Light welterweight Jamel Herring (Coram, N.Y.) and light heavyweight Marcus Browne (Staten Island, N.Y.) are now one victory away from clinching berths in London following a win in Sunday’s action at the Americas Qualifier tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Yet light flyweight Santos Vasquez (Reno, Nev.) didn’t fare as well in his first round contest..
Herring stepped through the ropes for the second time in two days in Rio de Janeiro and enjoyed another key victory. He faced off with Lester Martinez of Guatemala in asecond round contest midway through the evening session. The first round was a close battle between the two boxers with Herring taking a slim 5-4 lead after one. Yet the U.S. Marine began to pull away in the second round, moving out to a 10-6 advantage with one round remaining. Herring continued to extend his lead over the final three minutes to win a 15-9 decision and a berth in the quarterfinal round. He will face Yoelvis Hernandez of Venezuela on Tuesday evening with the winner earning a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Once again, Browne made a loud entrance to a major international tournament with a quick, first round stoppage. It was Trinidad and Tobago’s Declan Calliste facing Browne’s onslaught in Brazil and the American boxer wasted no time getting started in his tournament opener. In under two minutes of action, Browne send Calliste to the canvas with a thundering left hand and gave him a second standing eight count, causing the referee to stop the bout at the 1:17 mark of the opening round. Browne will return to the ring on Tuesday in a qualifying bout with the Dominican Republic’s Felix Valera.
Vasquez took on Puerto Rico’s Jantomy Ortiz in his first bout of the tournament. The American boxer fell behind early in the bout, facing a 5-2 deficit after the first round. Ortiz pushed his lead to a 10-5 margin after the second and Vasquez couldn’t overcome his deficit. He lost a 15-8 final decision to eliminate him from the tournament.
The final three American boxers will open action on Monday with lightweight Jose Ramirez (Avenal, Calif.), middleweight Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio) and super heavyweight Dominic Breazale (Alhambra, Calif.) all boxing on the third day of competition. Gausha will take the ring in the afternoon, facing Nicaragua’s Oliver Ballestro while Ramirez and Breazale box in the late session, taking on Trinidad and Tobago’s Michael Alexander and Venezuela’s Jose Payares respectively.
To follow live scoring of the bouts, go to http://88.85.4.8/results-daily-off_E.html.
U.S. Results
108 lbs: Jantomy Ortiz, PUR, dec. Santos Vasquez, Reno, Nev./USA, 25-8
141 lbs: Jamel Herring, Coram, N.Y./USA dec. Lester Martinez, GUA, 15-9
178 lbs: Marcus Browne, Staten Island, N.Y./USA stopped Declan Calliste, TRI, RSCH-1