Ogreman

The Irish boxing federation tried to join early on (late 2023) but Irish boxing clubs being Irish boxing clubs failed to pass it in a vote. Needed a 70% majority and fell just short I think. They also a couple of years ago voted against basic governance reforms just because despite sport ireland threatening to cut their funding so yeah Irish boxing clubs are just erratic. They managed to just about pass a vote to remove references to the IBA from its constitution last year and are expected to join world boxing presumably in the next couple of months. But yeah the Irish federation wanted to join from the start, the clubs just didn't let them. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have both joined world boxing and Kazakhstan is hosting the 2027 world boxing world champs. I would expect them both to go to world boxing worlds as well. They and a few others might just be milking the IBA for its money at this point.

W63 W66 W70 1 Kristina Kulukhova (SRB) Busenaz Surmeneli (TUR) (1) Lisa O'Rourke (IRL) 2 Elena Babicheva (RUS) (3) Albina Moldazhanova (RUS) Shu Li (CHN) ? 3 Aida Abikeyeva (KAZ) (2) Pan Zhou (CHN)< Kaye Scott (AUS) (1) 4 Jessica Triebelova (SVK) Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) (2) Milena Matovic (SRB) < 5 Shuoyu Zhao (CHN) ?? Grainne Walsh (IRL) Natalya Bogdanova (KAZ) (2) 6 Thananya Somnuek (THA) (1) Zhasmin Kizatova (KAZ) Elena Gapeshina (RUS) 7 Thi Linh Ha (VIE) (5) Ivanusa Moreira (CPV) (3) Oysha Toirova (UZB) 8 Omailyn Alcala (VEN) Stephanie Pineiro (PUR) (4) Saida Lahmidi (MAR) (3) 9 Esma Nur Lok (TUR) Mouna Toutir (MAR) Sema Caliskan (TUR) 10 Loredana Marin (ROU) Crinuta Sebe (ROU) (22 EY gold) Dunia Martinez (ESP) 11 Megan de Cler (IBA) Tamara Kubalova (SVK) Aryna Danylchyk (BLR) (4) 12 Ala Ivashkevich (BLR) Anastasija Lukajic (SRB) Emili Rzayeva (AZE) 13 ((Odinakhon Ismoilova)) (UZB) Friza Asiko Anyango (KEN) Genesis Palma (VEN) 14 Marianna Soto (ESP) Maria Rodriguez (MEX) Darianne Olvera (MEX) 15 Olga Papadatou (GRE) Thabisile Cimi (RSA) Ngoc Mai Hoang (VIE) (5) 16 Jekaterina Sorokina (LAT) Zabrina Holstrom (SWE) 17 Miriam Hernandez (MEX) Sinothile Ncube (RSA) 18 Esmaralda Novruzaj (ALB) 19 Nilufar Boboyorova (TJK) 20 Sona Harutyunyan (ARM) (4) 21 Cynthia Mwai (KEN) 22 Hildah Kaye (ZIM) 23 Rebecca Sovula (SLE) 24 Doricas Kibwana (TAN) W63kg Russian import and European champion Kristina Kulukhova has been disappointing since winning that European title last year but with home advantage should beat Olympian Thananya Somnuek . Thi Linh Ha was a surprise Olympic qualifier but only has to beat 57kg Olympian Omailyn Alcala to medal here. European silver medallist Elena Babicheva should also medal. Asian champion Aida Abikiyeva is probably the pick of the last bracket but will have to beat Shuoyo Zhao (Chinese have won this division in 4 out of the last 5 world championships) or European bronze medallist Jessica Triebelova . Don’t really know from there so I guess just pick the home boxer Gold- Kristina Kulukhova , Silver- Elena Babicheva , Bronze- Thi Linh Ha , Aida Abikiyeva . W66kg Back to back world champion Busenaz Surmeneli should be able to avenge her Olympic disappointment and will have no trouble making the final. Stephanie Pineiro looks set to become one of the world medallist from this tournament that are nowhere near good enough to become a world medallist certainly not at this point in her career. Crinuta Sebe is former European youth champion so is the other contender there. European silver medallist Albina Moldazhanova has a tough bracket here against 2023 70kg world bronze medallist Pan Zhou and one of Asian under 22 champ Zhasmin Kizatova or Ivanusa Moreira . Olympic quarter finalist and Asian champion Navbakhor Khamidova has been in great form of late but has a tough fight against fellow Olympian Grainne Walsh between her and a medal. A year ago I would have confidently picked Grainne Walsh here but now I’m not so sure. Gold- Busenaz Surmeneli , Silver- Albina Moldazhanova , Bronze- Stephanie Pineiro , Navbakhor Khamidova . W70kg Decent field here. World silver medallist Kaye Scott is here for some reason even though Australia isn’t. She should be able to beat Elena Gapeshina to medal here. Somehow Aryna Danilchyk is probably going to medal here. 2022 world champion Lisa O’Rourke should be able to beat world youth medallist Oysha Toirova . Not sure who of Milena Matovic , Shu Li or Natalya Bogdanova win the last bracket. I’ll back O’Rourke to beat Scott in the final but nobody here is particularly reliable. Gold-Lisa O’Rourke , Silver- Kaye Scott , Bronze- Shu Li , Aryna Danylchyk . W75 W81 W81+ 1 Aoife O'Rourke (IRL) (1) Xiaomeng Wang (CHN) ?? Yilian Zhan (CHN) ?? 2 Lina Wang (CHN) (2) Busra Isildar (TUR) Daria Sazonova (MDA) (2) 3 Anastasia Shamonova (RUS) (3) Gulsaya Yerzhan (KAZ) Maria Kuchmanova (RUS) 4 Nadezhda Ryabets (KAZ) Sarah Scheurich (GER) Elif Guneri (TUR) 5 Aziza Zokirova (UZB) Saltanat Medenova (RUS) Aynur Rzayeva (AZE) (1) 6 Amalia Nita (EY champ) Sokhiba Ruzmetova (UZB) Sara Miljkovic (SRB) (3) 7 Nikolina Gajic (SRB) (4) Viktoriya Kebikava (BLR) (2) Yeldana Talipova (KAZ) 8 Patricia Mbata (NGR) Elizabeth Andiego (KEN) (1) Oltinoy Sotimboeva (UZB) 9 Vasiliki Stavridou (GRE) Elma Hajrovic (SRB) Judy Bobbett (IRL) 10 Alina Veber (BLR) Maria Cimpoeru (ROU) Nena Zamora (PYF) 11 Yaren Duztas (TUR) Hasnae Larti (MAR) > 12 Keidy Guevara (VEN) Yoana Rodriguez (CUB) 13 Dayira Mesa (CUB) Veroiti Nena (PYF) 14 Aminata Koroma (SLE) W75kg Aoife O’Rourke has been the best middleweight in the world for the past few years but somehow has fallen short at every global championships so far in her career. Controversially losing a last 16 fight to a boxer she has beaten 4 times before with only other boxers she had beaten before lying between her and gold is as painful as an Olympic experience gets but as a result she probably has the most pressure of any boxer to win here. She should end up facing either multi time 81kg world medallist Lina Wang or Anastasia Shamanova in the final provided she can beat Aziza Zokirova and Nadezhda Ryabets . Gold- Aoife O’Rourke , Silver- Lina Wang , Bronze- Nadezhda Ryabets , Anastasia Shamonova . W81kg Don’t really particularly care about the heavyweights. Really hope if they add a 7th womens weight to the Olympics to balance up the genders that they don’t add 81 or 81+ because basically all the best heavyweights can make weight at middleweight and struggle there. Just thought I would put that opinion out there cause I think it might happen. Anyway Gold- Xiaomeng Wang , Silver- Saltanat Medenova , Bronze Busra Isildar , Viktoriya Kebikava . W81+kg Gold- Yilian Zhan , Silver- Daria Sazonova , Bronze- Maria Kuchmanova , Sara Miljkovic . Medal table Gold Silver Bronze Total Turkey 2 2 2 6 Kazakhstan 2 1 2 5 China 2 1 1 4 Serbia 2 0 3 5 Ireland 2 0 0 2 Russia 1 4 3 8 Thailand 1 0 2 3 Bulgaria 0 1 1 2 Australia 0 1 0 1 Moldova 0 1 0 1 North Korea 0 1 0 1 Uzbekistan 0 0 5 5 Vietnam 0 0 2 2 Belarus 0 0 2 2 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 1 4 of the last 5 world championships have been won by the host nation. Not sure Serbia quite achieve that here but they had a great Europeans which they also hosted last year and 3 gold could get them there which is definitely possible despite them having never won a medal at these championships before. This prediction almost certainly underestimates North korea and I’m really not very sure what to expect from this Chinese squad. They have been the best nation in the world in women’s boxing over the last Olympic cycle but without their Olympians its hard to know. Russia didn’t have a great time at the previous world championships but given the lack of depth should do fairly well here. Kazakhstan and Turkey feel like comfortably the safest picks to top the medal table here. Uzbekistan women’s squad has been steadily improving over the last few years and is also probably due a breakout championships and it could come here. 2 medals would be disappointing from an Irish perspective given the experience in the squad but they haven't gotten any easy draws so will have to earn it if they want medals.

