Duke Ragan has the opportunity to end a gold medal drought for men's Olympic boxing that dates back to 2004 when he fights Albert Batyrgaziev of the Russian Olympic Committee in the early hours of Thursday morning. Ragan has the opportunity to be the first American man to win gold in boxing since multi-time world champion Andre Ward at 2004 Games in Athens, Greece.
Ragan turned pro one year ago this month, fighting under the Top Rank banner where he has gone 4-0 with one knockout. In the opening round of 32 fight, he struggled to handle France's Samuel Kistohurry before edging out a 3:2 decision in an ugly fight. Ragan then was able to cruise past Serik Temirzhanov of Kazakhstan and edged out Ireland's Kurt Walker in a tough fight to advance to the medal rounds.
Duked it out! 🥊@Duke1ragan is heading to the final bout to box for gold. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/xRsDAMNCti
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 3, 2021
A trip to the gold medal fight was secured when Ragan beat Samuel Takyi of Ghana 4:1 in the semifinals, making him the first -- but not only -- American man to fight for gold in the 2020 Olympics. Here's how you can keep up with his match on Thursday. Reminder, each match in the Olympics are three rounds.
Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news.
How to watch Ragan vs. Batyrgaziev
Date: Thursday, Aug. 5
Location: Kokugikan Arena -- Tokyo, Japan
Start time: 2:35 a.m. ET
Stream live: NBCOlympics.com
