U.S. Olympic Trials Report- Day 2, Evening Session

Michael Campbell @ ringside

22/08/2007

U.S. Olympic Trials Report- Day 2, Evening Session

Flyweight:  Rau’shee Warren over Qa’id Muhammad, RSC-2…  In one of the marquee matchups of the trials, 2004 U.S. Olympian Rau'shee Warren faced 2007 Pan American representative Qai'd Muhammad.  The fight between two men with an apostrophe in their first name began at a very quick pace which continued through its short duration.  Warren had a clear reach advantage over the more compact Muhammad.  A right hook from the defending champion southpaw swung Muhammad’s head and the referee immediately stepped in for an eight count midway through the opening round.  Another eight count was administered near the end of the round.  Then early in the second after the two exchanged punches, the referee again quickly stepped in for an eight count and then halted the contest.  Muhammad, clearly unhurt, protested to no avail.  This is the second quick stoppage win in two days for Warren.  Perhaps some USA boxing officials feel he’s our best hope for gold in Beijing…  Tomorrow Warren faces Aaron Alafa who defeated Bruno Escalante.

Featherweight:  Raynell Williams over Shemuel Pagan, 22-12…  Top seed Raynell Williams has all the tools for boxing success.  He’s lanky, with long arms, fights from outside, but ties up well when close, has good lateral movement, feints well and varies his punches.  Shemuel's Pagan’s plan to come straight forward played into Williams’s style perfectly and Williams cruised to victory.  Although he was methodical, when Pagan applied relentless pressure in the fourth round, he had his best success.

Featherweight:  Hylon Williams, Jr. over Rico Ramos, 18-12… Houstonian Hylon Williams had the hometown crowd support, but Rico Ramos was up to the task.  The fight was very close through the first two stanzas.  Williams resorted to some trickery, altering his stance a few times to try to confuse Ramos.  He also showed superior movement and ring command, while Ramos landed well when they stood toe to toe.  Early in the third round, Williams began to find his range and got into a good rhythm. He began to pull away, scoring and eluding very well.  By the fourth, he had confidence and started to let his hands go, landing combinations of punches on the inside. Ramos began to retreat backwards without an answer.  Hylon Williams faces Raynell Williams tomorrow evening in a rematch of both the 2007 Golden Gloves and U.S. Championships final matches.

Middleweight:  Daniel Jacobs over Dominic Wade, 18-10… Danny Jacobs and Dominic Wade resembled each other physically and opened the bout standing in place in front of one another sizing each other up.  Even their styles resemble each other’s and the action was very close through the first round.  The pride of Brownsville, Brooklyn has been in Houston for three weeks at Savannah’s gym so the atmosphere resembled that of a hometown fighter.  Awaiting the bell for round three, Jacobs looked to one of his “fans” for advice.  “Jab, jab, left hook!” shouted Evander Holyfield, sitting ringside next to Vernon Forrest. Wade tried to apply more pressure, but by the end of the round DJ had found his rhythm and was boxing and moving a lot more. The tight match was 12-9 going into the final stanza.  Wade couldn’t get the punches he needed as Jacobs circled the ring and landed some of his own to gain the victory.  

Middleweight:  Shawn Estrada over Fernando Guerrero, 20-12…  In a match-up of two power punchers, there was a lot of charging, tying up and grappling.  With no jabs in this one, it turned into a rough fight with each guy taking turns slugging and clinching. The winner was Shawn Estrada who matches upagainst Danny Jacobs tomorrow evening.
 
August 21, 2007 - Complete Evening Session Results

112 lbs: Rau'shee Warren, Cincinnati, Ohio, stopped Qa'id Muhammad, Atlantic City, N.J., RSC-2 (:31)
Aaron Alafa, Visalia, Calif., dec. Bruno Escalante, Waimanalo, Hawaii/NMU, 20-12
David Gaspar, Wilmington, N.C., dec. Timothy Ibarra, Brighton, Colo., 24-12
Juan Leija, Alvin, Texas, dec. John Franklin, Fort Carson, Colo., 33-20
125 lbs: Raynell Williams, Clveland, Ohio, dec. Shemuel Pagan, Brooklyn, N.Y., 22-12
Hylon Williams, Jr., Houston, Texas, dec. Rico Ramos, Los Angeles, Calif., 18-12
Troy Wohosky, Medford, Ore., won on walkover over Rosey Summerville, San Antonio, Texas, W/O
Duran Cafero, Helena, Mont., dec. Roert Rodriguez, Evans, Colo., 25-19
 
141 lbs: Dan O'Connor, Framingham, Mass., dec. Michael Dallas, Bakersfield, Calif., 24-11
Javier Molina, Commerce, Calif., dec. Jeremy Bryan, Clifton, N.J., 27-20
Danny Garcia, Philadelphia, Pa., stopped Samuel Martinez, Jacksonville, N.C., RSCO-2 (:16)
Andre Sherard, Milwaukee, Wis., dec. Brad Solomon, Douglasville, Ga., 12-12 (25-22)

165 lbs: Shawn Estrada, Downey, Calif. dec. Fernando Guerrero, Salisbury, Md., 20-12
Zach Hardrick, Fort Carson, Colo., dec. Angel Santos, Newark, N.J., 23-21
Daniel Jacobs, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Dominic Wade, Largo, Md., 18-10
Shawn Porter, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, stopped Jonathan Nelson, Little Rock, Ark., RSCO-3 (0:06)
 
201 lbs: Quantis Graves, Cut Off, La., dec. Adam Willett, Bellport, N.Y., 16-14
David Carey, Anchorage, Alaska, won on medical disqualification over James Zimmerman, San Jose, Calif.
Deontay Wilder, Tuscaloosa, Al., dec. Joe Guzman, Fort Carson, Colo., 26-14
Anthony Tettis, Ridgeway, Pa., dec. Aleco Lawton, Orlando, Fla., 28-8