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Post by themagi on Aug 8, 2016 22:09:28 GMT 1
More misery for Russia. Their seeded light flyweight Vasilii Egorov has just been dumped out after a very spirited scrap with Nico Hernandez of the USA. Hernandez looks like he may make a tidy pro, if he decides to go that route. USA are having a very promising games so far (which I would go as far as to write that most of that is down to their reasonably new head coach, Billy Walsh, whom USA Boxing headhunted from Ireland's High Performance Unit, who warned not to expect miracles at these games but that his work should be judged a year or two down the line but it looks like his team are already reacting to his methods. This is in complete contrast to Team USA's showing four years ago in London where no male boxers made it to the medal rounds), whilst Russia have had three boxers eliminated before the quarter finals.
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Post by themagi on Aug 9, 2016 0:26:44 GMT 1
Tough day for Great Britain. Out of their four boxers competing, three were eliminated with only the impressive Josh Kelly advancing. GB were handed a tough draw on the whole and Galal Yafai, who was outmanoeuvred by the canny Johanys Argilagos, Anthony Fowler, who was banking on a good run at these games in order to nail down a big money move into the pros, was hurt, knocked down and outclassed by the lithe Kazakh Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and finally Lawrence Okolie was floored and outpointed by Erislandy Savon, the nephew of the imperious three time Gold medal winner, Felix Savon.
Today's session (It's just turned midnight as I'm writing this) sees Lazaro Alvarez, another of the prodigious talents on the Cuban production line, make his first appearance in Rio as he faces Italy's Carmine Tommasone, one of two pro boxers left in the games. The other standout bout of the day sees Albert Selimov, formerly of Russia but now repping Azerbaijan versus Ireland's David Oliver Joyce.
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Post by themagi on Aug 9, 2016 15:20:41 GMT 1
Only one professional boxer left in the Olympics and we haven't reached the quarter finals yet. Carmine Tommasone, the Italian who was the first pro to qualify for the games has just been outpointed by Lazaro Alvarez, who barely moved through the gears to bag the unanimous decision.
All the misguided articles from boxing journalists who barely cover the amateur scene that reacted with outrage and were predicting bloodshed and horror for the regular AIBA boxers if they dared to mix it with the pros have proved wildly inaccurate. Only Amnat Ruenroeng, the former IBF flyweight champ, is left to fly the flag for the fighters who operate without a vest. His Last 16 bout is later today.
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Post by themagi on Aug 9, 2016 15:39:00 GMT 1
A fine performance from USA's lightweight Carlos Balderas in his lightweight Final 16 battle with Japan's Daisuke Nerimatsu. Balderas never stopped throwing and with real quality on the way to a unanimous judges call. A truly exceptional inside fighter, with fast hands, doubling and tripling up the uppercut and a furious body assault, he put on one of the best showings of the whole tournament so far. Nerimatsu played his part, never wilting and always looking to fire back in a contest that really would not have looked out of place in the professional ranks. Balderas moves on to a potentially scintillating clash with Cuba's Lazaro Alvarez.
The difference in Olympic style boxing over the last three games is really stark. No longer a rather pointless game of tag where body work just did not score at all, which went hand in hand with a real lack of pro stars coming from AIBA tournament boxing. Now we have a sport that is a lot closer to it's professional cousin.
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Post by themagi on Aug 10, 2016 13:27:43 GMT 1
All three professional boxers who qualified for the Olympics are out of their respective tournaments, none of them getting as far as the quarter finals, let alone the medal stages.
Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand was the last to fall, the former world flyweight champ as recently as this year, admittedly operating well above his natural weight class (this being to combat the demands of making weight prior to every contest at the Olympics, as opposed to the process in the pro ranks of making weight just once, thus making it easier to cut excess amounts of weight), took a hammering from the much longer and larger framed Sofiane Oumiha of France. Ruenroeng took two standing counts in round two and then when the battering resumed in the third the official waved things off.
Russia took another "L" prior to the medal rounds, Adlan Abdurashidov being the latest to fall. With all this talk of doping regimes and such like coupled with an under performing boxing team , it gives one cause to wonder.
Team GB have got some work to do if their goal of three medals, regardless of colour, is to be realized. Welshman Joe Cordina, the man Matchroom promotions bigwig Eddie Hearn picked out as his star of the team, was eliminated yesterday. But so far Muhammad Ali, Qais Ashfaq, Joe Joyce, Nicola Adams and Savannah Marshall have all yet to compete, so my doommongering may be misplaced.
