(MIANYANG CITY, CHINA (November 16, 2005) – Team USA suffered three tough losses on Wednesday afternoon at the Mianyang Sports Gymansium in Mianyang City, China, but 17-year-old Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.) and super heavyweight Mike Wilson (Central Point, Ore.) both recorded their first World Championships wins..
Russell took the ring first for his bantamweight match-up with Detelin Stefanov Dalakliev of Bulgaria. The 17-year-old waited through three days of competition before stepping in the ring for his first bout, but slowly went to work in his first match-up. Russell took a 7-4 lead after the first round and attempted to peck away at his tough Bulgarian opponent but held only a 10-8 lead at the midway point. The bout remained close in the third round as Russell picked his shots and held an 18-15 lead as the bell sounded for the final round. He managed to hold on to his advantage over the last two minutes and won a 25-21 decision over Dalakiev. “He was right there for my left hand, but he was somewhat awkward. His style made it difficult for me to throw certain shots. I won and now I just have to worry about tomorrow,” Russell said.
Light welterweight Karl Dargan (Philadelphia, Pa.) was the next U.S. boxer to step through the ropes and he was looking for his second World Championships win in his bout with Serik Sapyiev of Kazakhstan. Despite a painfully sprained elbow, Dargan rode his speed and strong movement to a 7-4 lead after the first round. He continued his smooth boxing in the second round and built a 15-10 lead, but as the round ended, the referee took a point from Dargan to pull the bout to 15-12. Despite a strong effort in the third round, Sapyiev came out aggressively and Dargan was unable to react as he would have liked, falling behind 25-21 at the end of three. He boxed valiantly in the final round but couldn’t overcome his deficit, losing a 37-26 decision.
Middleweight Edwin Rodriguez (Worcester, Mass.) hoped to rebound for the U.S. team in his contest with Darren Sutherland of Ireland, but he struggled in his second bout of the event. Rodriguez fell behind early in the bout and despite strong output, trailed10-4 after the first round. He continued to give up points in the second round and despite his best efforts, Sutherland built up a 28-8 advantage to cause a mandatory stoppage of the bout on the 20-point discrepancy rule.
William Rosinsky (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took the ring for the fourth United States bout of the night but he had an added challenge in his light heavyweight match-up with Lei Yu Ping of China. Rosinsky battled a raucous hometown crowd in addition to his opponent, but managed to grab the early lead in the bout. However despite Rosinsky’s early surge, Ping held a 5-4 lead when the first round ended. Rosinsky came out in the second round looking to take control of the bout but fell further behind his charging opponent and trailed 16-8 at the end of two rounds. The crowd’s volume and frenzy grew with each blow and despite Rosinsky’s efforts to stem the growing tide, he trailed 25-9 after three rounds. Rosinsky attempted a comeback in the final round but fell short, dropping a 31-13 decision to Ping.
After watching three straight teammates fall short in their bouts, super heavyweight Mike Wilson looked to change the momentum in his super heavyweight bout with Amanissi Mohamed of Morocco. Wilson got off to a slow start but kept the bout close in the first round and trailed by a slim 6-5 margin at the end of two minutes. He began to fall further behind in the second stanza, but kept pushing forward despite an 11-7 deficit at the halfway point in the bout. After going down by a four point margin, the second half of the contest belonged to Wilson. He turned the corner in the third round, throwing beautiful and effective combinations and going hard to the body to grab a 19-16 advantage with one round remaining. He continued his strong, aggressive boxing in the fourth round to win a 27-20 decision and advance on to the next round of action.
The U.S. team now has six boxers remaining in the 2005 World Championships with flyweight Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio); bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.); featherweight Mark Davis (Cleveland, Ohio); welterweight Boyd Melson (Fort Carson, Colo.); heavyweight Adam Willett (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and super heavyweight Mike Wilson (Central Point, Ore.) all competing on Thursday.