Shakur Stevenson could be the redemption of USA Boxing. The lightning-quick bantamweight is already guaranteed to be the most successful American boxer at the Olympics since Andre Ward won gold in 2004. The only question now is whether he’ll take home gold or silver.
Olympic boxing 2016 schedule: Time, TV coverage, live stream for men’s middleweight final and more
Can Shakur Stevenson make history by bringing home USA’s first men’s boxing gold since 2004?
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Stevenson will face Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana in the finals of the 123-pound division. He’ll be well rested, too. The New Yorker advanced out of the semifinals without throwing a single punch when his opponent, Russian Vladimir Nikitin, withdrew due to injuries sustained in his previous bout. Nikitin, however, may not have belonged in the semis in the first place. His decision win over Ireland’s Michael Conlan was just one of many questionable choices that has the Amateur International Boxing Association facing accusations of incompetence at best and corruption at worst.
Those two won’t be the only boxers competing for gold on Saturday. The action kicks off with a women’s flyweight bout between Great Britain’s Nicola Adams and France’s Sarah Ourahmoune. It ends when men’s middleweights Arlen Lopez of Cuba and Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan go to war.
The headliner, however, will be Stevenson’s chance to make U.S. history. An American hasn’t medaled at bantamweight since 2000 and hasn’t won gold since 1988. With a win Saturday, the young pugilist can put his name alongside icons like George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Ray Leonard and Joe Frazier as Americans who have stood atop the podium as Olympic boxers.
All times Eastern
2016 Rio Olympics boxing coverage for Saturday, August 20
Afternoon session (NBC Sports online stream)
1 p.m. - Women’s flyweight gold medal bout
1:15 p.m. - Men’s bantamweight gold medal bout
2 p.m. - Men’s middleweight gold medal bout
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