So I was kind of bored this week (Anyone else feel like there isn’t that much on at the moment?) and entry lists for this were out early so I decided to do a rankings for these world championships and might as well predict them as well. So in terms of the entries here on the one hand China (No Olympians), Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ireland and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan, Thailand, North Korea, Serbia and Bulgaria are here so probably at least 10 of the top 20 countries in the world are at these world championships but the list of countries who aren’t here is extenxsive So Europe is missing France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, GB, Poland, all of Scandinavia Netherlands etc. and Asia missing Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Phillipines has led to a serious lack of depth in a lot of weight classes. None of the strong American nations (USA, Brazil, Canada, Colombia?) are here and even the top African nations like Algeria and Nigeria are missing. The quality of the field that is here is probably at a pretty equal level to those that aren’t so assuming a number of the top countries probably end up competing at the world boxing world championships as well as at these worlds then the world boxing world championships will probably be the higher quality world championship which would be big for world boxing if their first world championship has a stronger field than its Iba counterpart even if that might be different on the men’s side, might not be though. Both of the previous world championships have had caveats with the entry list with top nations absent for various reasons but even though world championships the year after the Olympics are always a bit transitional these entries are very clearly a level below previous years. There are 239 boxers from supposedly 51 countries compared to 324 from 65 in 2023 and 310 from 73 in 2022. Rankings, seeds in brackets (not that they mean much). W48 W50kg W52 1 Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) Chuthamat Raksat (THA) (1) Buse Naz Cakiroglu (TUR) (1) 2 Iuliia Chumgalakova (RUS) Sabina Bobokulova (UZB) (4) Chol Mi Pang (DPK) 3 Sevda Asenova (BUL) (2) Daina Moorehouse (IRL) > Feruza Kazakova (UZB) (3) 4 Farzona Fozilova (UZB) > (1) Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) Anna Aedma (RUS) 5 Nurselen Yalgettekin (TUR) Hu Meiyi (CHN) (8) Wei Sitong (CHN) ?? 6 Xueyun Zhong (CHN) ?? Rinata Bezel (RUS) Noelia Gutierrez (ESP) 7 Nicole Durikova (SVK) Fatima Herrera (MEX) Dragana Jovanovic (SRB) (5) 8 Chi Ngo Ngoc Linh (VIE) (5) Laura Fuertes (ESP) (3) Yuliya Apanasovich (BLR) (2) 9 Carleigh Irving (IRL) Zlatislava Chukanova (BUL) (5) Anita Adesheva (KAZ) 10 Ingrid Gomez (MEX) Thi Ngoc Tran Nguyen (VIE) (7) Venelina Poptoleva (BUL) (4) 11 Tayonis Cedeno (VEN) Sanja Mitic (SRB) Imane el Azami (MAR) 12 Ramona Manea (ROU) Yasmine Mouttaki (MAR) (2) Stela Hamza (ROU) 13 Marta Lopez Del Arbol (ESP) Yerlin Quinones (COL) Esmeralda Patino (MEX) 14 Ryong Kyong (DPK) ?? Byol An Kum (DPK) ??? Rita Soares (POR) 15 Rabab Cheddar (MAR) (4) Aysen Taskin (TUR) Thi To Nhu Tran (VIE) 16 Anakhanim Ismayilova (AZE) (6) Anush Grigoryan (ARM) (6) Kathreen Sterling (HAI) 17 Snezana Slijkovic (SRB) (3) Alondra Brito (VEN) Shakhriza Khalilova (KGZ) 18 Suada Ibraimovski (MKD) Mihaela Badescu (ROU) Arinzul Chinabat (MGL) 19 Athina Avramidou (GRE) Marjona Savriyeva (AZE) Thandelwethu Mathiba (RSA) 20 Phiwokuhle Mnguni (RSA) Ntandoyenkosi Ncube (RSA) Maia Odaijiu (MDV) 21 Tamana Ahmadi (AFG) Teona Pirosmanashvili (GEO) Lencer Akinyi Otieno (KEN) 22 Veronica Nziva (KEN) A Kwashi (ZIM) 23 Wakjira Wada (ETH) Sarafina Fussi (TAN) W48kg Not the worst field here medals should be between Asian champion Farzona Fozilova , former European champion Iullia Chumgalakova , Olympic bronze medallist Nazym Kyzaibay and veteran Sevda Asenova . Other potential medallists include Xuyen Zhong , Asian silver medallist Chi Ngo Ngoc Linh and European under 22 champion Nurselen Yalgettekin but I would be pretty surprised if any of the four favourites lost. Chumgalakova and Kyzaibay would be my picks for the final with Kyzaibay to remarkably win a third world title. I say bizarrely because she is a good boxer but far from a great one. Gold- Nazym Kyzaibay , Silver- Iulia Chumgalakova , Bronze- Sevda Asenova , Farzona Fozilova . W50kg Pity that Daina Moorehouse and Chuthamat Raksat are in the same bracket as I would have expected them both to medal. Sabina Bobokulova and Alua Balkibekova both have fairly straightforward paths to the medal rounds. Rinata Bezel is probably the pick of the remaining bracket although Olympian Laura Fuertes could maybe cause an upset. There is also an unknown North Korean Byol an Kum to consider there. Fatima Herrera and Meiyi Hu maybe could have medalled but are drawn in the Raksat Moorehouse bracket. Reluctantly I’ll back Raksat to finally win haven gotten close at previous major tournaments with Balkibekova probably winning silver. Gold- Chuthamat Raksat , Silver- Alua Balkibekova , Bronze- Sabina Bobokulova , Rinata Bezel . W52 Two time Olympic silver medallist Buse Cakiroglu should cruise to a final. European bronze medallist Dragana Jovanovic should probably be able to ride home advantage to beat either Anita Adesheva or Venelina Poptoleva to a medal. Asian champ Feruza Kazakova should have comfortably enough for bronze but 54kg Olympic bronze medallist and former world champion Chol-mi Pang will likely be her undoing in the semi-final. Pang does have to beat Anna Aedma but should come through to set up a Cakiroglu Pang final which should be one of the highest quality fights here. Cakiroglu to win. Gold- Buse Cakiroglu , Silver- Chol-mi Pang , Bronze- Dragana Jovanovic , Feruza Kazakova . W54 W57 W60 1 Sara Cirkovic (SRB) (4) Karina Ibragimova (KAZ) < (1) Natalia Shadrina (SRB) (1) 2 Hatice Akbas (TUR) Esra Yildiz (TUR) (2) Viktoriya Grafeyeva (KAZ) (5) 3 Zhaina Shekerbekova (KAZ) < (5) Liudmila Vorontsova (RUS) Svetlana Staneva (BUL) 4 Natnicha Chongprongklang (THA) (7) Punrawee Ruenros (THA) (5) Qiange Li (CHN) (6) 5 Jennifer Lehane (IRL) Lacramioara Perijoc (ROU) Nune Asatrian (RUS) (3) 6 Johana Gomez (VEN) (2) Ashleyann Lozada (PUR) Won Un Gyong (DPK) 7 Aziza Yokubova (UZB) Nigina Uktamova (UZB) (3) Gizem Ozer (TUR) (2) 8 Karina Tazabekova (RUS) Valeria Arboleda (COL) Miroslava Jedinakova (SVK) (7) 9 Thi Kim Anh Vo (VIE) Michaela Walsh (IRL) Elida Kocharyan (ARM) 10 Xuan Zhao (CHN) Jenifer Fernandez (ESP) Krisandy Rios (VEN) 11 Widad Bertal (MAR) (1) Mijgona Samadova (TJK) > (4) Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) (4) 12 Jin Hyang Paek (DPK) ? Bolortuul Tumurkhuyag (MGL) Caudia Nechita (ROU) 13 Islem Ferchichi (TUN) Bojana Gojkovic (MNE) Anna Sorokina (LAT) 14 Ekaterina Sycheva (ARM) Andela Brankovic (SRB) (6) Sofia Legaki (GRE) 15 Angelyris Lopez (PUR) < Hyang Suk Ku (PRK) ?? Josefien Betist (SLE) 16 Iulia Coroli (MDA) (6) Yan Cai (CHN) (8) Shoira Zulkaynarova (TJK) 17 Zeynab Rahimova (AZE) (8) Marina Muliarchyk (BLR) Thi Mai Chuc Ngo (VIE) 18 Miria Daiana Andor (ROU) Diana Maestre (VEN) Emily Juma (KEN) 19 Ariadna Gil Alonso (MEX) Aynur Mikayilova (AZE) 20 Oyun-erdene Nergui (MGL) Yasmim Alves (BRA) 21 Melani Volkova (GER) Diana Perez (MEX) 22 Amina Faki (KEN) (3) Halima Vunjabei (TAN) 23 Kyriaki Daponte (GRE) Khuraman Kasumova (GEO) 24 Miraiida Tashpolotova (KGZ) Ainazik Rustambek Kyzy (KGZ) 25 Ashihlobanise Hobongwana (RSA) Melani Girado (CUB) 26 Patricia Becerra (IBA) Huyen Tran Nguyen (VIE) (7) 27 Zulfa Rwenda (TAN) Pauline Chege (KEN) 28 Asefa Abate (ETH) ? Khurshid Mohammadi (AFG) 29 M Haidari (AFG) Imitha Mkala (RSA) 30 Lovelight Fusire (ZIM) W54kg The top bracket here is completely up for grabs between Olympians Widad Bertal and Thi Kim Anh Vo and Aziza Yokubova or Xuan Zhao . I think Vo might come through but I don’t really know how good the Chinese boxer is. European champion Sara Cirkovic should be the home star of this tournament and only has to beat veteran Zhaina Shekerbekova who is well past her best to medal. Olympic silver medallist Hatice Akbas should easily medal. Final bracket is a bit trickier with Olympian Jennifer Lehane meeting Asian champ Natnicha Chongprongklang in the last 32 and Johana Gomez waiting in a potential quarter final. I will reluctantly pick the young Thai. Either way Cirkovic to beat Akbas in the final. Gold-Sara Cirkovic , Silver- Hatice Akbas , Bronze- Thi Kim Anh Vo , Natnicha Chongprongklang . W57kg Remarkable that 30 is the most entries of any weight class. Karina Ibragimova has won medals at both of the last two world championships but has struggled of late and has a very tough draw here. The powerful Ashleyann Lozada dumped Ibragimova out of the Olympics but she herself lost to Valeria Arboleda who she would have to beat to get another shot at the Kazakh. 2019 world silver medallist Liudmila Vorontsova is lurking on the easier side of this top bracket as well. I think Vorontsova is therefore the safest medal pick. Asian champion Punrawee Ruenros is probably the marginal favourite to medal from the second bracket. She meets 54kg 2022 world silver medallist Lacramioara Perijoc who moves back up to featherweight despite having struggled at this weight in the past. Olympian Mijgona Samadova and the unknown Hyang Suk Ku provide further potential banana skins. Michaela Walsh in her lengthy has never managed to win a global medal but has a shot here. Andela Brankovic is a tricky opener especially given she is at home but Walsh won this matchup in all the way back in 2018 if that is worth anything. Jenifer Fernandez would then meet the winner with Asian silver medallist and Olympian Nigina Uktamova awaiting the winner. I think Walsh is past it so I’ll back Uktamova. Olympic medallist Esra Yildiz will win the bottom bracket and probably make the final. I don’t feel confident in my pick of a Vorontsova Yildiz final but that’s where I have ended up so I guess Vorontsova to win. That doesn’t feel right though. Gold- Liudmila Vorontsova , Silver- Esra Yildiz , Bronze- Punrawee Ruenros , Nigina Uktamova . W60kg- Weird to not having Beatriz Ferreira or Kellie Harrington here as they have dominated the global titles in this division for a while now. European champion Natalia Shadrina probably had the best year of her career last year despite narrowly missing out on an Olympic medal and should medal here. Newly minted Asian champion Viktoriya Grafeyeva probably starts as the favourite here and only has to beat Olympian Sitora Turdibekova to medal. The bottom bracket is between Gizem Ozer and Miroslava Jedinakova who met in a European under 22 final a few years ago. Jedinakova won that won but I think I would back Ozer here. The most interesting bracket includes European silver medallist Nune Asatrian , Olympian and Asian games silver medallist Won Ung-yong , 57kg European champion Svetlana Staneva and Asian silver medallist Qiange Li . I think Staneva is the pick here. Grafeyeva to beat Staneva in the final. Gold- Viktoriya Grafayeva , Silver- Svetlana Staneva , Bronze- Natalia Shadrina , Gizem Ozer .

