(MIANYANG CITY, CHINA) – Day three of the 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships commenced in Mianyang City, China on Tuesday afternoon with three U.S. boxers scheduled to compete. The United States team opened with a bang as 2004 Olympic Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) took the ring for the first time at the World Championships. Warren took on Ukraine’s Georgiy Chygaev in the flyweight contest and Warren’s domination began at the opening bell.. Warren flew out of the corner and began pelting Chygaev with his trademark blazing speed. Chygaev pulled to within 5-3 in the first round but that was the last point the Ukrainian would score. The 18-year-old former Olympian turned it up a notch and unleashed spectacular combinations, overwhelming his overmatched opponent. Warren took a 19-3 lead into the second round of action, but he never took his foot of the gas. He continued his onslaught before reaching the 23-3 mark, causing a mandatory stoppage of the bout on the 20-point rule early in the second round.
“I feel good, that’s just one step toward the gold medal but I’m not going to be overconfident until I get in the medal round. I’m not trying to be overconfident but I’m looking forward to getting to that medal round. I work hard, I’ve got good coaches in my corner so I’m hoping to get there,” Warren said. “As I started putting more pressure on him, body shots, head blows, moving up and down, points started adding up so I figured I had the fight in my hands.”
Welterweight Boyd Melson (Fort Carson, Colo.) added a second straight stoppage in his bout with Jean Jovette Nicole Jude. Melson was sharp from the opening bell, using clean, intelligent boxing, accurate punching and crisp movement to grab an 8-2 lead after the first two minutes of boxing. Yet it was the second round where he truly shined, throwing quick, effective flurries and piling up points in punches over his opponent. Melson scored fourteen points in the second round to move out to a 22-9 advantage at the midway point of the bout. With his teammates urging him on, Melson began working for the stoppage as the opening bell of the third round sounded. He quickly began landing strong shots in the opening seconds of the bout and never let up before taking a 33-13 lead at the :32 mark of the third round, causing a mandatory stoppage. The 20-point advantage gave Melson the stoppage victory and moved him on to the next round where he will face Angkhan Chomphu Phuang of Thailand.
“I felt very good, he was strong. He threw a body shot in the first round that took all the gas out but I don’t think he knew that. I saw with his first jab that he threw, he was very slow and right off immediately I knew,” Melson said. “He was strong but he wasn’t strong enough to really hurt me.”
Melson has enjoyed the company of his father who traveled all the way to China to support his son. After his son’s second win, Melson’s father relished the opportunity for his son to not only compete at the World Championships but with a talented team. “Its important for me to know that he has an opportunity to work with the young men of the caliber that I have seen here and that he’s formed bonds of friendship,” First Sergeant Retired Nolan Melson, Jr. said. “To know that my child is associated in that fellowship at this level is extremely gratifying to me.”
Middleweight Edwin Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) continued the United States winning streak in his middleweight contest with Emil Dankov Krastev of Bulgaria. Rodriguez took the early lead in the bout, riding a steady first round to a 6-3 lead. His opponent made a comeback in the second round, but Rodriguez managed to hold on to a 10-9 advantage at the midway point. He bounced back with a strong third round, using movement to throw off his opponent and landing strong shots in return to take an 18-12 lead into the final round. Although Rodriguez held a strong lead, he engaged in a slugfest in the fourth round but got the best of the exchange to win a 25-16 decision.
“I felt really good, what kept pushing me was that I didn’t want to be the only one losing today. I wanted to keep that winning streak going,” Rodriguez said. “I knew the guy was a couple inches taller than me so I wanted to work inside and when I went up in the scores, outbox him and make him lean in to me.”
Bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.); light heavyweight William Rosinsky (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and super heavyweight Mike Wilson (Central Point, Ore.) will all take the ring for the first time on Wednesday. Light welterweight Karl Dargan (Philadelphia, Pa.) and heavyweight Adam Willett (Bay Shore, N.Y.) will shoot for their second win on Wednesday. They will all look to continue the U.S. winning streak, which is currently at five straight bouts.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).