney, Andrew Maynard and Ray Mercer all three won them at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Now, it’s time to see if one or two of Davis and Torrez can make more history.