Heavyweight (81-92 kilograms), Men

This division now had a maximum weight of 92 kg, an increase of a kilogram since Tokyo. This was a division of surprises, with only one seeded boxer, Tajikstan’s Davlat Boltaev, reaching the semi-final stage, although his round two victory over Georgy Kushitashvili (GEO) was a very close split decision, 3-2. Following a 4-1 split decision victory over Ireland’s Jack Marley, Boltaev was defeated in the semi-final by the unseeded Uzbeki Lazizbek Mullojonov, who went on to win the gold medal with a unanimous decision against Azerbaijan’s Loren Alfonso, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo games.

Mullojonov’s path to the final had been reasonably straight forward, with two decisions on points, 4-1, and a unanimous decision in his quarter-final match against Brazil’s Keno Marley, winner of the gold medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in the middleweight division. The other medalist was losing semi-finalist Enmanuel Reyes of Spain.

The 2023 World Champion and silver medalist from Tokyo, Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (ROC), was barred from competing because of his nationality. Cuba’s Julio César la Cruz, the reigning champion from the previous two Games, lost to Azerbaijani Loren Alfonso, a Cuban by birth, by a split 3-2 decision in round two, one judge having la Cruz as winning all three rounds of the bout.