Olympic Boxing: Andrade Leads U.S. Team to Next Round

By Jim Everett August 16th, 2008 All Boxing Results

On Thursday, August 14, 2008 welterweight Gold Medal favorite Demetrius Andrade opened the next round of elimination bouts for the U.S. team competing in the Round of 16 against thirty-two year old Andrey Balanov of Russia, who Andrade had previously lost to as a young seventeen year old at the 2005 World Cup.

Following Andrade into the Round of 16 elimination bouts are featherweight Raynell Williams, who faces Khedafi Djelkhir of France later today, middleweight Shawn Estrada and light flyweight Luis Yanez compete tomorrow and Deontay Wilder moves into the Quarter finals on Sunday due to the smaller field in the heavyweight division.

A quick recap of the rest of the U.S. boxing team starts before the first punch was even thrown. Bantamweight Gold Medal favorite Gary Russell, Jr collapsed from dehydration on the Thursday before the weigh-in, trying to shed one last pound and was not able to compete in the Olympic Games.

Light welterweight Javier Molina was unable to cut off the ring as he chased the faster Boris Georgiev of Bulgaria to a 14-1 loss. Lightweight Sadam Ali abandoned his boxing skills and lost to Georgian Popescu of Romania by a score of 20-5.

One of the most crushing blows to the U.S. team was when two-time Olympian and Gold Medal favorite Rau’shee Warren thought he was ahead on points during the last round and did not throw any punches against Korea ’s Oksung Lee.

With only four seconds left in the bout, Warren noticed his coach telling him to throw punches, but it was too late, losing the chance to fulfill his Olympic dream by a score of 9-8. More...

Olympic Boxing: U.S. Boxers Finish Opening Round Strong

By Jim Everett August 15th, 2008 All Boxing Results

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

The U.S. boxing team had a strong finish on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, ending the opening round bouts with both their heavyweight and light flyweight fighters moving into the next round of competition.

The first victory came from the raw and inexperienced hands of 6’9” Deontay Wilder from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who has less than three years experience in boxing. Wilder was fortunate to get a great draw facing 6’2” Abdelaziz Touilbini from Algeria .

During the first round, Touilbini scored a point early in the bout while Wilder was tentative, throwing only one punch at a time. Wilder was clearly tight and was down 2-0 at the end of the round. More...

U.S. Olympic Boxing Spotlight: Light Flyweight – Luis Yanez

By Jim Everett August 12th, 2008 All Boxing Interviews

Last month when SaddoBoxing got the opportunity to meet with the U.S. Olympic boxing team at a workout session at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York, I have to admit I did a little research on the various fighters to get myself more familiar with the team. I, of course, knew the East Coast amateurs pretty well, but needed to brush up on the rest of the team.

After reading up on all the athletes, one of the more publicized media highlights was that Luis Yanez had been dismissed from the team. The particular workout session I attended was just after he had been dismissed from the team and before his return, so he was not available for an interview, not to mention unavailable to sign a boxing glove the rest of the team signed, but I digress.

The background story was that Yanez left the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs and did not return. He was originally leaving to attend his high school graduation and never returned, breaking off all communication with his coaches. Yanez was kicked off the team on July 1 after missing three weeks of mandatory training and refusing to respond to a letter from USA Boxing that insisted he return or risk expulsion.

Yanez was reinstated two weeks later with an agreement that overturned the decision to dismiss him from the team. Yanez released the following statement, “I want to thank USA Boxing for its understanding and sense of forgiveness. I sincerely apologize to head coach [Dan] Campbell , to my teammates, and to USA Boxing for not only breaking the rules of the Athlete Code of Conduct, but also for my lack of candor regarding the circumstances of my absence from the Resident Program.”

In the agreement, Yanez had to meet specific stipulations including a financial penalty for his absence. Although he was reluctant to specify a reason for his actions, he later stated he had been caring for his sister and her four children while she was undergoing medical treatment. More...

Meet the 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team

By Jim Everett August 7th, 2008 All Boxing Articles

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

will feature the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Nine boxers will proudly represent the United States in hopes of bringing home the gold medal.

Luis Yanez: Duncanville, Texas
Light Flyweight 106 lbs

Rau’shee Warren: Cincinnati, Ohio
Flyweight 112 lbs

Gary Russell, Jr: Capitol Heights, Maryland
Bantamweight 119 lbs

Raynell Williams: Cleveland, Ohio
Featherweight 125 lbs

Sadam Ali: Brooklyn, NY
Lightweight 132 lbs

Javier Molina: Commerce, California
Light Welterweight 141 lbs

Demetrius Andrade: Providence, Rhode Island
Welterweight 152 lbs

Shawn Estrada: East Los Angeles, California
Middleweight 165 lbs

Deontay Wilder: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Heavyweight 201 lbs More...