(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Olympians from both the United States and Italy showcased the skills that earned them berths in the world’s largest sporting event at the second USA vs. Italy Dual on Friday at the Eldorado Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nev. All four Olympians, three from Italy and one from the United States claimed victories at the dual competition with the visiting squad winning eight of the 12 bouts on the night..
Two-time Olympian and 2007 World Champion Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) returned to international action at the event and despite a move up to the featherweight division for the competition, Warren won a unanimous 3-0 victory over Italy’s Alessio DiSavino. The bout was forced to paper due to an issue with the computer scoring system in the first two bouts of the event. American female boxers went 2-0 at the USA vs. Italy dual with lightweight Mikaela Mayer (West Hills, Calif.) winning a convincing 22-10 decision over Romina Marenda of Italy. Mayer trailed by a 7-6 margin halfway through the bout, but turned up the heat in the second two rounds, closing the contest with seven points in the final two minutes to take the victory.
Once again, U.S. boxers emerged victorious in the welterweight and middleweight bouts with Eduardo Alicea (Cleveland, Ohio) and Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pa.) earning victories in the 152 pound and 165 pound contests respectively. In welterweight action, Alicea ruled from the start, winning a 21-11 final decision over Diego DiLuisa of Italy. Hart suffered a slow start in his bout with Italy’s Luca Podda, falling behind by a 3-0 margin after the opening round. Yet, he enjoyed two straight seven-point rounds to close the bout and won a 14-4 final decision over Podda.
A trio of U.S. boxers looked to upset the visiting Olympic medalists, but all of them fell short of their goal. Hometown boxer Santos Vasquez (Sun Valley, Nev.) dropped a 16-6 decision to 2008 Flyweight Olympic bronze medalist Vincenzo Piccardi in his international debut. The two heavyweights kept their bouts close, but couldn’t pull out the upset victories. Javonta Charles (Memphis, Tenn.) trailed by only two points as the bout moved into the final round of his bout with Olympic silver medalist Clemente Russo but the Italian finished strong, more than doubling his point total over the final three minutes to win an 8-3 final decision. In super heavyweight action, reigning Olympic gold medalist Roberto Cammarelle of Italy won an 18-10 decision over Lenroy Thompson (Lenexa, Kansas).
Two reigning national champions suffered losses with Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) dropping the dual opener to Alex Ferramosca in flyweight action and light heavyweight Robert Brant (Invergrove, Minn.) losing a close 9-6 decision to Italy’s Simone Fiori. Both the lightweight and light welterweight contests suffered an early end with Adrian Martinez (Milwaukee, Wis.) retiring in the second round of his lightweight bout with Italy’s Domenico Valentino and Davide Cencianelli of Italy winning a second round stoppage over Jamel Herring (Jacksonville, N.C.) in the light welterweight contest.
Coaches Pat Barry (Las Vegas, Nev.), Steve Blea (Denver, Colo.) and Rodrigo Mosquera (San Bernadino, Calif.) led the U.S. team into action in Reno. Miguel Rosario (New York, N.Y.) and Tom Cleary (Mason, Ohio) served as AIBA officials with John Santore (Pittsburgh, Pa.) working as the computer technician. Former Reno resident Robert Lee (Lubbock, Texas) joined the delegation as the Team Manager for both the Harvey and Reno duals.
The Reno event was the second of two USA vs. Italy duals in the past week with the first taking place in Harvey, Ill., on March 27. A portion of the proceeds from the USA vs. Italy dual in Reno benefitted the University of Nevada, Reno boxing program through the Jimmy Olivas Foundation.
USA vs. Italy Dual II Results
112 lbs/51 kg: Alex Ferramosca, ITA, def. Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo./USA
112 lbs/51 kg: Vincenzo Piccardi, ITA, dec. Santos Vasquez, Sun Valley, Nev./USA., 16-6
125 lbs/57 kg: Rau’shee Warren, Cincinnati, Ohio/USA dec. Alessio DiSavino, ITA, 3-0 (paper scoring)
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, West Hills, Calif./USA dec. Romina Marendza, ITA, 22-10
132 lbs/60 kg: Domenico Valentino, ITA, won on retirement over Adrian Martinez, Milwaukee, Wis./USA, RET-3 (2:32)
141 lbs/64 kg: Davide Cencianelli, ITA stopped Jamel Herring, Jacksonville, N.C./USA, RSC-3
152 lbs/69 kg: Eduardo Alicea, Cleveland, Ohio/USA dec. Diego DiLuisa, ITA, 21-11
165 lbs/75 kg: Jesse Hart, Philadelphia, Pa./USA dec. Luca Podda, ITA, 14-4
178 lbs/81 kg: Simone Fiori, ITA, dec. Robert Brant, Invergrove, Minn./USA, 9-6
201 lbs/91 kg: Clemente Russo, ITA, dec. Javonta Charles, Memphis, Tenn./USA, 8-3
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Roberto Cammarelle, ITA, dec. Lenroy Thompson, Lenexa, Kansas/USA, 18-10
Team USA Looks to Rebound from a Tough Opener at the Second USA vs. Italy Dual on April 2 in Reno, Nevada
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Team USA suffered a tough USA vs. Italy dual opener on Saturday at the Harvey Boxing Club in Harvey, Ill. Italy claimed victories in nine of the 12 bouts in the international dual event with American boxers Tiara Brown (Columbus, Ga.), Alex Martin (Joilet, Ill.), Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio) all earning hard-fought victories in the first dual competition.
