21.08.07 -(HOUSTON, TEXAS) — Day two of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—Boxing began this afternoon at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Athletes in the light flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and super heavyweight competed for the second day in a row, in the hopes of keeping their Olympic dreams alive.
The light flyweight division began with a bout between Diego Hurtado (Reno, Nev.) and Daniel Lozano (Bowling Green, Fla.). It was a low scoring first round with each boxer earning only one point. However, both came alive in the second round and Hurtado had a 7-5 lead as the third began. Lozano chipped away at Hurtado’s lead and was down by two at the end of the third, but Hurtado prevailed and won by a score of 26-23.
Also in the light flyweight division, Pan American gold medallist Luis Yanez (Duncanville, Texas) won his second bout of the tournament defeating Jerail Singleton (St. Louis, Mo.). “So far it’s going well, like I expected,” Yanez said. “There is tough competition, of course. I expect them to come after me and they are. This is the biggest tournament of my opponent’s lives as well.”
Bantamweights Alexis Ramos (Fort Carson, Colo.) and Jessy Cruz (Miami, Fla.) met this afternoon in an exciting bout. The action was slow in the first two rounds with Cruz earning a slight 3-1 lead going into the third round. Ramos was no match for Cruz in the last two rounds. Cruz scored a combined 23 points to Ramos’ four and went on to win 26-5.
Mason Menard (Rayne, La.) faced off against Jerry Belmontes (Corpus Christi, Texas) in the lightweight division on Tuesday. Belmontes took a 7-3 lead in the first and never looked back. He more than doubled his score in the second round and led 22-11 going into the third. Belmontes went on to defeat Menard by a 31-14 margin. “I feel great,” Belmontes said. “This is what I’ve been training for, really hard, three hours a day, five days a week. He was coming in and I picked my shots. That was my game plan and he fell into my game.”
Keith Thurman (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Boyd Melson (Fort Carson, Colo.) were paired in the welterweight division. Thurman enjoyed a 3-1 edge over Melson at the end of the first, but exploded in the second scoring seven points and holding Melson to just one. Melson’s corner made the decision to retire at the end of the second round, giving Thurman the victory. “I feel like Boyd Melson went out there with a game plan from the way he started,” Thurman said. “I tried to box and use my range. He’s one of the few boxers in this weight division who I have a range advantage over.”
Competing in the light heavyweight division was Siju Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.) and Yathomas Riley (San Diego, Calif.). The bout was tied at two at the end of the first round, but in the second and third, Shabazz gained a 17-13 lead. However the fourth round was all Riley who landed his punches and went on to win 27-24. “It was a slow start,” Riley said. “He’s a pressure guy. He controlled the bout in the first three rounds, and I took over in the fourth.”
Super heavyweights Nate James (Malden, Mass./NMU) and William Moore (Fort Carson, Colo.) met in the last bout of the night. James earned a quick 6-2 lead at the end of the first but Moore chipped away, pulling to within one at the end of both the second and third rounds. James ended up securing a 26-23 victory. “My coach, Al Mitchell, and I recorded him and studied him all night,” James said. “We knew what he was weak at, and we knew what he was strong at. I stayed with the basic punches.”
This evening’s session will being at 6 p.m. at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Bouts in the flyweight, featherweight, light welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions will be contested in both winners and challengers bracket action.
Tuesday’s Afternoon Results
Afternoon Semifinal Bouts — August 21
106 lbs/48 kg: Luis Yanez, Duncanville, Texas, stopped Jerail Singleton, St. Louis, Mo., RSC-3 (1:18)
106 lbs/48 kg: Diego Hurtado, Reno, Nev., dec. Daniel Lozano, Bowling Green, Fla., 26-23
106 lbs/48 kg: Roberto Ceron, Doraville, Ga., won on walkover over Gabino Saenez, Indio, Calif., W/O
106 lbs/48 kg: Malcom Franklin, Rialto, Calif., dec. Keola McKee, Wailuku, Hawaii/NMU, 27-10
119 lbs/54 kg: Roberto Marroquin, Dallas, Texas, dec. Sergio Perales, Los Fresnos, Texas, 26-25
119 lbs/54 kg: Ronny Rios, Santa Ana, Calif., dec. Sammy Dipace, Las Cruces, N.M., 41-27
119 lbs/54 kg: Gary Russell, Jr., Capitol Heights, Md., dec. David Clark, San Diego, Calif./NMU, 25-7
119 lbs/54 kg: Jessy Cruz, Miami, Fla., dec. Alexis Ramos, Fort Carson, Colo., 26-5
132 lbs/60 kg: Sadam Ali, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Miguel Gonzalez, Celveland, Ohio, 23-13
132 lbs/60 kg: Jerry Belmontes, Corpus Christi, Texas, dec. Mason Menard, Rayne, La., 31-14
132 lbs/60 kg: Antton Slaughter, Columbus, Ohio, won on walkover over James Villa, Fort Carson, Colo., W/O
132 lbs/60 kg: Terence Crawford, Omaha, Neb., dec. Diego Magdaleno, Las Cruces, N.M., 13-7
152 lbs/69 kg: Keith Thurman, St. Petersburg, Fla., stopped Boyd Melson, Fort Carson, Colo., RET-2 (0:00)
152 lbs/69 kg: Mahlon Kerwick, Fort Carson, Colo., won on walkover over Domonique Dolton, Detroit, Mich., W/O
152 lbs/69 kg: Demetrius Andrade, Providence, R.I., stopped Charles Hatley, Dallas, Texas, RSCO-3 (1:22)
152 lbs/69 kg: Anthony Campbell, Covington, Tenn., stopped David Lopez, Parma, Id., RSCO-3 (1:04)
178 lbs/81 kg: Christopher Downs, Fort Carson, Colo., stopped Cymone Kearney, Oakland, Calif., RSC-1 (1:15)
178 lbs/81 kg: Angel Concepcion, East Orange, N.J., dec. Jeffrey Spencer, Fort Carson, Colo., 12-6
178 lbs/81 kg: Yathomas Riley, San Diego, Calif., dec. Siju Shabazz, Las Cruces, N.M., 27-24
178 lbs/81 kg: DeRae Crane, Davenport, Iowa/NMU, stopped Nicholas Swan, Great Falls, Mont., RSCH-4 (1:59)
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Kimdo Bethel, Albany, N.Y., dec. Mike Wilson, Central Point, Ore., 15-14
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Lenroy Thompson, Port St. Lucie, Fla., stopped Josh Parsons, Barboursville, W.V., RSC-1 (1:18)
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Michael Hunter, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. Andrew Shepherd, Fort Carson, Colo., 18-4
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Nate James, Malden, Mass./NMU, dec. William Moore, Fort Carson, Colo., 26-23