First six finalists decided
2007 USA Boxing Olympic Trials
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX
Afternoooon Session
Selected Fights report:
Light Flyweight:  Luis Yanez over Diego Hurtado, 26-6…Luis Yanez continued his romp through domestic competition and earned a spot in Saturday’s finals.  The Pan Am gold medalist landed the bigger punches while Diego Hurtado attempted to use tight defense and counterpunching to gain advantage.  A close fight early saw Yanez pull ahead midway and cruise to victory. Yanez now gets two days off while Hurtado must defeat the winner of tomorrow’s match between Malcolm Franklin and Robert Ceron in order to face Yanez on Saturday and possibly Sunday.
Bantamweight:  Roberto Marroquin over Ronny Rios, 30-27… Roberto Marroquin had a nice crowd support for his bout versus Ronny Rios, creating an exciting atmosphere.  The fighters obliged the fans and began the bout at a fast pace.  It was a back and forth bout with both fighters landing multiple punches in their exchanges.  Marroquin wanted to mix it up more, whereas Rios tried to land punches and withdraw before getting countered. Marroquin had a slight edge early, but Rios controlled the 2nd round.  Entering the final stanza, the score was tied and they lined up in front of one another and began wailing punches.  Marroquin scored a slight edge and moves on to the final.  Rios awaits tomorrow’s winner between Gary Russell and Sergio Perales.
Lightweight:  Sadam Ali over Jerry Belmontes, 32-23… Jerry Belmontes defeated Ali 13-12 in the semi-finals of the U.S. Championships and Saddam Ali made the most of his chance to avenge the loss.  The action began at a very cautious pace with Ali keeping his gloves up high and both awaiting the other’s movements.  By the second round Ali was landing right hands at will and almost always landing the first punch in their exchanges.  Belmontes turned up the aggression in the fourth, trying to make close in on Ali’s lead, but the NY kid held tough and pulled out the victory.  Ali moves to Saturday’s final while Belmontes awaits the winner of Terrence Crawford versus Miguel Gonzalez.
Middleweight:  Demetrius Andrade over Keith Thurman, 27-13…  Pan Am games silver medalist Demetrius Andrade displayed his experience in defeating the hard punching Keith Thurman.  Thurman had blown away his early competition with strong hooks and body attack.  Andrade respected this and came out in a tight defense and utilized ducking and diving to avoid getting hit.  Making Thurman miss big haymakers took a lot of steam out of the big hitter who tired late in the fight as Andrade cruised to a comfortable lead and victory.  On Friday, Thurman will face tomorrow’s winner between Charles Hatley and Boyd Melson for the right to fight Andrade in the finals.
Light Heavyweight:  Christopher Downs over Yathomas Riley, 11-9…  The bout began with the classic feeling out process as neither did much early in the fight. Christopher Downs dealt with Yathomas Riley’s attack by measuring his jab and circling the perimeter of the ring.  Riley has a big punch that he’s used to score some impressive stoppages and Downs dealt with it by tying him up whenever they got close.
August 22 Afternoon Results
106 lbs/winners bracket: Yanez, Duncanville, Texas, dec. Diego Hurtado, Reno, Nev., 26-6
challengers bracket: Malcom Franklin, Rialto, Calif., dec. Daniel Lozano, Bowling Green, Fla., 23-20
challengers bracket: Roberto Ceron, Doraville, Ga., dec. Jerail Singleton, St. Louis, Mo., 18-15
119 lbs/winners bracket: Roberto Marroquin, Dallas, Texas, dec. Ronny Rios, Santa Ana, Calif., 30-27
challengers bracket: Garry Russell, Jr., Capitol Heights, Md. won on walkover over Sammy Dipace, Las Cruces, N.M., W/O
Sergio Perales, Los Fresnos, Texas, dec. Jessy Cruz, Miami, Fla., 21-6
132 lbs/winners bracket: Sadam Ali, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Jerry Belmontes, Corpus Christi, Texas, 32-23
challengers bracket: Terence Crawford, Omaha, Neb., dec. Mason Menard, Rayne, La., 33-12
Miguel Gonzalez, Celveland, Ohio, dec. Antton Slaughter, Columbus, Ohio, 24-10
152 lbs/winners bracket: Demetrius Andrade, Providence, R.I., dec. Keith Thurman, St. Petersburg, Fla., 27-13
challengers bracket: Charles Hatley, Dallas, Texas, stopped Mahlon Kerwick, Fort Carson, Colo., RSC-4 (1:30)
Boyd Melson, Fort Carson, Colo., dec. Anthony Campbell,
Covington, Tenn., 13-13 (28-27)
178 lbs/winners bracket: Christopher Downs, Fort Carson, Colo. dec. Yathomas Riley, San Diego, Calif., 11-9
challengers bracket: Angel Concepcion, East Orange, N.J., dec. Siju Shabazz, Las Cruces, N.M., 25-11
Cymone Kearney, Oakland, Calif. stopped DeRae Crane, Davenport, Iowa/NMU, RSCH-1 (1:24)
201+ lbs/winners bracket: Michael Hunter, Las Vegas, Nev. dec. Kimdo Bethel, Albany, N.Y., 16-6
challengers bracket: Andrew Shepherd, Fort Carson, Colo. dec. Lenroy Thompson, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 8-8 (18-17)
Mike Wilson, Central Point, Ore. dec. Nate James, Malden, Mass./NMU, 20-17