Not sure if this is the right thread but there is no 2025 boxing discussion thread so . Anyway the Standja tournament starts tomorrow. Its not a great field for ye know various reasons (womens world champs in a couple of weeks/ IBA run tournament). It's mostly just the Uzbek and Kazakh A and B men's teams and not a whole lot else but the draw has thrown up a potentially reallly good fight in the opening round where Olympic champion Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev meets the boxer of the tournament from the youth world championships last year Torekhan Sabyrkhan who comes with a ludicrous amount of hype. Muydinkhujaev might just win easily but it could be a great fight. 14:00/ 14;15 ish GMT tomorrow on bulgarian boxing youtube channel. (On an unrelated note I wrote quite a long and likely misguided early projection of a potential Irish Olympic squad for LA on the Irish club's thread if anyone is interested.)

Boxing squad projection Feb 2024 This place is very quiet at the moment ay? Anyway so I meant to do this after the national championships at the end of last year but just didn’t get around to it but I guess nothing has really changed over the last couple of months. Strandja does start tomorrow though. So I thought it would interesting to just kind of project a potential boxing team for LA and just kind of see how much it evolves over the next few years obviously with all the caveats that still apply with boxing and LA. So for comparison at the this point in the previous cycle Kelyn Cassidy wasn’t even on the radar, Martin McDonagh had only just started boxing and Jude Gallagher, Dean Clancy, Jennifer Lehane and Grainne Walsh were all firmly down the pecking order with the likes of Adam Hession and Brandon McCarthy looking like likely future Olympians. Just age wise for reference Jude Gallagher, Dean Clancy, Jack Marley, Martin McDonagh and Daina Moorehouse were all 21 or 22 for Paris so 17/18 year olds are very much potentially in play for this LA and would expect a number of them to end up being first choice by 2028, 15/16 year olds though (ie John Donoghue) maybe not so much at least for us, other countries absolutely do pick 18/19 year olds for the Olympics. I should caveat that this is more of a projection of who we try to qualify with and I'm not yet worrying about who/ how many would qualify. Oh and while world boxing has already been tinkering with weightclasses (don’t get me started on that), for now I’m just sticking with the ones from Paris. Mostly this is just for me to look back on in 1/2/3 years to see how this hypothethical squad has evolved. I list boxers roughly (emphasis on roughly) in order of my own preference/ expectation but I like some of these will absolutely look dumb in a year or two. I’m going to put question marks next to boxers who could end up in a different weightclass and brackets around boxers who may or may not be available for selection. (I know that technically could be all of them but you know what I mean.) And I definitely have forgotten someone. M51kg- Patsy Joyce, Louis Rooney, Scott Thompson, Jamie Collins, Clepson dos Santos, Sean Mari. So its funny how we spent the entirety of the last Olympic cycle looking for someone to usurp Sean Mari or Mari himself to take a leap and then a couple of months after the Olympics we get European under 22 champions at 48kg and 54kg albeit neither came against particularly impressive fields. Patsy Joyce is an interesting one regarding the last cycle. He lost a bout review to the eventual champion (Vishvaneth Suresh ) at the youth worlds in 2022 from a bracket that produced 3 Paris Olympians including bronze medallist Junior Alcantara but we never really give anyone a look until they produce at under 22 level. I don’t know how close to qualifying Joyce would have gotten but it would have been interesting had he been given a shot at the extended squad and not Ricky (has never won a fight at a major tournament) Nesbitt. Joyce could end up following Dylan Eagleson lead of trying to be an undersized counterpunching featherweight rather than go down in weight but he is even smaller than Eagleson. I think Joyce could end up being world class but at this point the range of outcomes for him is very wide. Rooney doesn’t have the same underage pedigree mostly because he was stuck behind Joyce but is quite talented in his own right and doesn’t come with any questions about potential weight classes. Both Scott Thompson and Jamie Collins come out of the youth ranks with some pedigree but lets wait and see how they evolve. Clepson dos Santos finally got himself on a European under 22 podium at the third attempt last year and won nationals in Mari’s absence and while I did think he looked better last year is still an uninspiring option. This particular weight class is still Sean Mari’s this year with Rooney and Joyce above and below him but the younger lads should ultimately surpass him by 2028. M57kg- Dylan Eagleson, Jude Gallagher, Jamie Graham, Adam Hession, Rhys Owens?, Gavin Ryan. The most interesting development here is that despite speculation about all 3 of Eagleson, Gallagher and Hession turning pro at least for now they all remain in the amateur ranks. I still think Eagleson has the highest ceiling despite his return after a year out with various injuries resulting in a loss against Rhys Owens at Ulster elites albeit at 60kg. Gallagher is absolutely good enough to make it to multiple Olympics but it remains to be seen if he can take that next step to make global podiums or if his career tracks more like someone like Brendan Irvine. Adam Hession is still the same technically sound but ultimately underwhelming boxer he has been for the last 3 years or so. Moved up to 60kg for nationals presumably to ensure he got picked for the world championships but then promptly lost to the internationally unproven Rhys Owens. Gavin Ryan and Jamie Graham both very nearly medalled at the world youth championships in 2022 and 2024 respectively, Ryan is now national champion in Gallagher’s absence. Graham impressed me at lot at world youths only losing to eventual champion Samandar Olimov who Adam Hession will presumably lose to in his fight against him at Strandja tomorrow. M63.5kg- Lee McEvoy, Roy Colgan, Dean Clancy, Martin McDonagh, Jason Nevin,. This is the most wide open of the divisions both in the short term and from an LA Olympics perspective. Dean Clancy has gone backwards since his impressive run to qualify at European games in 2023 and then became the poster child of why so many Olympians didn’t compete at nationals by losing to Roy Colgan another who went close to medalling at world youths in 2022. Colgan doesn’t have the medals his talent deserves and threw away a medal against an inferior but more physical opponent at European under 22s and failed to back up a spectacular performance to beat Clancy at nationals losing the final to Jason Nevin but I like him and think he has serious potential. Nevin himself is similar to Rhys Owens (listed at 57kg) in that he has some impressive results and performances domestically but has to this point done nothing internationally. Martin McDonagh comes out of the youth ranks this year without the medals his talent deserves having withdrawn injured from European youths and then ran into a tank in eventual champion Platon Kozlov at world youths. My favourite at this point is Lee McEvoy who medalled at world youths in 2022, He is rail thin and does need to get stronger but height and reach advantages proved very effective during the last Olympic cycle and he picks some great punches. M71kg- Bobbi Flood, Aidan Walsh, (John Donoghue?). Ryan Jenkins?, Jon McConnell, Tadhg O’Donnell?, Eugene McKeever Quite possibly could take the title from 57kg for the highest quality division over the course of this Olympic cycle. Bobbi Flood has been the most hyped up boxer in the country for the last few years, notable given that there is no lack of talent coming through. Only managed bronze at his first European under 22s but put up an admirable fight against Yurii Zakharieiev . Definitely has the potential to be a strong medal contender by the time LA comes around so his development is probably more important than most others. How long Aidan Walsh sticks around really depends on where his head is at but despite a disappointing outcome at the Olympics he did prove he is still up there with the best pure counterpunchers in the world. He would be 32 by the time LA comes around. Jon McConnell is national champion and could end up with this spot in some national selections over the next couple of years but something will have gone wrong if he is in the mix for LA selection. Then there are Ryan Jenkins and Tadhg O’Donnell who both leave the youth ranks after disappointing world champs at 63.5kg and 71 kg respectively after both taking bronze at Europeans. O’Donnell is very skilled and looks great until you put him under pressure at which point he just crumbles entirely, Jenkins has less underage pedigree but I am higher on his potential, a soft chin cost him at worlds but he is technically sound punch picker who carries some serious power. And finally there is John Donoghue who followed up his 2023 junior world championships by absolutely dominating Europeans last year. He will only hit the senior ranks in 2027 and likely at a weight class (a growth spurt could maybe push him to a higher division.) that isn’t going to be lacking for good options. I think circumstances could mean LA is just too soon but if he continues to develop at the rate he currently is, he absolutely should ultimately win Ireland an Olympic medal. M80kg- Kelyn Cassidy, Gavin Rafferty?, Josh Olaniyan?, James Whelan At this point this looks like Kelyn Cassidy or burst so if he decides he is better off in the pro ranks then we are in trouble and at 27 trying to win a world medal this year and then turn pro could make sense for him. Rafferty and Olaniyan are both currently battling for selection at 75kg so probably represent the most logical potential competition. In terms of youngsters coming through I guess Tadhg O’Donnell could end up here but he struggled mightily with physicality at 71kg and I’m not sure there is an easy way to reconcile that other than to compete at a lower weight division. Whelan is the current number 2 but I don’t think is good enough to do anything internationally. If Cassidy goes pro and no one else steps up though he could end up with the selection nod. M92kg- Jack Marley, Nathan Ojo, Shay O’Dowd?, Brian Kennedy?. Jack Marley was one of the few Olympians to compete at nationals and really impressed while beating Nathan Ojo. Ojo won bronze at world youths a couple of years ago and is similar enough stylistically to Kelyn Cassidy (backfoot counterpuncher). He apparently missed under 22s last year because he had holidays booked so despite his talent I’m not sure he quite has the dedication coaches like to see but his style has been the one that so many boxers had success with in this division in Paris. (Loren Alfonso Dominguez , Davlat Boltaev , Victor Schelstraete ) Shay O’Dowd was one of the youth boxers who medalled for the IBA- neutral team at world youths. To be somewhat fair to the selectors that was his first time competing internationally and it was a soft enough draw. Pretty sure he has another year at youth level so should be interesting to see how he develops. M92kg+- Adam Olaniyan, Martin McDonagh There is a buses analogy that definitely applies here. European and world youth champion Adam Olaniyan is well ye know very talented and unlike other weight classes which were diluted by the IBA and world boxing running parallel championships, he beat everyone there was to beat. My one concern with him was his willingness to allow physical opponents to push him back to the ropes and then unload which oh so nearly cost him against Oleksandr Sliesariev in the European semi-final. I just wonder if better, stronger more experienced senior opponents would punish that in the senior ranks. Obviously with a super heavyweight, they will probably take Olaniyan's development slowly and probably rightly so. McDonagh was unlucky to only take bronze at European under 22s losing a fight I thought he had done enough to win against Stylianos Roulias with a boxer he had beaten before