USA saw their first exit in last night's session. Charles Conwell, with one eye on the pro ranks for a while now, was cast aside by India's K.Vidas by unanimous call.
Ireland's Michael O'Reilly, who failed a drug test on the eve of the games, has been officially removed from the middleweight tournament. According to press reports, he's likely to blame the old tainted supplement as the reason he came up hot.
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Post by themagi on Aug 10, 2016 21:36:08 GMT 1
Nico Hernandez has guaranteed USA it's first boxing medal for the men's team since Beijing 2008 by virtue of his win over Ecuador's plucky C.Quipo Pilataxi. He moves onto the semi finals to determine whether he nabs a bronze, silver or gold.
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Post by themagi on Aug 12, 2016 16:47:23 GMT 1
First medals of the games have been decided. Nico Hernandez ends the USA's male team medal drought by earning a Bronze after suffering a semi final defeat at the fists of Uzbekistan's swift southpaw Hasanboy Dusmatov, who has guaranteed his country's second Olympic boxing gold medal since they gained independence in 1991.
Dusmatov will face off with Colombia's Yuberden Martinez to decide the Gold and Silver medal positions at Light Flyweight after Martinez' upset win over Johanys Argilagos of Cuba. Argilagos has also earned a bronze medal.
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Post by themagi on Aug 12, 2016 17:03:17 GMT 1
Carlos Balderas, the USA's lightweight representative who has been one of the stand outs of the games, will go home empty handed after falling at the quarter final stage against Cuba's butter smooth Lazaro Alvarez. Balderas seemed to lose heart after all three judges went against him after a pulsating first round which Balderas did seem to get the best of.
After that Alvarez eased into things a bit more with the power shots coming from the American but the Cuban's know every inch of the ring and his experience told as things went on. Balderas has nothing to be ashamed of, indeed, if he had competed at the London Olympics he would probably be feted as the USA's finest boxer on the team.
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Post by themagi on Aug 12, 2016 17:27:32 GMT 1
Robson Conceicao has guaranteed the host nation's first boxing medal by way of his unanimous decision win over Uzbekistan's Hurshis Tojibaev. To progress further however, he must defeat Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba on Sunday in a bout that may well have the best atmosphere of any so far in Rio.
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Post by themagi on Aug 14, 2016 19:07:27 GMT 1
First weight division has been officially completed. Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan has defeated Colombia's Yuberden Martinez by unanimous decision to win the gold medal at light fly. Dusmatov was excellent throughout the tournament showing an imperious defense, superb footwork and subtle side to side movement in all of his contests. Martinez also did exceedingly well to earn silver, his threshing machine style made him a favourite with the crowd and really, he came from absolutely nowhere. Well done, that man.
Light Flyweight
GOLD: Hasan Boydusmatov (Uzbekistan)
SILVER: Yurbeden Martinez (Colombia)
BRONZE: Johanys Argilagos (Cuba)/ Nico Hernandez (USA)
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Post by themagi on Aug 15, 2016 23:58:58 GMT 1
*For what it's worth, I thought Vassily Levit was robbed blind in the final. I gave him two of the three rounds and the other could have arguably gone his way, also.
Heavyweight:
GOLD: Evgeny Tischenko (Russia)
SILVER: Vassily Levit (Kazhakstan)
BRONZE: Erislandy Savon (Cuba)/ Rustam Tulaganov (Uzbekistan)
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Post by themagi on Aug 16, 2016 23:42:43 GMT 1
Lightweight:
GOLD: Robson Conceicao (Brazil)
SILVER: Sofiane Oumiha (France)
BRONZE: Lazaro Alvarez (Cuba)/ Otgondolai Dorjnyambuu (Mongolia)
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Post by h on Aug 17, 2016 0:05:03 GMT 1
I Mongolian names.
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Post by themagi on Aug 17, 2016 21:01:34 GMT 1
Welterweight:
GOLD: Daniyar Yelussinov (Kazhakstan)
SILVER: Shakram Giyasov (Uzbekistan)
BRONZE: Souleymanye Cissokho (France)/ Mohammed Rabii (Morocco)
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Post by themagi on Aug 18, 2016 19:41:20 GMT 1
Light Heavyweight:
GOLD: Julio La Cruz (Cuba)
SILVER: Adilbek Niyamzebtov (Kazhakstan)
BRONZE: Matthieu Bauderlique (France)/ Joshua Buatsi (Great Britain)
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