Light-Heavyweight (71-80 kilograms), Men

With the elimination of the middleweight division from Tokyo, this division was now for boxers weighing 71-80 kg, whereas in Tokyo the weight range was 75-81 kg. The top seed was the 2023 World silver medalist, China’s Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan, who was defeated by bronze medalist Cristian Pinales (DOM) on a unanimous decision in round two. Pinales was defeated in the semi-finals by Kazakh fighter Nurbek Oralbay, who had defeated Callum Peters of Australia by a close 3-2 decision in round two, followed by a unanimous points win against Murad Allahverdiyev (AZE) in the quarter-finals.

The division seemed open for the 2016 and 2020 champion Cuba’s Arlen López to win, but a split 3-2 decision against Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzhniak, silver medalist in the middleweight division in 2020, saw Khyzhniak advance to the final. The final was not without note, as Khyzhniak defeated Oralbay on a split decision, two of the judges awarding all three rounds to the Ukrainian fighter. This was to be Ukraine’s only boxing medal at the 2024 Games.