Biyarslanov boxes his way into the next round in Rio
Canadian boxer Arthur Biyarslanov won his first match of Rio 2016 by unanimous decision on Thursday.
In his Olympic Games debut, Biyarslanov defeated Jordan’s Obada Alkasbeh 3-0. The 21-year-old won the first round 29-28 and followed that up with 30-27 and 29-28 victories in rounds two and three.
Biyarslanov, who is competing in the 64 kg light welterweight class, will face Germany’s Artem Harutyunyan in the round of 16 on Sunday. Harutyunyan, a 26-year-old German, was a bronze medallist at the 2013 European Boxing Championships.
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Canada’s Arthur Biyarslanov, right, fights Jordan’s Obada Alkasbeh during a men’s light welterweight 64-kg preliminary boxing match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Canadian southpaw was born in the Chechen region of Russia and is often called “The Chechen Wolf.” He and his family moved to Canada in 2005.
Biyarslanov has won three Canadian championships and, last summer, won gold at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, winning the welterweight title over Cuba’s Yasnier Toledo.
Biyarslanov is the only male on Canada’s Olympic boxing team. Ariane Fortin and Mandy Bujold will represent Canada on the women’s side.
Canada hasn’t won an Olympic boxing medal since David Defiagbon won silver in men’s heavyweight at Atlanta 1996.
