Split the difference: Russian champion boxer Svetlana Soluyanova edged out by US star Virginia Fuchs in Tokyo Olympics scrap

Blonde bombshell Svetlana Soluyanova, who made little secret of her taste for making music during quarantine and qualification for the Games, was edged out by high-profile American Virginia Fuchs in Tokyo.

European flyweight champion in 2018, Soluyanova faced Fuchs, a former USA Boxing Nationals champion who took bronze at the World Championships in 2018, in the round of 32.

Fuchs had battled OCD to travel to the spectacle, and she won on three of the five cards, with the other two giving Dimitrovgrad-born Soluyanova a one-point victory.

Fuchs was warned for pushing her 5ft 9in opponent in the secound round, and Soluyanova repeatedly hit the canvas in the third round.

Speaking ahead of her bow at the tournament, Fuchs described her attendance at the strictly limited opening ceremony as an "amazing experience".

"Fight time now," she added. "My Olympic debut Sunday... against Russia. My cannons are loaded."

The 33-year-old Fuchs faces Stoyka Krasteva next, a Bulgarian who earned a split decision win of her own by edging past Thi Tam Nguyen.