After years of confusion surrounding Olympic boxing, it’s all systems go in Paris 2024 as of this weekend.
An International Olympic Committee taskforce were forced to step in and ‘save’ the sport from being chucked out of the Games, and there is still a concern that boxing may not feature at Los Angeles 2028 if a new international federation isn’t selected...
But that’s not our concern for the next couple of weeks. Paris will host men’s and women’s boxing across 13 weight categories, and there are six British hopefuls looking to medal in the city of love!
The male boxers will contest matches in these seven weight classes:
- 51 kg
- 57 kg
- 63.5kg
- 71 kg
- 80 kg
- 92 kg
- +92 kg
The female boxers will contest matches in these six weight classes:
- 50 kg
- 54 kg
- 57 kg
- 60 kg
- 66 kg
- 75 kg
The boxing competitions are scheduled to run between 27th July and 10th August 2024 from inside the Arena Paris Nord and the Roland Garros Stadium.
So… seconds out, and let’s take a look at some of the hopefuls from Team GB, plus the top boxing betting offers from the best betting sites.
Team GB Boxers
We look closer at Team GB’s boxers and their chances of landing gold at Paris 2024.
Delicious Orie – Men’s +92kg
With a name like “Delicious” you’ve got to be pretty handy in the ring, right?
Well, the 27-year-old who was born in Russia to a Nigerian father and a Russian mother has medalled for GB before, scooping gold at the 2023 European Games, as well as Commonwealth gold for England at the 2022 Games in Birmingham.
Now based in Wolverhampton, Orie is drawing lots of comparisons to a certain Anthony Joshua – not only his in-ring style, but the fact he started boxing relatively late at 18 – with both sharing the ring together recently for sparring sessions.
Orie is the second seed in the +92kg weight class but is in with some tricky operators, most notably fourth seed Bakhodir Jalolov who is in his third Olympic Games having won gold at 2020 and losing in the quarter-finals of 2016.
Jalolov has reached double figures in wins against the rest of the field here and Kamshybek Kunkabayev of Kazakhstan is the only man to record a victory over him. Jalolov operates in the pro game as well and holds 14 KOs in his 14 victories…
Orie sits at the foot of the draw and opens his campaign against Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan.
Favourite in the Men’s +92kg division: Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan) – 1/6 with Paddy Power
Patrick Brown – Men’s 92kg
Patrick Brown holds Team GB’s biggest chance of medalling in Paris.
The 24-year-old Mancunian was a late-bloomer into the Olympic ranks, but in idolising Rocky Hatton since a young age will be shooting for the very top of the sport just like the “Hitman”.
Brown’s power is no joke in the 92kg division. His teammate, Delicious Orie, had his tooth knocked out by Brown in sparring, and the relative novice will be leaning on this power to blast through a competitive weight class.
It’s impossible to look too far past Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz in this division. He’s a four-time Olympian, a two-time gold medalist (2016, 2020) and he holds positive records over the likely competitors for the medals in Paris.
The good news? Brown will avoid La Cruz until the final. The bad news? He is likely to come across the second-favourite for the gold, Italy’s Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine in the last eight.
Favourite in the Men’s 92kg division: Julio Cesar La Cruz (Cuba) – 11/8 with Paddy Power
Lewis Richardson – Men’s 71kg
After the traditional middleweight class was scrapped for these Games, Colchester’s Lewis Richardson had to drop four kgs to be eligible for the 71kg weight class – not an easy feat considering his tall, lengthy frame.
He left it late as a last-chance qualifier in June, and this reflects in his 25/1 price to win the gold in Paris.
But Richardson has received a Bye into the last 16 where he will square off against Vakhid Abbasov of Serbia – not someone he has faced in the amateurs before.
Kazakhstan’s Aslanbek Shymbergenov leads the betting at 71kg as a 7/4 FAV with BetFred, and is the oldest (only 30), most experienced and probably tallest man in the weight class. He’s fresh off a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in Tashkent and opens up against Zeyad Ishaish from Jordan, a man he holds a 2-0 record over.
Favourite in the Men’s 71kg division: Aslanbek Shymbergenov (Kazakhstan) – 7/4 with Betfred
Chantelle Reid – Women’s 75kg
After suffering for years with a diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, Chantelle Reid is back in the ring and fighting for Team GB in a fairytale story.
The 26-year-old couldn’t compete between the years 2016-2022, but since returning has qualified for the greatest stage of all having beaten Aziza Zokirova in Italy earlier this year at the qualifiers.
She’s not expected to challenge the medals in Paris; her weight class is deep with talent, headed up by Tammara Thibeault of Canada who won gold at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Reid is up against Khadija El-Mardi of Morocco in the opening round – a serial gold medalist and 12/1 with PaddyPower to win gold as a 33-year-old.
Favourite in the Women’s 75kg division: Tammara Thibeault (Canada) – 6/5 with Paddy Power
Rosie Eccles – Women’s 66kg
Four years after missing out on selection for Tokyo 2020(1) and Rosie Eccles is back for a stab at the 66kg crown. The Welsh fighter is a gold medalist from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the light-middleweight division, and has plenty of experience medaling at European Games and European Championships.
A bronze medal at the 2023 European Games in Krakow-Malopolska confirmed her place, and in a weight class where there is no stand-out favourite, Eccles will fancy her chances of medaling in Paris.
Eccles fights Aneta Rygielska of Poland first, who she lost to at the EUBC European women’s Championships quarter-final in 2022.
Favourite in the Women’s 66kg division: Imane Khelif (Algeria) – 9/2 with Paddy Power
Charley Davison – Women’s 54kg
Charley Davison competed at Tokyo 2020(1) and is therefore the only returning Olympian on Team GB’s boxing squad.
Davison lost to China’s Yuang Chang in Japan but is in the opposite half of the draw to the Chinese fighter this time around as “Supermum” looks to bounce back and charge towards the medals.
Davison won bronze at last year’s European Games – the only medal of her international career – and will open up the boxing tournament for Team GB in Paris, fighting on Saturday night against Turkey’s Hatice Akbas.
Stanimira Petrova is the favourite and top seed in the 54kg division, having won five gold medals for Bulgaria across World Championships, European Championships and European Games.
Favourite in the Women’s 54kg division: Stanimira Petrova (Bulgaria) – 11/5 with Betfair
Top Boxing Betting Offers & Free Bets
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