In another unanimous victory, this time over Ecuador’s Carlos Pilataxi, American Nico Hernandez not only earns a place in the semifinals, he also will stand on the Olympic podium as a medalist on August 14 during the light flyweight medal ceremony.
Winning in the quarterfinals of any weightclass tournament guarentees a boxer at least a bronze medal. There is no repechage matchup for the losing boxers in the semifinal rounds: both are awarded a bronze medal.
Either way, Hernandez is in contention for any of the three medals. A win on Friday over Uzbekistan’s Hassanboy Dusmatov would place Hernandez in the finals and in reach of the gold medal. The United States have not won a gold medal in this weight class since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
This will also be the United States first medal of any kind in this weight class since the 1988 Seoul Games, when Michael Carabajal won silver.