Two American boxers will compete on the opening day of the 2016 Olympic Games on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lightweight Carlos Balderas (Santa Maria, Calif.) and light flyweight Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas) will compete in the morning and evening sessions respectively at the Riocentro Pavilion 6.
Balderas will be the first American boxer to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in a lightweight contest with Kazakhstan’s Berik Abdrahkhmanov. He is expected to take the ring at approximately 12:15 p.m. local time (11:15 a.m. ET).
Hernandez will box in the evening session on Saturday in a light flyweight showdown with Italy’s Manuel Cappai at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET).
Boxing competition will be a piece of the NBC Sports Network coverage on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET. Each bout will be shown live via live stream at www.NBCOlympics.com and Saturday’s stream can be viewed here.
No U.S. boxers will compete on Sunday at the Olympic Games.
Yesterday’s release inaccurately stated that Charles Conwell will compete on Monday evening. He will compete on Tuesday evening.
For full tournament brackets and schedule information, click here.
Saturday U.S. Bouts
108 lbs/male: Nico Hernandez, Wichita, Kansas vs. Manuel Cappai, ITA at 5:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET)
132 lbs/male: Carlos Balderas, Santa Maria, Calif./USA vs. Berik Abdrahkhmanov, KAZ at 12:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m. ET)
