Our representative Diego Lenzi has long made his goal clear: winning the gold medal in the super heavyweight category at Los Angeles 2028. However, what is already a formidable challenge could turn into an even greater one. News broke yesterday that the winner of the last two Olympic editions, Bakhodir Jalolov, doesn not rule out competing in the Olympics for the third consecutive time.
Despite having already fought 14 professional bouts—winning all of them by knockout—the Uzbek giant is still toying with the idea of adding another medal to his collection. His aim would be to join the ranks of Laszlo Papp, Teofilo Stevenson, and Felix Savon, the only boxers in history to have won three Olympic gold medals.
Jalolov first claimed the top prize at Tokyo 2020, defeating Satish Kumar, Frazer Clarke, and Richard Torrez Jr. on his way to the gold medal. He then repeated the feat at Paris 2024, overcoming Omar Mohamed Shiha, Teremoana Jnr, Nelvie Tiafack, and Ayoub Ghadfa.
When contacted by the renowned boxing publication Boxing News, the heavy-hitting southpaw had this to say about the possibility of competing in the Olympics for a third time:
“We’ll see what happens. I don’t know what to say, but when the time comes to make a decision, we will think about Los Angeles. I would want to become a three-time Olympic champion to make history, but my professional career is important for me now.”
Jalolov has yet to make a final decision, and it’s safe to say that the other super heavyweights hoping to claim the prestigious gold medal will be keeping their fingers crossed, wishing the Uzbek star chooses to focus entirely on his professional career.