Middleweight (75kg / 165 lbs)
The first round of the Olympic middleweight tourney is over and we’ve already seen a rematch of a 2007 Chicago World Championship quarterfinal bout. Bronze winner Bakhtiyar Artayev from Kazakhstan began his difficult Beijing path by defeating Said Rachidi from Morroco again. The match wasn’t as high scoring as Bakhtiyar’s 19-11 defeat of Said in Chicago but the 8-2 score was just as decisive.

Next up for Artayev is 2007 gold medalist Russian Matvey Korobov who looked very good in defeating Sweden’s Terbunja Naim 18-6.

At Chicago Matvey won every match by 20+ points except for a quarterfinal win over China’s Wang Jianzheng. The score of that match: 22-3.

Korobov won’t have to face Wang in Beijing. Despite a raucous home crowd Wang dropped his match 15-6 to 2007’s other bronze winner the Ukraine’s Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

The winner of the Korobov-Artayev could face American Shawn Estrada should he defeat Great Britain’s James Degale.

The only fighter likely to challenge the 26-year old Russian is Cuban Emilio Correa who waltzed through his first round match scoring a 17-4 win over Australia’s Jarrod Fletcher. The Cuban and the Russian stand on opposite sides of the bracket and wouldn’t meet until the final.

(NOTE All Times are Eastern U.S. time)
Round of 16
Saturday, August 16
First Session 3:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. EST
Second Session 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. EST

Quarterfinals
Wednesday, August 20
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. EST

Semifinals
Friday, August 22
3:00 a.m. – 3:30 a.m. EST

Finals
Saturday, August 23
8:45 a.m. EST

Image Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Olympic Boxing Draw: Middleweights

The U.S. Boxing team got off to a good start in the ring as American middleweight Shawn Estrada coasted to a 10-2 victory over Argentina’s Ezequiel Maderna. Estrada jumped out to a solid 3-0 first round lead which he extended to a commanding 7-1 edge after the second.

Estrada will face Great Britain’s James Degale in the round of 32. Should he defeat Degale the face gets increasingly difficult for the Los Angeles native. His prospective quarterfinal opponent would be the winner of the Matvey Korobov vs. Bakhtiyar Artayev bout. Russia’s Korobov is the defending world champion while Artayev won a bronze at the same competition.

Estrada’s win was a refreshing bit of good news for Team Turmoil which was rocked with even more drama when bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. was found unconscious in his room due to dehydration from attempting to lose too much weight too quickly. Russell’s lack of fitness is yet another strike against coach Dan Campbell and evidence of the team’s mismanagement. Let’s hope the boxer’s can focus on their task ahead and replicate Estrada’s early success.

Post from: EveryJoe

Shawn Estrada Opens Olympics With Win For United States Boxing

Yesterday afternoon East Los Angeles middleweight Shawn Estrada became the ninth member of the American boxing team to qualify for the Olympic Games. He did it in determined fashion at the second American qualifiers in Guatemala City battling his Brazilian opponent Yamaguchi Florentine tooth and nail knowing that glory lay at the end of a positive four-round decision.

The match started tentatively with the two nervous fighters ably gaging each others strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the second the score was a sluggish 1-1. Then, with the flick of a switch the action picked up. The fighters traded blows and the third round ended with Estrada holding a precarious 7-6 lead.

When the final round began Estrada decided that he was going to the Olympics. His elusiveness amped, his accuracy honed, and his focus entered a zone. He outscored Florentine 5-1 in the championship round and jumped into sincere celebration. Print the ticket, start the plane, he’s going to China. Estrada will face Argentine Ezequiel Maderna for the tourney’s ceremonial gold medal.

Estrada’s super heavyweight teammate Michael Hunter II was not so fortunate. He lost his semifinal match 10-3 to Venezuelan Jose Payares. The 20-year-old Hunter was said to have been fighting illness during his stay in Guatemala City.

Hunter’s loss was especially heartbreaking since it marked his third loss in a match that would have sent him to the Olympic Games. In addition to yesterday’s match he dropped a 22-15 decision in the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships quarterfinals (top four went to Beijing) and a 9-1 final at the First Americas Qualifier (champion goes to Beijing). At the First Qualifier the super heavyweight class was the only division where only the champ made it; in all other weight classes both the first and second place finishers qualified.

We wish Michael the best and are sure he has a bright future ahead of him. It might not be too long before he mimics and the eclipses his father’s boxing successes – he fought Brian Nielsen for the IBC heavyweight title in 1996 – and fights AND WINS! a belt of his own.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Shawn Estrada Books Ticket to Beijing

Image details: Olympic Test Event – 2007 International Boxing Invitational served by picapp.com

Sunday was a good day for the United States Olympic Boxing Team. Both Shawn Estrada and Michael Hunter II won their bouts in the Guatemala City second Americas Olympic Qualifiers tourney while the rest of the team marched to a decisive 9-2 dual meet victory against the Puerto Rican amateur team in Philadelphia.

Shawn Estrada won his second match of the tourney with a controlling 13-2 against Colombia’s Alexander Brand. Estrada rode to an early 8-2 lead through the second round and held his adversary scoreless the rest of the way. Estrada will face Brazilian Yamaguchi Florentino on Tuesday; that fight’s winner will go to Beijing.

Super heavyweight Michael Hunter II pulled out a gutsy 4-3 win late Sunday night against Canadian Dilier Bence. He will face Venezuelan Jose Payares on Tuesday for the Beijing berth. At last month’s first America’s Qualifiers in Trinidad both Hunter and Payares lost to eventual champion Cuban Alfonso Acea. Hunter fell in the finals 9-1 while Payares lost in the semis 9-3.

Four already-qualified future Olympians competed in the Philly meet, all four recording dominating victories. Light flyweight Luis Yanez, flyweight Rau’shee Warren, and light welterweight Javier Molina all had their bouts stopped in the third round because they had opened twenty-point leads on their opponent.

Lightweight Sadam Ali went the full four but managed his own 20 point spread defeating his adversary 40-20 with the help of a boisterous Liacouras Center crowd.

On Wednesday jabandgrabble.com will list and provide profile links for the entire Olympic squad as well as update you on Hunter and Estrada’s quest. Hopefully we will have good news.

Post from: EveryJoe

United States Olympic Boxing Team Has Good Sunday

The Philadelphia event is being held at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. Tickets range from $17 to $67. There are both group and Temple student discounts. The card features a bout in all eleven weight classes and is headlined by future American stars including the flashy lightweight Sadam “World Kid” Ali, 2004 Olympian and current flyweight world champ Rau’shee Warren, and Pan Am Games gold medalist light flyweight Luis Yanez.

The event is also being advertised as streaming live online at www.gofightlive.tv

2,000 miles south of Philly middleweight Shawn Estrada, light heavyweight Christopher Downs, and super heavyweight Michael Hunter II are fighting to join their teammates in Beijing. Sadly, Guatemala City has not been kind to Christopher Downs. The 6′4″ 33-year-old U.S. Army sergeant first class lost on Friday 5-3 to Ecuador’s Cesar Castillo Torres and been knocked out of the tourney.

Downs was battling to become the oldest ever U.S. boxing Olympian but in the end a slipped disk in his back and a severely twisted ankle hindered his ability to compete against the young amateurs. Downs, an Iraq War veteran, had impressed early at last month’s first America qualifiers but his Beijing quest was not to be.

Estrada kept his dream alive with an opening bout win on Friday and Hunter begins his journey tomorrow.

Post from: EveryJoe

United States Olympic Boxing Team Battles This Weekend