The men’s light heavyweight gold and silver medals will be handed out Thursday. But first, they have to be won, and the match between Adilbek Niyazymbetov of Kazakhstan and Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba should be an exciting one.
Olympic boxing 2016 schedule: Time, TV coverage, live stream for men’s light heavyweight final and more
The light heavyweight gold medal match between Adilbek Niyazymbetov and Julio Cesar La Cruz highlights Olympic boxing on Thursday.
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Boxing on the day begins at 1 p.m. ET, but there are women’s flyweight, men’s bantamweight and men’s middleweight semifinals all to happen before Niyazymbetov and La Cruz step into the ring. That match is expected to begin no sooner than 2:30 p.m. ET but it all depends how long it takes to get through the other matches.
Niyazymbetov and La Cruz were impressive in the semifinals to clinch spots in the gold medal match. Niyazymbetov, a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics, defeated Great Britain’s Joshua Buatasi. La Cruz took down France’s Mathieu Bauderlique as he looks to follow up his 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Championship titles with an Olympic gold. Both Buatasi and Bauderlique walk away from Rio with bronze medals.
Four years ago, La Cruz got upset in the quarterfinals at the London Olympics after dominating his Round of 16 match. This time around, he’s already guaranteed himself a medal but still has a chance at gold.
Cuba has never won a light heavyweight Olympic gold medal, so La Cruz could make some history with a win. He’s already the country’s first medalist in this weight class since 1980, which is a nice accomplishment, but bringing in gold would be even better. Niyazymbetov is looking to become Kazakhstan’s second gold medalist in this competition after Vassily Jirov in 1996.
Boxing coverage at the Rio Olympics for Thursday
All times Eastern
Events: Men’s light heavyweight gold medal match
TV: NBCSN (8 p.m., tape delay)
Schedule (online stream):
1 p.m. - Women’s flyweight semifinal: Nicola Adams (Great Britain) vs. Cancan Ren (China)
1:15 p.m. - Women’s flyweight semifinal: Ingrit Lorena Valencia Victoria (Colombia) vs. Sarah Ourahmoune (France)
1:30 - Men’s bantamweight semifinal: Vladimir Nikitin (Russia) vs. Shakur Stevenson (United States)
1:45 p.m. - Men’s bantamweight semifinal: Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba) vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)
2 p.m. - Men’s middleweight semifinal: Arien Lopez (Cubs) vs. Kamran Shakhsuvarly (Azerbaijan)
2:15 p.m. - Men’s middleweight semifinal: Misael Uziel Rodriguez (Mexico) vs. Bektemir Melikuziev (Uzbekistan)
2:30 p.m. - Men’s light heavyweight gold medal match: Julio Cesar La Cruz (Cuba) vs. Adilbek Niyazymbetov (Kazakhstan)
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