Travis "GW Hope" Kauffman Wins the Gold!

By Matthew Goldstein

05/12/2005

Travis "GW Hope" Kauffman Wins the Gold!

Superheavyweight Travis Kauffman won the Gold Medal in the Dual Tournament vs. Azerbaijan against Vugar Alakbarov, a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics.  Normally an orthodox fighter, Travis fought all four rounds southpaw because of an ailing right wrist.  Knowing Vugar was a southpaw, Kauffman thought the best way to beat the bronze medalist was to use the right hand as a decoy for the straight left.  The strategy worked beautifully as Travis outpointed Vugar in every round.  Coming off of a KO win over Greg Myers and UD over the 2000 Bronze medalist, one could only wonder when the young Kauffman will take his talents to the pro level.  Overall, Team USA won 3 out of a possible 10 gold medals in the tournament.