By Jake Donovan

Earlier in the week, Hasanboy Dusmatov beamed in the honor of becoming the first boxing Gold medalist of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He now enjoys the distinction of becoming the first of the Class of 2016 to officially ink a promotional pact in the pro ranks.

The 23-year old light flyweight from Uzbekistan signed with legendary South African promotional outfit Golden Gloves, company CEO Rodeny Berman announced on Friday.

“You watch this kid and can’t believe how good he is,” stated Berman, who was forced to expand his search beyond his home region after South Africa failed qualify a single boxer for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“(Undefeated, unified middleweight titlist) Gennady Golovkin charted the course for Eastern Europeans becoming superstars in the west. We intend to do the same with Hasanboy, who is also charismatic and just a tremendous boxer. He isn’t amateur in the traditional sense, but a completely rounded boxer.”

Dusmatov’s road to Gold included an impressive points win over USA light flyweight hopeful Nico Hernandez in the semi-final round. The feat was one of four unanimous decision victories for the Uzbeki boxer, who became just the second boxer ever from his nation to capture Olympic gold. The only other occasion came from his boxing idol, Mohammed Abdullaev who claimed top honors at light welterweight in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“Thirty million people were waiting for this moment,” Dusmatov stated after living his dream on August 14. “Uzbekistan, I love you!”

He loved his country enough to want to remain in the amateur ranks for another four years in potential efforts to repeat in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Somewhere along the way, there was a change of heart, with his pro debut now targeted for December in South Africa.

According to a statement release through the Golden Gloves press office, Berman plans to showcase him first at Emperors Palace in December, followed by three outings in 2017.

It is not yet known at which weight he will compete. The expectation is that he will land in a loaded flyweight division that includes reigning titlists Juan Francisco Estrada, Johnriel Casimero and Kazuto Ioka, as well as – for the moment – lineal champion and reigning pound-for-pound king Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.

Dusmatov entering that mix is of less concern at the moment as is where he will train ahead of showcase appearances in South Africa.

“We’ve worked with Kazakh fighters in the past, so this isn’t entirely new,” insists Berman.

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox_v2