Well-regarded Uzbek set for big test.
In the past, the most dominant amateur forces have historically been nations such as Cuba and the Soviet Union. The former produced the likes of Félix Savón and Teofilo Stevenson, perhaps the two greatest amateur boxers of all time.
That distinction of “amateur” is an important one, by the way. As despite Savón and Stevenson’s monumental success in the unpaid ranks, they never did turn professional.
The Soviet amateur program included names such as Vyacheslav Lemeshev and Igor Vysotsky, who was actually twice Teofilo Stevenson’s conqueror. The Soviet style of boxing lives on in today’s practitioners such as Oleksandr Usyk and Dmitry Bivol.
And while Cuba had its share of success in the 2024 Summer Olympics, it was a different nation that would take home the majority of the gold.
This nation was Uzbekistan, the country and former Soviet republic in Central Asia.
The members of the Uzbek boxing team who won gold medals were Hasanboy Dusmatov (flyweight), Abdumalik Khalokov (featherweight), Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev (welterweight), Lazizbek Mullojonov (heavyweight), and Bakhodir Jalolov (super-heavyweight).
Of those five, four had already competed professionally, with some further along than others.
In recent years, those such as former super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov, former featherweight title challenger Otabek Kholmatov, undefeated welterweight contender Shakhram Giyasov, and highly-regarded super-middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev have flown the Uzbekistan flag in the professional code.
Now the aforementioned Hasanboy Dusmatov may be getting his chance to add his name to that list.
Rumours are circulating that Dusmatov (7-0, 5 KOs) will be fighting Jonathan González (29-4-1 (1), 14 KOs), the WBA interim flyweight champion.
González is a former two-time flyweight title challenger and former super-strawweight world champion. Most recently, he pulled off an upset to defeat unbeaten Puerto Rican Yankiel Rivera.
Dusmatov-González is slated for an April card in Bishkek, Kyrgzstan. Other fights rumoured for the show are Willibaldo Garcia Perez vs. Andrew Moloney for the IBF super-flyweight title, a featherweight clash between Mirco Cuello and Tomoki Kameda, and the already-confirmed showdown between David Jimenez and Ayumu Sano.
Jonathan Bomba Gonzalez will defend his interim WBA Flyweight Title against Hasanboy Dusmatov on April 17-19 card in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
4 world title fights for @3150Fight.
Willibaldo Perez-@AndrewMoloney
Mirco Cuello-@TomokiKameda
David Jimenez-@Ayumu_LUSH_39 pic.twitter.com/GCMzB1Bdlj
— OLE (@AJArietaPH) March 11, 2026
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