Olympic Boxing: Unstoppable Cubans Win Three More Today In Beijing

ByAlejandro Tostado

The Cuban boxing team continued their domineering ways today in Beijing’s Worker’s Gymnasium as they continue to steamroll anyone who gets in their monumental quest for Olympic Gold.

Just three days after his 20th birthday, lanky light welterweight Roniel Iglesias continued to shatter the myth that the Cuban team would be hurt by defections earlier this year as the kid from Pinar Del Rio defeated Russia’s Gennady Kovalev in the quarterfinal round.

Kovalev had competed in the 2004 Olympics as a bantamweight but the 25 year old from Chelyabinsk had transitioned well to the light welter class, finishing second at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago.

But the taller Iglesias proved too much for the Russian to handle as the Cuban pulled clear for a low scoring 5-2 victory.

There are now just four remaining light welters in the mix and joining Iglesias are the Dominican Republic’s Felix Diaz, Thailand’s Manus Boonjumnong, France’s Alexis Vastine, who all won their bouts today.

The semifinal round for the light welters will be held on Friday with Iglesias facing Boonjumnong and Diaz meeting Vastine.

The welterweight quarterfinals were also decided today as Cuba’s Carlos Banteaux, belted out a 10-2 decision over Egypt’s 22 year old Hosam Abdin, who had come in second at the 2007 African Championships.

The 21 year old Banteaux had won this year’s Pan American Games and the stocky fighter from Santiago is a favorite to bring home the Gold Medal but he’ll have to first get past China’s Silamu Hanati on Friday in the semifinal.

The other semifinal welterweight bout on Friday will be between Kazakhstan’s Bakhyt Sarsekbayev and Korea’s Jungjoo Kim.

Cuban heavyweight Osmai Acosta won his clash with Greece’s Ilias Pavlidis today by a score of 7-4 and the 23 year old Pan American Champion from Havana will go up against Russia’s 25 year old Rakhim Chakhkiev, who placed second at last year’s World Championships, in the semifinal on Friday.

The other heavyweight semifinal pits towering American Deontay Wilder against 2007 World Champion Clemente Russo on Friday.

Not a single one of Cuba’s 2008 Olympic boxing team have been beaten so far in the Beijing competition and stay tuned for more action tomorrow.