waiting in the final. It will be interesting to see what kind of level McDonagh settles out after his rapid development over the last year. McDonagh probably needs some silverware over the next couple of years if he wants any chance of ultimately holding off Olaniyan. W50kg- Daina Moorehouse, Shannon Sweeney, Carleigh Irving, Tiffany Spencer, Caitlin Fryers. Lets not bring up Moorehouse’s Olympics but she has the chance truly establish herself at the top of this division globally over the next couple of years. Assuming the training squad of 8 that went on a camp to China is the world champs selection then Shannon Sweeney is a bizarre omission given that 52kg is vacant. Carleigh Irving is the only interesting selection for worlds as while she did take silver at European under 22s a few months ago, I wasn’t that impressed with her performance but ye know 48kg isn’t that strong so maybe she can be competitive. Of the omitted squad for world youth championships, despite not ultimately medalling I thought Tiffany Spencer was the most egregious non selection. She lost a quarter final to Ruby White at Europeans who won all her other fights by stoppage and subsequently won world boxing’s youth world championships comfortably. Spencer did lose a very narrow split decision that cost her a medal at worlds but it was bizarre that she wasn’t in the actual squad. W54kg- Jennifer Lehane, Carlagh Peake?, Robyn Kelly, Chloe Gabriel, Nicole Kinsella. Not the most inspiring weight class at the moment. Lehane is what she is, solid but wouldn’t really expect her to trouble the podium at worlds. Carlagh Peake ended up being the most notable non selection by winning 3 fights including beating a Russian on her way to silver at world youths. That said she did get stopped in her opening round at Europeans and like that world final which was her only fight against truly world class opposition would have been stopped if it was earlier in the competition. Its not that she shouldn’t have been selected just that a different draw and her non selection would have looked justified. She is a quality counterpuncher and though she competed at 50kg last year given her height, I’d expect her to move up a bit over the next few years. Robyn Kelly is fine and has a couple of European under 22 bronzes but lost to Chloe Gabriel at nationals, Gabriel had some success underage but hasn’t really had any success at senior level. W57kg- Niamh Fay, Michaela Walsh, Grace Conway? So despite Michaela Walsh being clearly past her peak she still refuses to lose at national championships easily dispatching Niamh Fay last November. So we now have the issue that Fay is proabably the better boxer but Walsh stylistically has the advantage so until Walsh steps aside or Fay figures out how to beat counterpunchers Walsh will keep this spot. Niamh Fay does have some very impressive wins and I do think her footwork has improved to the level that she would be my pick right now with the caveat that she will always be inconsistent and encounter matchups that just don’t suit her. Grace Conway has European junior and youth silver medals and has a ton of potential. She is very tall so while she was boxing at 52kg last year, she has already moved up to 57kg while still at youth level this year so could end up at 60kg rather than here. Massive talent either way but might not quite be physically ready in time for LA. W60kg- Ava Henry?, (Amy Broadhurst), ((Kellie Harrington)), Kellie McLoughlin. We have plenty of talent coming through in and around this weightclass but its unclear if there is anyone actually at it. Kellie McLoughlin moved up from featherweight to take the national title last year but she is doing anything noteworthy internationally. There are a few names that could end up giving us a real shot at winning this title for the 4th/5 time but no name that quite fits perfectly. While we did have 3 youth world champions last year I would make it very clear that Ava Henry was by far the most talented youth boxer in Ireland last year, and one of the best if not the best in the world. Stylistically and physically she reminds me a lot of Amy Broadhurst. The issue for Henry though is that she was boxing at 63kg last year and it is a tough ask to go down in weight from the youth ranks to senior level especially if she thinks that she is better off and would get picked at 66kg. I would expect her to stay at 63kg for the next year or two and then potentially move up/down for Olympic selection. Also, I mentioned it earlier how Ireland doesn’t really pick boxers straight out of the youth ranks but Henry this year is one of those cases which I find strange as to why we wouldn’t select her at every opportunity, there is a massive hole in our worlds squad at her weight class, she is absolutely good enough, why not send her?, for the experience if nothing else. Kellie Harrington was included in the the national squad list in January and is apparently still training. She is definitely retired but would it actually shock any of us if half way through 2026 she decided she wanted to give it one more go? I kind of sorta maybe called that Amy Broadhurst wouldn’t turn pro and would stick around for LA. In her statement though she didn’t specify what country she would attempt to qualify for LA. I don’t know if she would want to switch back to Ireland (although Eoin Pluck seems to be back in the good books.), if it is possible to switch back (given how easy it was to switch in the first place, I assume it is.) or if we would want her back but maybe. Anyway she is well pregnant at the moment so there is no point in speculating about this for another while anyway I mentioned Grace Conway above as potentially a name to watch here, the last name I would mention is Niamh Fay who while it would be a big jump to go from 54kg to 60kg, her style does suit being undersized and being able to get inside her opponents so if she remains stuck behind Michaela Walsh, I’d consider this if I were her. Basically there is enough talent in and around this weight class that it is likely someone will ultimately seize it and put us back in medal contention, who that is and when that will be though I’m not sure. I guess it is possible that we get a situation like 66kg last time where everyone above and below it eyed it up only for Grainne Walsh to ultimately end up with the nod. W66kg- Lisa O’Rourke, Siofra Lawless, Kyla Doyle, Grainne Walsh. This weight ended up being stacked from nowhere during the last Olympic cycle but looks likely to be stacked from the off this time around albeit for now Grainne Walsh is in the short term unthreatened. Look I was critical of this selection and I‘ve never been her biggest fan but the Olympics themselves were ultimately harsh on Grainne Walsh losing a stylistic mismatch in her opening fight and then watching two opponents Amy Broadhurst beat meet in the final and one Lisa O’Rourke beat win bronze. I kind of hope she gets a bit of redemption at worlds because she has been an excellent servant to Irish boxing. Lisa O’Rourke has had an inconsistent and injury riddled few years since becoming world champion but will likely start as one of the favourites to retake that 70kg title next month. If there is an overarching lesson for me from the last Olympics it was that size and reach is crucial and Lisa O’Rourke fits that bill. Then there are the two youth world champions. Look, Make no mistake Siofra Lawless is an immense talent but I don’t think she is quite as good as Junior and Youth world titles in back to back years makes it sound and take nothing away from it but I don’t think it was the strongest field that she had to beat. Unlike Ava Henry, I don’t think Siofra Lawless would be potentially able to move down to the potentially empty 60kg. Add in that she still has another year at youth level and I’m not sure she will be quite ready for LA. She could very easily prove me wrong though. Kyla Doyle went from absolutely no pedigree to European and World youth champion in a year which is remarkable. My one criticism of her would be that she does get drawn into physical scraps quite easily but when she gets in lets her hands go and then gets out again she is a joy to watch. Definitely has a fair bit of development still to do particularly compared to someone like Lawless who is a year younger but so much more refined but Doyle’s ceiling is sky high. I really don’t know how this weight class will ultimately shake out. W75kg- Aoife O’Rourke, Evelyn Igharo?, Nell Mcloughlin, Laura Moran. It is absolutely crazy that Aoife O’Rourke still doesn’t have a global medal given her performances and results at every other tournament and as such these upcoming world championships are more important for her than anyone else. Evelyn Igharo’s career has been one case of what might have been after another but she is still very talented. Nell McLaughlin and Laura Moran have both medalled at the last two world youth championships albeit the heavier women’s weights tend to not be that strong/ have many entries. That said McLaughlin’s performance to outwork and outlast Dilara Sak who had given Kyla Doyle trouble at Europeans (Yeah I don’t know why Sak moved up 2 weightclasses) was probably my favourite fight of that tournament. I know we won 3 world titles but there was something poetic about watching an overlooked boxer who only made the semis because of a walkover come through against a much more decorated, fancied and skilled opponent. Anyway that was a lot longer than I thought it would be. I feel like I left a lot of detail out as well. And yeah I know this is gauranteed to look stupid in a year or two but sure look.

I thought it was a really good and enjoyable fight. It was the right decision though, Oumiha is ridiculously accurate and Sanford doesn't really move his head much so every single shot Oumiha threw landed. Second and third rounds were both close and Sanford landed some really good punches but while the French have gotten a couple of hometown decision, this wasn't one of them and I didn't have any issue with the scoring here. There is an important distinction to be made here between doing more of the work and landing more/ landing better punches. Doing more work is just a means to an end, the latter is the scoring criteria.

Not at the games, just haven't posted much during the games so apologies for that. Just haven't had as much time as I would have needed to do some of the things I had kind of wanted to get done. On the boxing, I just haven't had that many sophisticated thoughts on it beyond erratic judging and a dissapointing Irish display that I haven't fully got my head around. I missed a few sessions that I haven't had the chance to catch up on and the majority of the rest with the exception of the Irish fights it has been my second/third screen and boxing kind of needs your full focus. (plus that boxing thread has descended into some form of madness I do not think I can tame.) That said I do think my predictions/ rankings ultimately held up a little better than they were trending towards after the first few days but I won't have a full look back on them until after the boxing finishes and those first couple of days were just me wondering how I had spent so much time watching all of these fellas only to get so much so badly wrong. This does remind me I need to do a wrap up of my rowing form rankings but I was planning to update them daily and just didn't in the end. But yeah there were other things I wanted to do even smaller pieces of analysis on and just didn't get around to but I will post most of my thoughts once the games are over. So apologies, but it's nice to know someone misses me when I go somewhat quiet on this forum.

Look at the replay of the start lads. For me the Brits and the Americans are also over the line early. No idea how they don't restart a race where four boats are called back and for me it looks like at least 2 more are also over the line early. They slipped back because they took risks on the second and third leg which they didn't actually need to take. If they had just followed the Poles on the third leg, they would have medalled but they tacked early and try to go up the right hand side and it didnt work. Don't discredit their performance based on the medal race. They have been great all week and deserved a medal.

