Men’s Olympic Boxing Preview, Odds and Picks – Welterweight, Lightweight and More

• Men’s Olympic Boxing kicks off this weekend in Tokyo and takes over for a couple of weeks
• Who is favored to earn a gold medal across several weight categories?
• Check out the fight odds, analysis, and predictions below

Men’s Olympic Boxing transpires between July 24th and August 8th. The Tokyo Games gathers together some of the most proficient pugilists on the planet to determine who stands above the rest.

There are a variety of kickoff times for the myriad of weight categories represented in this elite-level athletic contest.

Odds for the welterweight, lightweight, super heavyweight, and middleweight divisions among the male boxers can be found below.

Olympic Men’s Boxing Welterweight Odds

All odds as of July 23rd at DraftKings

McCormack Favored to Bring Home Gold for Britain

This is the weight class that looks to have the most pugilistic parity in terms of who gets that podium placement.

Roniel Iglesias captured a bronze medal in 2008, he garnered a gold medal in 2012 and aims to win big once more in 2021.

One of the intriguing things about this weight class is the division between the well-established older guard and some of the hungry young warriors like McCormack, Zhussupov, and Baturov. Men who have a bit of a chip on their shoulder as they’re hungry to prove themselves on that worldwide stage.

I do favor McCormack here and think he will overcome whatever challenges he faces. He will ultimately pass them with flying colors if past efforts are any indication.

I’m picking McCormack to eventually bow his head and have a gold medal draped over top thereafter.

Pick: Pat McCormack (-110)

Olympic Men’s Boxing Lightweight Odds

Can Anyone Take Down Cruz?

The 25-year-old Andy Cruz is a big standout here, and many have high hopes for the winner of the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.

Keyshawn Davis is certainly familiar with Cruz, who fell to him in the 2019 Worlds as well as the Pan Am games.

Sofiane Oumiha takes on a bit of a darkhorse role here. Considering the oddsmakers’ perceptions of his chances coupled with the fact he has been a stalwart in the amateur scene that captured silver in 2016.

Oumiha and Davis have both captured those silvers but I think in terms of gold, you have to go with Cruz here.

Pick: Andy Cruz (+110 )

Olympic Men’s Boxing Super Heavyweight Odds

Jalolov Heavily Favored at Super Heavyweight

Bakhodir Jalolov has also been able to compete as a professional fighter while continuing to compete within these high-level amateur showcases.

Jalolov is also familiarized with others in this bracket as he has halted Richard Torrez in a 2019 bout.

Dainier Pero established himself as the 2016 Youth World Champion and has a lot of potential.

Kamshybek Kunkabayev has captured silver at the last two world championships and has earned that runner-up status across five significant tournaments.

Jalalov is the warrior that I favor most to have gold-adorned across his neck in this weight division.

Pick: Bakhodir Jalolov (-200)

Olympic Men’s Boxing Middleweight Odds

Men’s Olympic Boxing Middleweight Best Bet

In this field, there lies an individual who many pundits and fans of the sweet science cite as the pound-for-pound best amateur boxer in the world today. This man is known as Oleksandr Khyzhniak, who has understandably emerged as the odds on favorite.

Khyzhniak didn’t take part in the 2019 Worlds but garnered gold at the European and Worlds in 2017. Someone who did take part in the 2019 Worlds is Gleb Bakshi who ended up winning the finals that year.

Khyzhniak and Bakshi, the two odds on favorites to win gold, have actually tested skills against one another quite recently.

Troy Isley is one of the competitors in the Olympics this year that has competed as a professional but is still allowed to vie for a significant amateur accomplishment here.

In the end, Khyzhniak gets it done and performs to a degree that validates the hype coming from several sweet science aficionados.

Pick: Oleksandr Khyzhniak (-175)