Croydon resident Joshua Buatsi defeated Uzbekistan’s Elshod Rasulov to reach the quarter-final of the light heavyweight boxing in Rio this afternoon.
The 23-year-old knocked down two-time quarterfinalist Rasulov twice with powerful shots in the third round to produce the stoppage in devastating fashion.
Buatsi picked up where he left off in his Olympic debut on Sunday, keeping his opponent on the back foot with quick combinations of punches, with two of three judges scoring in the Team GB man’s favour.
In the second round he carried on with the aggressive approach, connecting with a strong left hook and winning the round by a unanimous judge’s decision.
The south London boxer didn’t need the judges decision in the third round as he knocked down his opponent with a strong right hook, and finished him off with a rapid combination of punches.
Not sure what to say but I thank God and thank all of you. Quarter finals Sunday #greatbritain #olympics #rio2016 pic.twitter.com/kRhNKBR2Y0
— Joshua Buatsi (@boxingbuatsi) August 11, 2016
Prior to Rio 2016 Buatsi said: “I cannot put into words what it would mean to go on and win a medal, it would be a massive dream come true, I’m actually speechless thinking about the summer.”
Buatsi’s next step to realising this dream is a quarter-final clash against the experienced Abdelhafid Benchabla of Algeria, another three-time Olympian and Mediterranean Games silver medallist.