[hide] Event & Date Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Men's 20km Race Walk Day 1 August 1st 2024 Any Australian Athlete Caio Bonfim Evan Dunfee Li Yandong Wang Zhaozhao Zhang Jun x Brian Pintado Christopher Linke Massimo Stano Ryo Hamanishi Koki Ikeda x Yuta Koga Diego Garcia Carrera Alvaro Martin Paul McGrath Perseus Karlstroem x Any Other Athlete Women's 20km Race Walk Day 1 August 1st 2024 Jemima Montag Viviane Lyra Liu Hong Ma Zhenxia Yang Jiayu x Lorena Arenas Glenda Morejon Antonella Palmisano Nanako Fujii Alegna Gonzalez Kimberly Garcia Leon x Evelyn Inga Laura Garcia-Caro Maria Perez x Any Other Athlete Men's 10,000m Day 2 August 2nd 2024 Mohammed Ahmed Any Eriterian Athlete Berihu Aregawi Selemon Barega x Yomif Kejelcha Benard Kibet Nicholas Kipkorir Daniel Mateiko Adriaan Wildschutt Joshua Cheptegei x Jacob Kiplimo x Grant Fischer Any Other American Athlete Any Other Athlete Men's Shot Put Day 3 August 3rd 2024 Darlan Romani Filip Mihaljevic Tomas Stanek Leonardo Fabbri x Zane Weir Rajindra Campbell Bob Bertemes Jacko Gill Tom Walsh Chukwuebuka Enekwechi Ryan Crouser x Joe Kovacs x Payton Otterdahl Any Other Athlete Women's Triple Jump Day 3 August 3rd 2024 Leyanis Perez Hernandez x Lidagmis Povea Thea Lafond x Dariya Derkach Shanieka Ricketts Kimberly Williams Ana Peleteiro-Compaore Tugba Danismaz Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk x Tori Franklin Jasmine Moore Keturah Orji Any Other Athlete Mixed 4x400m Relay Day 3 August 3rd 2024 Bahamas Belgium Dominican Republic France Germany Great Britain x Ireland Jamaica Netherlands x Nigeria Poland Switzerland United States x* Any Other Nations Women's 100m Day 3 August 3rd 2024 Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith Dina Asher-Smith Any Other British Athlete Tiana Clayton Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce x Shericka Jackson Rosemary Chukwuma Ewa Swoboda Julien Alfred x Melissa Jefferson Sha'Carri Richardson x Twanisha Terry Any Other Athlete Men's Decathlon Day 3 August 3rd 2024 Damian Warner x Johannes Erm Karel Tilga Makenson Gletty Niklas Kaul Leo Neugebauer x Lindon Victor Any Norwegian Athlete x Ayden Owens-Delerme Heath Baldwin Harrison Williams Zachery Ziemek Any Other Athlete Women's High Jump Day 4 August 4th 2024 Nicola Olyslagers x Eleanor Patterson x Any German Athlete Morgan Lake Lamara Distin Maria Zodzik Angela Topic Lia Apostolovski Iryna Gerashchenko Yuliia Levchenko Yaroslava Mahuchikh x* Vashti Cunningham Rachel Glenn Any Other Athlete Men's Hammer Throw Day 4 August 4th 2024 Ethan Katzberg x* Any Chilean Athlete Yann Chaussinand Merlin Hummel Any Greek Athlete Bence Halasz x Eivind Henriksen Pawel Fajdek Wojciech Nowicki x Mykhaylo Kokhan Daniel Haugh Rudy Winkler Any Other Athlete Men's 100m Day 4 August 4th 2024 Letsile Tebogo x Any Canadian Athlete Zharnel Hughes Lamont Marcell Jacobs Ackeem Blake Oblique Seville x Kishane Thompson Ferdinand Omanyala Emmanuel Matadi Favour Ashe Akani Simbine Kenneth Bednarek Fred Kerley Noah Lyles x Any Other Athlete Men's Pole Vault Day 5 August 5th 2024 Kurtis Marschall Thibaut Collet Bo Kanda Lita Baehre Emmanouil Karalis Claudio Michel Stecchi Menno Vloon Any Norwegian Athlete Ernest John Obiena Piotr Lisek Armand Duplantis x* Ersu Sasma Sam Kendricks x Christopher Nilsen x Jacob Wooten Any Other Athlete Women's Discus Throw Day 5 August 5th 2024 Feng Bin x Sandra Elkasevic Yaime Perez x Any Other Cuban Athlete Shanice Craft Kristin Pudenz Marike Steinacker Daisy Osakue Jorinde Van Klinken Liliana Ca Irina Rodrigues Valarie Allman x Any Other Athlete Women's 5000m Day 5 August 5th 2024 Jessica Hull Medina Eisa Ejgayehu Taye Gudaf Tsegay x Nadia Battocletti Nozomi Tanaka Beatrice Chebet Faith Kipyegon x Laura Galvan Sifan Hassan x Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal Any American Athlete Joselyn Brea Any Other Athlete Women's 800m Day 5 August 5th 2024 Catriona Bisset Habitam Alemu Tsige Duguma Worknesh Mesele Renelle Lamote Phoebe Gill Keely Hodgkinson x Jemma Reekie x Natoya Goule-Toppin Mary Moraa x Prudence Sekgodiso Audrey Werro Halimah Nakaayi Nia Akins Any Other American Athlete Any Other Athlete Women's Hammer Throw Day 6 August 6th 2024 Hanna Skydan Camryn Rogers x Wang Zheng Zhao Jie x Katrine Koch Jacobsen Silja Kosonen Krista Tervo Sara Fantini Zalina Marghieva Anita Wlodarczyk Bianca Florentina Ghelber Annette Echikunwoke DeAnna Price x Any Other Athlete Men's Long Jump Day 6 August 6th 2024 Christopher Mitrevski Wang Jianan Filip Pravdica Radek Juska Miltiadis Tentoglou x Mattia Furlani x Tajay Gayle Carey McLeod Wayne Pinnock x Yuki Hashioka Simon Ehammer Lin Yu-Tang Any American Athlete Any Other Athlete Men's 1500m Day 6 August 6th 2024 Any Australian Athlete Azeddine Habz Josh Kerr x Any Other British Athlete Andrew Coscoran Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot Timothy Cheruiyot Samuel Tanner Jakob Ingebrigtsen x Narve Gilje Nordas Isaac Nader Mario Garcia Cole Hocker Yared Nuguse x Any Other Athlete Women's 3000m Steeplechase Day 6 August 6th 2024 Winfred Mutile Yavi x Sembo Almayew Lomi Muleta Alice Finot Any British Athlete Daisy Jepkemei Beatrice Chepkoech x Jackline Chepkoech Faith Cherotich Marwa Bouzayani Peruth Chemutai x Valerie Constein Any Other American Athlete Any Other Athlete Women's 200m Day 6 August 6th 2024 Audrey Leduc Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith Dina Asher-Smith x Daryll Neita Shericka Jackson Any Other Jamaican Athlete Thelma Davies Favour Ofili Julien Alfred x Brittany Brown Mckenzie Long Gabrielle Thomas x Any Other Athlete Mixed 35km Race Walk Team Day 7 August 7 2024 Australia Brazil China x Colombia France Germany Italy Japan Mexico x Spain x Ukraine Any Other Nation Women's Pole Vault Day 7 August 7th 2024 Nina Kennedy x* Alysha Newman Amalie Svabikova Wilma Murto Molly Caudery x Aikaterini Stefanidi Roberta Bruni Eliza McCartney Tina Sutej Angelica Moser Brynn King Katie Moon x Bridget Williams Robeilys Peinado Any Other Athlete Men's Discus Throw Day 7 August 7th 2024 Matthew Denny Lukas Weisshaidinger Any German Athlete Ralford Mullings Traves Smikle Roje Stona Mykolas Alekna x* Andrius Gudzius Connor Bell Alex Rose Kristjan Ceh x Daniel Stahl x Any American Athlete Any Other Athlete Men's 400m Day 7 August 7th 2024 Steven Gardiner Alexander Doom x Bayapo Ndori Christopher Morales-Williams Charles Dobson Matthew Hudson-Smith x Kirani James Any Jamaican Athlete Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen Christopher Bailey Quincy Hall x Michael Norman Any Other Athlete Men's 3000m Steeplechase Day 7 August 7th 2024 Samuel Firewu Lamecha Girma x Getnet Wale Any French Athlete Avinash Mukund Sable Ryuji Miura Abraham Kibiwot x Simon Kiprop Koech Amos Serem Soufiane El Bakkali x Geordie Beamish Daniel Arce Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui Any Other Athlete Women's Long Jump Day 8 August 8th 2024 Plamena Mitkova Marthe Koala Mikaelle Assani Malaika Mihambo x Larissa Iapichino Sumire Hata Ese Brume Agate De Sousa Alina Rotaru-Kottmann Milica Gardasevic Ivana Spanovic x Fatima Diame Tara Davis-Woodhall x Jasmine Moore Any Other Athlete Men's Javelin Throw Day 8 August 8th 2024 Jakub Vadlejch x Oliver Helander Teura'itera'i Tupaia Julian Weber x Anderson Peters Neeraj Chopra x Kishore Jena Edis Matusevicius Andrian Mardare Arshad Nadeem Alexandru Mihaita Novac Keshorn Walcott Curtis Thompson Any Other Athlete Men's 200m Day 8 August 8th 2024 Letsile Tebogo x Aaron Brown Aaron De Grasse Alexander Ogando Joshua Hartmann Zharnel Hughes Andrew Hudson Bryan Levell Joseph Fahnbulleh Any South African Athlete Tarsis Orogot Kenneth Bednarek x Erriyon Knighton Noah Lyles x Any Other Athlete Women's 400m Hurdles Day 8 August 8th 2024 Kemi Adekoya Hanne Claes Savannah Sutherland Any French Athlete Jessie Knight Ayomide Folorunso Rushell Clayton x Janieve Russell Shiann Salmon Femke Bol x Any Ukranian Athlete Anna Cockrell Jasmine Jones Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone x Any Other Athlete Men's 110m Hurdles Day 8 August 8th 2024 Wilhem Belocian Sasha Zhoya Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli Orlando Bennett Rasheed Broadbell Hansle Parchment Shunsuke Izumiya Rachid Muratake Louis Francois Mendy Enrique Llopis Jason Joseph Freddie Crittenden x Grant Holloway x* Daniel Roberts x Any Other Athlete Women's 4x100m Relay Day 9 August 9th 2024 Australia Canada Cote D'Ivoire France Germany Great Britain x Italy Jamaica x Netherlands Poland United States x* Any Other Nation Women's Shot Put Day 9 August 9th 2024 Sarah Mitton x Gong Lijiao x Song Jiayuan Yemisi Ogunleye Danniel Thomas-Dodd Jorinde van Klinken Jessica Schilder Maddison-Lee Wesche Jessica Inchude Fanny Roos Chase Jackson x Jaida Ross Raven Saunders Any Other Athlete Men's 4x100m Relay Day 9 August 9th 2024 Australia Canada China France Germany Great Britain Italy x Jamaica x Japan Nigeria South Africa United States x Any Other Nation Women's 400m Day 9 August 9th 2024 Salwa Eid Naser Sada Williams Cynthia Bolingo Marileidy Paulino x Amber Anning Rhasidat Adekele x Nickisha Pryce Stacey Ann Williams Lieke Klaver Natalia Kaczmarek x Aaliyah Butler Kendall Ellis Alexia Holmes Any Other Athlete Men's Triple Jump Day 9 August 9th 2024 Yasser Mohammed Triki Hugues Fabrice Zango x Almir Do Santos Fang Yaoqing Zhu Yaming Lazaro Martinez Christian Napoles Thomas Gogois Emmanuel Ihejeme Andy Diaz Hernandez Jaydon Hibbert Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun x Any American Athlete Any Other Athlete x Women's Heptathlon Day 9 August 9th 2024 Nafissatou