Tokyo 2020 results (Day 5, Morning): Ragan wins for USA, Walker gets big upset for IRL, full recap

A full rundown from the first session of day five in Tokyo.

Women’s featherweight (Quarterfinals)

Winners guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

• Nesthy Petecio (Philippines) def. Jenny Marcela Arias (Colombia), 5:0: Petecio has just been rock solid through three fights, winning another one here to advance to the semifinal round. She was the first fighter to have their hand raised in Tokyo, out in the first bout of the entire competition, and she continues to win.

• Irma Testa (Italy) def. Caroline Veyre (Canada), 5:0: Testa was out in the last eight back in Rio, this time she’s through and at least a bronze medalist, and she’s been very sharp in three fights so far. Frankly a pretty dominant win here over Veyre, Testa just too good at range, sniped Veyre the whole time. Veyre’s a solid boxer, the style just got the better of her here.

Women’s middleweight

• Lauren Price (Great Britain) def. Myagmarjargal Munkhbat (Mongolia), 5:0: Price is the top seed and fought like it, totally dominating this fight. I mean, it wasn’t like, I don’t know, Gervonta Davis wiping out some C-fighter or whatever, but just it was truly easy for Price, just picked Munkhbat apart for three rounds. Munkhbat was tentative because every time she did try to come forward she got hit with good shots.

• Atheyna Bylon (Panama) def. Caitlin Parker (Australia), 5:0: Bylon is tall and uses it. Maybe not the prettiest or most efficient style but it presents problems, and her matchup with Price should be more interesting than Munkhbat was able to make it against the Brit. Parker tried just about anything, including roughing it up some, but didn’t win a round on any of the five cards, though I thought she had a decent argument in the first.
• Tammara Thibeault (Canada) def. Nadezhda Ryabets (Kazakhstan), 4:1: Very different body types here, like, imagine Paul Williams fighting Shawn Porter, kinda. Ugly fight, really, not much landing, but Thibeault did the better work. Ryabets is only 20 so she could be back in a few years in Paris.
• Nouchka Fontijn (Netherlands) def. Elzbieta Wojcik (Poland), 4:1: Fontijn, who took silver at Rio 2016, had to earn this one, rallying after being swept on the cards in the first round. The 25-year-old Wojcik gave this a very good go, made Fontijn earn it, but Fontijn did earn it, winning the second and rather dominating in the third, flipping the switch and forcing a standing eight.

Men’s featherweight

• Kurt Walker (Ireland) def. Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov (Uzbekistan), 4:1: Mirzakhalilov was the No. 1 seed, but he’s bounced here. The Ukrainian judge gave the Uzbek all three cards, which is absurd, maybe you can argue for him winning two of three — maybe — because this stuff is goofy to score, but there’s no question that Walker won the first round. Like, none. And I think he deserved the fight. All other judges had it 29-28 for Walker. He does leave this one with cuts on near both eyes, but what a win for the Irish fighter, a terrific showing, and made extra good because at many points, Mirzakhalilov showed exactly why he was the top seed and the favorite.
• Duke Ragan (United States) def. Serik Temirzhanov (Kazakhstan), 5:0: Like teammate Delante Johnson last night, Ragan looked better in this fight than he did his first. He was really sharp here, winning the first and third clearly for me, while Temirzhanov — a good fighter — had a solid argument in the second, and that’s about how the judges saw it. The Cincinnati fighter now matches up with Walker in the quarterfinals.
• Samuel Takyi (Ghana) def. Jean Carlos Caicedo (Ecuador), 5:0: The unanimous decision might make it seem a mismatch, but this fight was anything but a mismatch. Very competitive throughout. Takyi swept the first, Caicedo won four cards in the second to put it all on the line in the third, and then Takyi secured it by sweeping the third. The 20-year-old from Ghana might really be someone to watch here, not just for this competition but as a possible pro prospect down the line. Caicedo fought well but someone has to lose in every one of these fights. He was a real sportsman and gentleman after, too, despite obviously feeling he should have won.
• Cesar David Avila (Colombia) vs Everisto Mulenga (Zambia), 3:2: Good fight, close fight. Mulenga has some obvious talent, but Avila the tighter technician, more experienced, and I think that maturity in the style was what gave him the edge here. The Chinese judge saw it 3-0 for Mulenga which is pretty wild but, hey, Olympics, baby! Yeah! Avila moves on to face Takyi, another young and talented guy he’ll probably have to try and out-craft. Avila is also small at this weight but making that work for him so far, too.

Men’s light heavyweight

• Imam Khataev (Russian Olympic Committee) def. Bekzad Nurdauletov (Kazakhstan), 4:1: An upset here, as Nurdauletov was the top seed. Khataev beasted through the round of 32, and while he didn’t overwhelm the Kazakh that way, he did a lot of good work, proved he’s not just pure aggression, he’s a good, aggressive boxer. Nurdauletov won the second round for me, but the first and third were pretty clearly Khataev’s. A good, physical fight, closer to the pro style than a lot of what you’ll see at the Olympics. Khataev looks like a real medal threat.
• Gazimagomed Jalidov (Spain) def. Paulo Aokuso (Australia), 3:2: Competitive fight, but I think the scoring got it right. I thought Jalidov nicked the first and won the third, and Aokuso took the second for me. I don’t count, of course, but that’s about how the judges had it, too. The Kazakh judge had it 30-27 for Aokuso which I think is a bit goofy, but that’s why we have five judges now, I suppose. Jalidov will face Khataev in what could be a damn good fight.
• Keno Machado (Brazil) def. Daxiang Chen (China), 5:0: Chen got dropped in the first and then the fight was cut short in the second round on a cut to Chen. Sent to the cards, it had to go to Machado. He’s clearly got some thump and could be interesting moving forward.
• Ben Whittaker (Great Britain) def. Abdelrahman Salah (Egypt), 5:0: Whittaker clearly superior overall here, just a better boxer, Salah couldn’t do much of anything with him in there. The Egyptian did give the effort and really did try to find something big in the third, but that just left him more open, and Whittaker also isn’t afraid to tie up.