Olympic Boxing 2016: Medal Winners, Scores and Thursday's Results
Great Britain's Nicola Adams will have the opportunity to defend her gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics after defeating China's Ren Cancan, who clinched bronze, to reach the women's flyweight final on Thursday.
She'll square up against Sarah Ourahmoune of France, who beat Colombian Ingrit Lorena Valencia 2-0 to ensure she'll win silver or better in Rio de Janeiro, although Adams will provide a major final hurdle.
Adams wasn't the only fighter to capture gold on Thursday, either, as Julio Cesar La Cruz followed a raft of his Cuban compatriots into the Olympic boxing history books with a win in the men's light heavyweight final.
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He beat Kazakhstan's Adilbek Niyazmbetov by unanimous decision to ensure Cuba won boxing gold for the second Games in a row, and Bad Left Hook broke down the light heavyweight podium in full:
It was also confirmed the United States' Shakur Stevenson will be heading to the men's bantamweight final after Russian Vladimir Nikitin was forced to retire from the competition due to medical reasons.
Irish fans will remember the judges chose Nikitin over their contender, Michael Conlan, in the previous round under controversial circumstances, and Greg Beacham of the Associated Press confirmed the Russian's exit:
Stevenson will face Robeisy Ramirez for the gold medal after the Cuban contender blazed past Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan with a 3-0 triumph.
Thursday also saw Cuban Arien Lopez set up a men's middlweight final opposite Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan. They defeated respective opponents Kamran Shakhsuvarly of Azerbaijan and Mexico's Misael Uziel Rodriguez, who each took bronze medals.
Read on for a recap of Thursday's Olympic boxing results, scores and medal winners.
| Women's Flyweight Semi-Final | Nicola Adams (GBR) def. Ren Cancan* (CHN) | 3-0 |
| Women's Flyweight Semi-Final | Sarah Ourahmoune (FRA) def. Ingrit Lorena Valencia* (COL) | 2-0 |
| Men's Bantamweight Semi-Final | Shakur Stevenson (USA) def. Vladimir Nikitin* (RUS) | W/O |
| Men's Bantamweight Semi-Final | Robeisy Ramirez (CUB) def. Murodjon Akhmadaliev* (UZB) | 3-0 |
| Men's Middleweight Semi-Final | Arien Lopez (CUB) def. Kamran Shakhsuvarly* (AZE) | 3-0 |
| Men's Middleweight Semi-Final | Bektemir Melikuziev (UZB) def. Misael Uziel Rodriguez* (MEX) | 3-0 |
| Men's Light Heavyweight Final | Julio Cesar La Cruz (CUB) def. Adilbek Niyazmbetov (KAZ) | 3-0 |
Recap
Adams remained on course for a second successive Olympic gold on Thursday, and there was a familiar opponent facing her down at Pavilion 6 in Rio de Janeiro.
It was, of course, Ren whom the Briton defeated in her London 2012 final to bag her first Olympic gold, and boxing commentator Steve Bunce told BBC Radio 5 live Sport what a morale-boosting rematch this was:
Adams was every bit the professional as she took a decisive step toward her showdown against Ourahmoune, winning 3-0, and Cancan could only hope to have won one of the rounds at best.
The Daily Telegraph's Ben Rumsby gambled on Adams being picked out for her excellent displays, too, if she does manage to secure gold in the final:
Ourahmoune wasn't as convincing in her victory over Valencia, whom she beat via split decision to advance to the ultimate round of the women's flyweight in Rio.
La Cruz took gold in the men's light heavyweight final thanks to a strategically effective performance in Pavilion 6, although FightNights.com argued entertainment was lacking against Niyazmbetov:
The Kazakh crowd in attendance could hardly argue against the judges' scorecards, however, as all three voted 29-28 in favour of La Cruz, who followed compatriot and London 2012 champion Ramirez in clinching Olympic gold.
The action in the men's bantamweight division was halved due to Nikitin's retirement, although Stevenson was no less eager to brag about making it to the last hurdle, per USA Boxing:
He'll face Ramirez, and Cuba's history of consistently challenging for the top places in Olympic boxing dictates the 22-year-old will have a stake to claim on the gold himself.
Stevenson is sure to be the fresher of the two considering he didn't have to fight Thursday, although a lack of fight readiness on his part could also play into Ramirez's favour.
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