The Leganés fighter, who will dispute his quarterfinal fight on Tuesday, is the last hope of Spanish boxing
The luck of Spanish boxing now rests on the gloves of Gabriel, Gabi, Escobar, a boy from Leganés who at the age of 25 will play the quarterfinal fight against Kazakh Saken Bibossinov on Tuesday. After the eliminations of José Quiles, Gazi Jalidov and Enmanuel Reyes, Escobar is the last cartridge left to Spanish boxing to win a medal from the Tokyo Olympics. The Spanish and the Kazakh will meet on Tuesday at 10:48 (Spanish time) is the formidable Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, the spiritual headquarters of Japanese sumo that at these Games has lent its imposing scenery to the boxing tournament. Whoever advances to the semifinals will have already secured a medal, since since the 1956 Melbourne Games, there has been no fight for third place in Olympic boxing and the two defeated semifinalists receive two bronzes.
Escobar, the reigning European flyweight champion (48 to 52 kilos), has been training with opponents above his category to avoid suffering from keeping the weight down and to face tough opponents. So will his opponent on Tuesday, Kazakh Saken Bibossinov, a bronze medalist in the World Championship. To stand in the quarterfinals, Bibossinov has defeated the Puerto Rican Rivera Figuerda, in a close fight, and with greater clarity the Frenchman Billal Bennama. Gabi Escobar entered this round thanks to his victories over Argentine Quiroga and Bulgarian Daniel Asenov.
The Spanish fighter, who started boxing at age 14 following his brother’s example, will face the biggest challenge of his sporting career on Tuesday. Only three rounds, nine minutes, separate him from an Olympic medal.
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