Thiam x Noor Vidts Saga Vanninen Auriana Lazraq-Khlass Katarina Johnson-Thompson x Xenia Krizsan Sofie Dokter Emma Oosterwegel Anouk Vetter Adriana Sulek-Schubert Annika Kalin Taliyah Brooks Anna Hall x Chari Hawkins Any Other Athlete Women's 10,000m Day 9 August 9th 2024 Lauren Ryan Francine Niyomukunzi Rahel Daniel Tsigie Gebreselama Fotyen Tesfay Gudaf Tsegay x Any British Athlete Beatrice Chebet x Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi Lilian Kasait Rengeruk Sifan Hassan x Sarah Chelangat Joy Cheptoyek Weini Kelati Frezghi Any Other Athlete Men's 400m Hurdles Day 9 August 9th 2024 Alison Dos Santos x Kyron McMaster Rasmus Magi Wilfried Happio Alessandro Sibilio Roshawn Clarke Malik James-King Karsten Warholm x Abderrahman Samba Carl Bengstroem CJ Allen Trevor Bassitt Rai Benjamin x Any Other Athlete Men's Marathon Day 10 August 10th 2024 Bashir Abdi Kenenisa Bekele Deresa Geleta Sisay Lemma x Morhad Amdouni Amanal Petros Gashau Ayale Eluid Kipchoge x Benson Kipruto x Alexander Mutiso Abdi Nageeye Gabriel Gerald Geay Kaan Kigen Ozbilen Any Other Athlete Men's High Jump Day 10 August 10th 2024 Any Australian Athlete Donald Thomas Thomas Carmoy Luis Enrique Zayas Tobias Poyte Gianmarco Tamberi x Ryoichi Akamatsu Hamish Kerr x Norbert Kobielski Mutaz Essa Barshim x Woo Sanghyeok Oleh Doroshchuk Andrii Protsenko Shelby McEwen Any Other Athlete Men's 800m Day 10 August 10th 2024 Slimane Moula Djamel Sedjati x Any Athlete from Botswana Marco Arop x Any French Athlete Max Burgin Ben Pattison Koitatoi Kidali Wyclife Kinyamal Emmanuel Wanyonyi x Adrian Ben Bryce Hoppel Hobbs Kessler Brandon Miller Any Other Nation Women's Javelin Throw Day 10 August 10th 2024 Mackenzie Little x Kathryn Mitchell Victoria Hudson Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado x Nikola Ogrodnikova Haruka Kitaguchi x Lina Muze-Serma Anete Sietina Tori Peeters Adriana Vilagos Jo-Amne Van Dyk Maggie Malone Any Other Nation Women's 100m Hurdles Day 10 August 10th 2024 Devynne Charlton Cyrena Samba-Mayela x Ackera Nugent Any Other Jamaican Athlete Nadine Visser Tobi Amusan Pia Skrzyszowska Jasmine Camacho-Quinn x Ditaji Kambundji Alaysha Johnson Masai Russell x Grace Stark Any Other Athlete Men's 5000m Day 10 August 10th 2024 Stewart McSweyn Mohammed Ahmed Hagos Gebrhiwet Yomif Kejelcha x Addisu Yihune Jimmy Gressier Luis Grijalva Any British Athlete Jacob Krop x Thierry Ndikumwenayo Jacob Kiplimo Any Other Ugandian Athlete Grant Fisher Any Other Athlete x* Women's 1500m Day 10 August 10th 2024 Linden Hall Jessica Hull Birke Haylom Gudaf Tsegay x Diribe Welteji x Laura Muir Ciara Mageean Nelly Chepchirchir Susan Lokayo Ejore Faith Kipyegon x* Sifan Hassan Nikki Hiltz Emily Mackay Elle St. Pierre Any Other Athlete Men's 4x400m Relay Day 10 August 10th 2024 Belgium Botswana x Brazil France Germany Great Britain x Italy Japan Nigeria South Africa Spain Trinidad & Tobago United States x Any Other Nation Women's 4x400m Relay Day 10 August 10th 2024 Belgium Canada France Great Britain x Ireland Italy Jamaica Netherlands x Norway Poland Spain United States x Any Other Nation Women's Marathon Day 11 August 11th 2024 Eunice Chebichii Chumba Dolshi Tesfu Megertu Alemu Tigist Assefa x Amane Beriso Hitomi Niiya Hitomi Niiya Peres Jepchirchir x Sharon Lokedi Hellen Obiri Sifan Hassan x Magdalena Shauri Helen Bekele Stella Chesang Betsy Saina Any Other Athlete [/hide]

I had it on but wasn't fully focused on it so only saw bits and pieces. Didn't have an issue with Chinyemba winning based on what I saw but I didn't see the full fight so can't really comment on it. I will try to watch it later. There are a few other fights I need to properly rewatch as well.

Just updating these with early eliminated boats/ finalists. Apologies for the purple but I couldn't find a good colour, All the reds look like bronze. Lithuania's double obviously the big early loser but it was a complete lottery what kind of form they would show up with. Speaking of the women's double. The two semi-finals there are ridiculously lopsided, Romania, USA, Australia, Norway and the Brits who looked good in their heat, all in the semi final. Given Ireland's in the other one I'm not complaining. China LW2x caught a massive crab which is why they are gone and Italy's new men's double just didn't work. Quads have mostly gone roughly to form although China's women don't look they will medal.

Olympic Predictions (M92+kg, Predicted Medal Table) M92+kg Gold- Bakhodir Jalolov (1) , Silver- Kamshybek Kunkabayev (2) , Bronze- Joshua Edwards (4) , Bronze- Abner Texeira (6) . Seedings 1 Joshua Edwards (USA) 8 Mahammad Abdullayev (AZE) 2 Delicious Orie (GBR) 7 Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ) 3 Mourad Kadi (ALG) 6 Abner Texeira (BRA) 4 Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) 5 Teremoana Jnr (AUS) Bracket 1 My pick- Joshua Edwards (4) . Very interesting bracket to start off. Nelvie Tiafack (5) and Mahammad Abdullayev (11) reacquaint with each other after Abdullayev beat Tiafack to qualify for the Olympics back at European games. Tiafack had won when they met prior to that. Tiafack is inconsistent and both he and Abdullayev are quite similar being kind of traditional bruising powerful super-heavyweights that don’t move a whole lot. Diego Lenzi (10) has taken a couple of quality scalps earlier this year (Orie and Ghadfa Drissi el Aissaoui) but has an uphill task against Panam champion Josh Edwards. Edwards is a tidy boxer but physically he is not as built as most heavyweights and whether it is Tiafack or Abdullayev, it will be interesting to see how he deals with that level of power. I like his chances though. Bracket 2 My pick- Bakhodir Jalolov (1) . Defending champion Bakhodir Jalolov is the most clear cut favourite in boxing, last lost a fight in 2018 and has beaten most of his primary competition here including Teremoana Jnr (3) who is his toughest opponent between him and a medal. Teremoana packs a serious punch and should be able to dispatch Dmytro Lovchynskyi (14) in his opening fight. Omar Shiha (13) enjoyed a stroke of luck to qualify with a cut ending Danabieke Bayikewuzi’s hopes but got no luck here and will do well to last 3 rounds against Jalolov. Bracket 3 My pick- Abner Texeira (6) . On paper the weakest of the four brackets. Both last 16 fights should be fairly straightforward wins for Djamili Aboudou Moindze (12) against Mourad Kadi (16) who does have the odd good win on his resume and Abner Texeira against the tricky Gerlon Congo (15) who Texeira has beaten before. That would set up an fascinating quarter final between Aboudou Moindze and Texeira with both boxers having beaten each other in the past, with the most recent contest going in favour of the home boxer. With home advantage I really feel like I should pick the Frenchman but I do think Texeira is the significantly more talented boxer and as such expect him to produce the goods when it counts. Bracket 4 My pick- Kamshybek Kunkabayev (2) . Quality bracket this where all four of these boxers have significant pedigree. 2021 world silver medallist Davit Chaloyan (9) meets European champion Delicious Orie (8) . Orie has had some bad losses of late and the Brits comparing him to Anthony Joshua is delusional but he is talented and for me should beat Chaloyan. World bronze medallist Ghadfa Drissi el Aissaoui (7) faces Olympic bronze medallist Kamshybek Kunkabayev in what should be quite a close fight. Ghadfa Drissi el Aissaoui is a big man and consistent operator but I will back Kunkabayev although he is the boring pick. Kunkabayev against Orie should also be close but I’m not that convinced by Orie so let’s back Kunkabayev. Medal Fights Josh Edwards (4) vs Bakhodir Jalolov (1) , Abner Texeira (6) vs Kamshybek Kunkabayev (2) . While I think Edwards is talented, he won’t get close to Jalolov. I’m close to certain the second semi-final will be different than this prediction but if this was the particular semi-final, I’ll stick with the boring pick of Kunkabayev. The final would then be a renewal of the Kunkabeyev vs Jalolov rivalry although calling it a rivalry is generous as Jalolov has always won this matchup comfortably consistently. Gold- Bakhodir Jalolov , Silver- Kamshybek Kunkabayev , Bronze- Joshua Edwards , Bronze- Abner Texeira . Predicted medal table Predicted Gold Predicted Silver Predicted Bronze Total medals Contenders (Top 8 in rankings) Uzbekistan 3 1 1 5 8 Turkey 2 0 0 2 3 Kazakhstan 1 2 1 4 6 France 1 1 1 3 4 Ireland 1 0 2 3 7 Chinese Taipei 1 0 1 2 3 Italy 1 0 0 1 3 North Korea 1 0 0 1 2 Canada 1 0 0 1 1 Ukraine 1 0 0 1 1 China 0 3 0 3 6 India 0 1 3 4 4 USA 0 1 2 3 4 Cuba 0 1 1 2 5 Philippines 0 1 1 2 3 Thailand 0 1 0 1 3 Romania 0 1 0 1 1 Brazil 0 0 3 3 6 Bulgaria 0 0 2 2 4 Georgia 0 0 2 2 2 Australia 0 0 1 1 3 Colombia 0 0 1 1 3 Congo 0 0 1 1 3 Spain 0 0 1 1 2 Azerbaijan 0 0 1 1 1 Dominican Republic 0 0 1 1 1 South Korea 0 0 1 1 1 Great Britain and NI 0 0 0 0 3 Serbia 0 0 0 0 2 Algeria 0 0 0 0 1 Croatia 0 0 0 0 1 Denmark 0 0 0 0 1 Refugee team 0 0 0 0 1 Germany 0 0 0 0 1 Mexico 0 0 0 0 1 Norway 0 0 0 0 1 Panama 0 0 0 0 1 Poland 0 0 0 0 1 Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 1 Zambia 0 0 0 0 1 So I have Uzbekistan expected to top the medal table with Turkey in a very precarious second, Decent and successful games for Kazakhstan, Ireland, France and Chinese Taipei. I have India winning a miraculous four medals and while the USA and China would be happy with 4 and 3 medals respectively the lack of gold would frustrate them. I should note this is already wrong as Oh Yeonji lost today to Wu Shih-yi .