Despite the tough opening contest, the U.S. team will look to rebound when the second dual competition is contested on Friday in Reno, Nevada on Friday. In Reno, Team USA will be headlined by 2007 World Champion and two-time Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio). Warren can become the first U.S. boxer in history to compete in three Olympic Games if he earns a berth on the 2012 Olympic Team. Warren is joined by a strong squad of U.S. competitors, , including four reigning national champions: flyweight Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.), featherweight Jesus Magdaleno (Las Vegas, Nev.), welterweight Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas), and light heavyweight Robert Brant (Oakdale, Minn.). Light flyweight Santos Vasquez (Sun Valley, Nev.), lightweight Adrian Martinez (Milwaukee, Wis.), light welterweight Jamel Herring (Jacksonville, N.C.), middleweight Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pa./NMU), heavyweight Javonta Charles (Memphis, Tenn.) and super heavyweight Lenroy Thompson (Lenexa, Kansas) and female lightweight Mikaela Mayer (West Hills, Calif.)
Coaches Pat Barry (Las Vegas, Nev.), Steve Blea (Denver, Colo.) and Stephen Blea (San Bernadino, Calif.) will head up the U.S. squad boxing in Reno. Miguel Rosario (New York, N.Y.) and Tom Cleary (Mason, Ohio) will work as AIBA officials with John Santore (Pittsburgh, Pa.) working as the computer technician.
The same Italian squad which competed in Harvey will face off with Team USA in Reno. The Italian team is led by 2008 Olympic gold medalist Roberto Cammarelle, 2008 Olympic heavyweight silver medalist and 2007 World Champion Clemente Russo and 2008 Olympic flyweight bronze medalist Vincenzo Picardi. The trio will be joined by flyweight Alex Ferramosca, bantamweight Vittorio Parrinello, featherweight Alessio Di Savino, lightweight Domenico Valentino, light welterweight Davide Cenciarelli, welterweight Diego Di Luisa, middleweight Luca Podda, light heavyweight Fiori Simone, and female lightweight Romina Marenda.
The United States participates in international dual events throughout the year both in the United States and abroad in an effort to provide consistent international competition for the athletes.
March 27 USA vs. Italy Dual Results
132 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Columbus, Ga./USA dec. Romina Marenda, ITA, 3-0
112 lbs/51 kg: Vincenza Picardi, ITA dec. Miguel Cartagena, Philadelphia, Pa./USA, 3-0
112 lbs/51 kg: Alex Ferramosca, ITA, dec. Adan Ortiz, Sterling, Ill./USA, 3-0
119 lbs/54 kg: Vittorio Parrinello, ITA, dec. Luis Rosa, East Haven, Conn./USA, 3-0
125 lbs/57 kg: Alessio DiSavino, ITA, dec. Ernesto Garza, Saginaw, Mich./USA, 2-1
132 lbs/60 kg: Domenico Valentino, ITA, dec. Duran Caferro, Helena, Mont./USA, 19-6
141 lbs/64 kg: Davide Cencianelli, ITA, dec. Zeddie Adams, Cleveland, Ohio/USA, 18-15
152 lbs/69 kg: Alex Martin, Joilet, Ill./USA, vs. dec. Diego DiLuisa, ITA, 17-8
165 lbs/75 kg: Terrell Gausha, Cleveland, Ohio/USA dec. Luca Podda, ITA, 18-16
178 lbs/81 kg: Simone Fiori, ITA, dec. Siju Shabazz, Las Cruces, N.M./USA, 17-15
201 lbs/91 kg: Clemente Russo, ITA, dec. Jordan Shimmell, Hudsonville, Mich./USA, 9-2
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Roberto Cammarelle, ITA dec. Javier Torres, Commerce, Calif./USA, 20-2
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). It is responsible for the selection and management of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and for the governance and oversight of USA Boxing’s national organization of 38,000 members, 1,400 individual boxing clubs, and 1,600 sanctioned events annually.