Olympics Predictions (M71kg, M92kg) M71kg Gold- Aslanbek Shymbergenov (1) , Silver- Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (3) , Bronze- Omari Jones (6) , Bronze- Nishant Dev (7) . Seedings 1 Shannan Davey (AUS) 8 Kan Chia-wei 2 Marco Verde (MEX) 7 Jose Rodriguez (ECU) 3 Sewon Okazawa (JPN) 6 Vakhid Abbasov (SRB) 4 Nikolai Terteryan (DEN) 5 Omar Elawady (EGY) Bracket 1 My pick- Omari Jones (6) . The most open division of all. Top 8 ranked boxers all probably have legitimate dreams of topping the podium. This top bracket is fairly predictable with 2021 67kg world silver medallist Omari Jones being the pick of the bunch. He opens his account against surprise Asian silver medallist Chia Wei Kan (18) in the last 16. His likely quarter final opponent is Damian Durkacz (12) although Durkacz who competed in Tokyo at 63kg does have a tough size mismatch against natural 75kg Rami Kiwan (14) who used his height and reach advantage well to beat the similar in size and style Wanderson de Oliveira at the 1st world qualifier and could do it again here against Durkacz. Shannan Davey (20) is somewhat hilariously technically the number 1 seed while also being my lowest ranked boxer. He is tall and not the easiest opponent to hit but would be shocked if he beat Durkacz or Kiwan. Jones should be too quick and agile for Durkacz or Kiwan but he himself is also on the smaller side and could struggle a bit against the range of Kiwan. Bracket 2 My pick- Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (3) . Really tough bracket to call. Olympic bronze medallist Aidan Walsh (8) opens things up against Makan Traore (15) who he should be too good for but will have to overcome the French home advantage. 67kg world champion Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev meets African champion Omar Elawady (19) in the most one sided fight in this bracket. Assuming Walsh wins his first fight, that would set a fascinating fight with European champion Nikolai Terteryan (4) . Terteryan is a quality operator but it will be interesting how he deals with Walsh’s counterpunching and defensive skills. The winner would then meet Muydinkhujaev who is mobile and difficult to hit. I tentatively would back Aidan Walsh to beat Terteryan although that is taking nothing away from Terteryan’s quality and then would pick Muydinkhujaev to take a narrow split decision in a scrappy fight against Walsh in the quarter finals but I really amn’t sure. Bracket 3 My pick- Aslanbek Shymbergenov (1) . Another tricky one with 2021 67kg world champion Sewon Okazawa (5) reacquainting himself with reigning 71kg world champion Aslanbek Shymbergenov. They met in the semifinal of Asian games and a very controversial decision went in favour of Okazawa. Both are counterpunchers so expect an ugly fight. Shymbergenov does have to beat the aggressive Zeyad Eashash (9) beforehand but he has navigated that matchup before. The other side of this bracket sees an interesting matchup between two European medallists Lewis Richardson (11) and Vakhid Abbasov (10) . Another massive size mismatch in favour of Richardson and on current form, I might back Richardson. Regardless the winner of Shymbergenov vs Okazawa fight should medal here although I really hope it is Shymbergenov because I don’t like Okazawa’s style or his nonsense showboating. Bracket 4 My pick- Nishant Dev (7) . The final bracket should be fairly straightforward until the quarter finals. Firstly World bronze medallist Nishant Dev should be much too good for Jose Rodriguez (16) . Late entry Magomed Schachidov (13) should also be comfortably able to beat Tiago Muxanga (17) who is one of the better universality qualifiers. Panam Champ Marco Verde (2) should then beat Schachidov although Schachidov is tough to beat and will make him work for it. Nishant vs Verde should be a close fight. Nishant won when they met at the 2021 world championships. Verde likes to come forward and Nishant is most effective when is opponent comes to him so while I think Verde is one of the best boxers in this draw, this matchup does suit Nishant. Medal Fights Omari Jones (6) vs Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (3) , Aslanbek Shymbergenov (1) vs Nishant Dev (7) . Both semifinals will be close and I’m certain that my predictions up to this point won’t prove accurate so predicting the medal rounds here is a fool’s errand but anyway, Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev assuming he can beat Walsh or Terteryan would then be favoured against Omari Jones. Aslanbek Shymbergenov has beaten Nishant (and Marco Verde) before which would set up a rematch with Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev in the final. At Asian games Muydinkhujaev took a scrappy opening two rounds against Shymbergenov to take control of the fight before Shymbergenov unleashed hell in the final round to ultimately force 3 standing counts and the stoppage. So despite spending this entire cycle believing that while Shymbergenov is talented, not good enough to win and that I wouldn’t pick him for gold, I am picking him to win gold. Gold- Aslanbek Shymbergenov , Silver- Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev , Bronze- Omari Jones , Bronze- Nishant Dev . M92kg Gold- Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (1) , Silver- Julio Cesar la Cruz (3) , Bronze- Georgi Kushitashvili (8) , Bronze- Enmanuel Reyes (7) c. Seedings 1 Ato Plodzicki Faoagali (SAM) 8 Han Xuezhen (CHN) 2 Davlat Boltaev (TJK) 7 Jack Marley (IRL) 3 Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (ITA) 6 Keno Machado (BRA) 4 Julio Cesar la Cruz (CUB) 5 Adam Olaore (NGR) Bracket 1 My pick- Enmanuel Reyes (7) . So in theory this is quite a straightforward bracket. Enmanuel Reyes is by far the most talented of the boxers in this section but opens his account against the awkward and difficult to hit Han Xuezhen (13) . Meanwhile, the even more frustrating to box and 2021 world 86kg medallist Victor Schelstraete (12) meets Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali (15) . Schelstraete likes to draw boxers in with a low guard, poke out a jab with his long reach and then tie his opponent up and I suspect that strategy will work against the plodding Plodzicki-Faoagali who only knows how to come forward. I do really hope Plodzicki-Faoagali could sneak a win here after the news about his coach. Schelstraete will give Reyes some trouble but you would have to trust Reyes to produce when it counts. Schelstraete has a real shot though. Bracket 2 My pick-Julio Cesar la Cruz (3) . So I’ve gone back and forth with my thoughts on two time Olympic champion Julio Cesar la Cruz over this Olympic cycle. He has lost a step and isn’t as agile as he once was but he does move quite well and the punch picking is still there. He has got an interesting first fight against former Cuban and fellow Olympic medallist Loren Alfonso (6) . I wouldn’t call this a fight to watch as it will likely more closely resemble a staring contest than a boxing fight. They last met in 2019 where naturally la Cruz won unanimously. In the other fight Adam Olaore (16) faces 86kg Asian champion Aybek Oralbay (5) in what should be a straightforward win for the Kazakh. Oralbay will test La Cruz and the Cuban will need to be on his game but you would have to back la Cruz. Bracket 3 My pick-Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (1) . This bracket is absolutely stacked and world silver medallist Mouhiidine could not have got a tougher draw. The world bronze medallist Lazizbek Mullojonov (4) is first up for Mouhiidine. Mullojonov is a very complete boxer with very few weaknesses but I do think Mouhiidine’s back foot boxing should prevail. I thought Keno Machado (2) deserved to beat la Cruz last year but didn’t get the decision and now has a very tough path to a medal. He matches up against bruiser Patrick Brown (10) . He beat Brown in Finland at the end of 2022 although Brown has improved since, not enough to flip this fight though. We then should get one of if not the best fights in this division with Mouhiidine matching up against Machado. Talent wise you could make a case for Machado but Mouhiidine has been there and done it albeit not yet at the Olympics of course. Bracket 4 My pick- Georgi Kushitashvili (8) . I wasn’t feeling great about Jack Marley’s (9) medal hopes over the last couple of months but this draw brings him right into contention. European games silver medallist Marley has met counterpuncher Mateusz Bereznicki (14) before having beaten him at European under 22s 2 years ago. Kushitashvili doesn’t have the easiest of opening fights against Asian champion and quality counterpuncher Davlat Boltaev (11) . 86kg world medallist Kushitashvili has looked really good since moving up to heavyweight having initially tried to qualify at 80kg but is not the fastest and has lost to counterpunchers before. Kushitashvili vs Marley is potentially a really interesting fight with Marley’s speed likely to give Kushitashvili some trouble but reluctantly I will back the experienced Kushitashvili. Medal Fights Enmanuel Reyes (7) vs Julio Cesar la Cruz (3) , Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (1) vs Georgi Kushitashvili (8) . If Mouhiidine can get this far he will beat Kushitashvili and while I’m sure Enmanuel Reyes would love to avenge his Tokyo quarter final loss to la Cruz, I don’t see it happening. Mouhiidine vs la Cruz would be a fascinating final with neither boxer likely to want to take the initiative. There is logic in picking la Cruz to win a third Olympic title especially given how tough Mouhiidine’s path to the final is but at this point in their respective careers it seems to me like this is Mouhiidine’s to lose Gold- Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine , Silver- Julio Cesar la Cruz , Bronze- Georgi Kushitashvili , Bronze- Enmanuel Reyes .

Olympic Predictions (M51kg, M57kg) M51kg Gold- Hasanboy Dusmatov (1) , Silver- Billal Bennama (3) , Bronze- Amit (5) , Bronze- Nijat Huseynov (10) . Seedings 1 Bilal Bennama (FRA) 8 Michael de Trindade (BRA) 2 Hasanboy Dusmatov (UZB) 7 Samet Gumus (TUR) 3 Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) 6 Thitisan Panmot (THA) 4 Junior Alcantara (DOM) 5 Yusuf Chothia (AUS) Bracket 1 My pick- Billal Bennama (3) . So despite what others in this thread have tried to claim. No France did not get easy draws. About half of their boxers got tough draws and half of them got good draws. This for example is a tough draw when it was possible if not likely multi time European champion and two time world medallist Billal Bennama would have a fairly easy path to the medal fights. Instead he faces 2021 world silver medallist Roscoe Hill (4) in the last 16 assuming Hill beats Omid Ahmadisafa (16) . Both Hill and Bennama’s form has been questionable of late with both suffering recent surprise defeats and style wise they are quite similar as well. Both look to box on the outside and are effective on the move and they may well cancel each other out so while I wouldn’t expect it to be a great spectacle, it should be one of the best fights in this division. Alejandro Claro (6) just has to navigate a fight with Michael de Trindade (15) to await the winner of Bennama vs Hill. Claro is not quite in the top tier of boxers in this division and would have been hoping for a better draw. Hill edged past Claro at Panam games, Hill deserved to win but did not deserve the 10-8 final round one of the judges awarded him to flip the outcome of the fight. Bennama on the other hand faced Claro in Cuba vs France match earlier this year. Claro technically won but only because the fight was in Cuba with Cuban judges. Bennama deserves to be favourite here but both Hill and Claro will fancy their chances and I expect 2 very close fights here. Bracket 2 My pick- Nijat Huseynov (10) . Flyweight had some surprise qualifiers, some as a result of shock results, a couple as a result of weak brackets and some just a consequence of the parity in this weight class but the consequence of these is that flyweight lacks that many top tier medal contenders and it was always possible we get a bracket like this where my highest ranked boxer is 10th. This one is tough to predict though. The fight I am very willing to call is 2022 world youth bronze medallist Rafa Lozano Jr (11) against Yusuf Chothia (17) , with the Spaniard being a comfortable favourite. Both Nijat Huseynov and Junior Alcantara (13) upset Roscoe Hill in quota fights and having both gone into their respective fights as massive underdogs. Nijat Huseynov is a European under 22 champion and did also beat world bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria at that first world qualifier. He is a decent counterpuncher, but doesn’t move as effectively or smoothly as you would expect given his style. Alcantara is somehow Panam champion and isn’t easy to box. You would have to back Huseynov to win this fight and while an impressive young boxer it is hard to see Lozano beating Huseynov either. They are all inexperienced though with Huseynov being the oldest of the 3 contenders for this medal at just 21. Bracket 3 My pick- Amit Panghal (5) . So 2019 world silver medallist Amit Panghal having failed to medal as the top seed in Tokyo and then not be picked for the first two qualifiers, it seemed like his Olympic medal hopes were gone but now he is a favourite to medal. Patrick Chinyemba (8) is a tricky opponent and one of the strongest African boxers here but Amit has beaten him before at commonwealth games. In the other last 16 fight Asian silver medallist Thitisan Panmot (7) takes on the difficult to peg David de Pina (14) . De Pina is pretty impressive to watch, he moves and picks his shots very effectively but yet he has some atrocious losses on his resume. Panmot is a fairly talented boxer and is effective on the front foot which will be crucial for his chances against Amit who has struggled when put under pressure and doesn’t move as well as he used to. That said, I haven’t quite been convinced by Panmot and would be relatively confident in Amit’s chances Bracket 4 My pick- Hasanboy Dusmatov (1) . So just like at Asian games world champions Saken Bibossinov (2) and Hasanboy Dusmatov look set to meet before the medal rounds. They have met 3 times with Bibossinov winning on his way to his 2021 world title before Dusmatov won the two more recent matchups at Asian champs in 2022 and Asian Games last year. For me Dusmatov is the better and more reliable boxer and I would be surprised if Bibossinov could overturn this one. Bibossinov is also vulnerable to surprise losses and does have a tricky enough last 16 fight against Samet Gumus (9) . Dusmatov should not have any trouble beating Juanma Lopez (12) despite the young Puerto Ricon’s talents. Medal Fights Bilal Bennama (3) vs Nijat Huseynov (10) , Amit (5) vs Hasanboy Dusmatov (1) . If these prove to be the medal fights, I can only really see them playing out one way. Bennama if he can navigate Hill and Claro should be able to beat the similar stylistically Huseynov unless he takes his eye off the ball. Amit does actually have a win against Dusmatov from 2018 albeit with 2 losses the previous year in 2017. Despite Dusmatov actually being the older of the 2, at this point in their career, their appears to only be one winner. Dusmatov and Bennama met in the world final last year and Dusmatov landed a KO in the first round so even with home advantage Bennama doesn’t appear to have path to winning this. That said I should add the caveat that this division incredibly unpredictable in qualifying so these medals and their respective colours could easily prove woefully inaccurate. Gold- Hasanboy Dusmatov , Silver- Billal Bennama , Bronze- Amit , Bronze- Nijat Huseynov . M57kg Gold- Abdumalik khalokov (1) , Silver- Jahmal Harvey (2) , Bronze- Carlo Paalam (5) , Bronze- Javier Ibanez (4) . Seedings 1 Abdumalik Khalokov (UZB) 8 Jose Quiles (ESP) 2 Javier Ibanez (BUL) 7 Shudai Harada (JPN) 3 Jahmal Harvey (USA) 6 Saidel Horta (CUB) 4 Charlie Senior (AUS) 5 Dolapo Omole (NGR) Bracket 1 My pick- Abdumalik Khalokov (1) . For me Abdumalik Khalokov is one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world and despite featherweight being one of the deepest and toughest divisions, I think he is a reasonably comfortable favourite to win outright here. He should have very little trouble with his opening fight against Nebil Ibrahim (14) who himself should have no trouble with universality qualifier Wasim Abusal (17) . We will likely get a second Uzbekistan vs Kazakhstan quarter final with 54 kg world champion Makhmud Sabyrkhan (9) . Sabyrkhan doesn’t have the easiest opening fight in Jose Quiles (11) and has struggled with the size of this weight class compared to 54kg in qualifying. Quiles is natural 60kg boxer who comes down to fight at 57kg, he is a finesse boxer though rather than a power puncher and as such the size mismatch might not matter as much. They haven’t met and are both world champions but it is hard to not pick Khalokov to beat Sabyrkhan in their likely matchup. Bracket 2 My pick- Carlo Paalam (5) . Seeds wise, this was by far the most open bracket and could have led to a strange medal but 2 of the top unseeded boxers landed here so we avoided that eventuality. Commonwealth champion Jude Gallagher (7) and 52kg Olympic silver medallist Carlo Paalam looked set to meet in a quota fight at the 1st world qualifier only for an shoulder injury to force Paalam to pull out of his preceding fight. They will now meet here in the last 16. Gallagher is a little small for the division but will enjoy a significant height and reach advantage over the strongly built but tiny Carlo Paalam. Paalam looked good at the qualifiers but also has some strange losses in recent months. This is a fifty fifty fight for me but having watched Paalam end Brendan Irvines dreams in Tokyo, my default expectation is that Paalam will do it again to another Irish boxer. I do like Jude Gallagher’s chances though. Fascinating fight to watch anyway. Vasile Ustoroi (13) was European champ in 2022 and has a very unorthodox counterpunching style, where he leaps and jumps in almost random directions and often get himself caught as a result. He should have too much for Charlie Senior (17) but is unlikely to beat Paalam or Gallagher though. Bracket 3 My pick- Jahmal Harvey (2) . 2021 world champion is probably the big American hope for a gold at this tournament but he is going have to work for it if he wants to medal let alone win gold. He opens up with a rematch of the Pan American games semifinal against Luiz Oliveira (3) who is awkward opponent and difficult to hit. Harvey managed to get the job done at Panam games but this fight is far from a foregone conclusion and Oliveira has won this matchup twice before. Munarbek Seitbek Uulu (12) took the very last quota for this tournament but is a world bronze medallist and will face world silver medallist Saidel Horta (8) in the last 16. Horta is good but not as accurate or precise as you would typically expect from Cuban boxers and I would regard this fight as a potential upset. Harvey beat Horta in the panam games final but it was level going into the last round. That said, I think Oliveira is the significantly tougher challenge for Harvey. Bracket 4 My pick- Javier Ibanez (4) . This is a tricky one. So the last 16 should be fairly straightforward. Yilmar Gonzalez (6) should be able to land enough to beat the agile Shudai Harada (15) and despite his impressive 2nd world qualifier performance former European youth champion Aider Abduraimov (10) is unlikely to push European champion Javier Ibanez too close. Javier Ibanez and Yilmar Gonzalez are both talented but haven’t quite yet produced the goods at a global championship. They met at the 2021 worlds with Ibanez getting the decision after a clash of heads caused the fight to be stopped midway through the second round. Gonzalez struggles under pressure but from range he is the better boxer. There were a number of contenders I would have been tempted to pick to beat Ibanez had they been drawn together but while I like Gonzalez, this matchup does suit Ibanez. Medal Fights Abdumalik Khalokov (1) vs Carlo Paalam (5) , Jahmal Harvey (3) vs Javier Ibanez (4) . If both Khalokov and Harvey get this far then it is hard to see them not ending up meeting in the final. Khalokov easily beat Paalam at Asian Games last year and Harvey shouldn’t have too much trouble with Ibanez. I think Khalokov’s counterpunching skills will prevail over Harvey but on paper this is one of if not the fight of the tournament if we get it. Gold- Abdumalik khalokov , Silver- Jahmal Harvey , Bronze- Carlo Paalam , Bronze- Javier Ibanez .