2008 Olympic Boxing Results, Day Four (Part Two)

By Jake Donovan

The 2008 Olympics began with returning flyweight Rau’shee Warren among Team USA’s best chances at winning a medal, if not taking home the gold.

Instead of savoring the sweet flavor of victory, Warren is left with the agony of defeat, dropping a 9-8 verdict against Lee Ok-Sung of South Korean in a major opening round upset.

Warren’s hand speed advantage was evident early on, with a straight left and a lightning fast right hook giving the American a quick 2-0 lead less than 30 seconds into the fight. It would be his largest lead of the fight; Ok-Sung had an answer for everything Warren had to offer, quickly knotting things up at 2-2, and never falling behind by more than one.

Back and forth they went, changing momentum with seemingly every sequence. 3-2 Warren, soon tied up again. Warren scores, Ok-Sung comes right back, and escapes the first round even at four points apiece.

Rinse and repeat in round two, though less scoring opportunities in the eyes of the judges. Where Warren’s game plan sank was sticking too much to boxing and moving, while Ok-Sung became the aggressor.

It didn’t truly affect Warren until the third round, when the South Korean pulled ahead for the first time in the fight. The scoring sequence was a strange one, as Ok-Sung was credited for a punch landed by Warren, though he did sneak in a jab. Warren would get the favor returned moments later, given a point after getting hit and slipping to the canvas.

The final round began with the game tied at seven. It would become a round marred by clinching and, for Warren, end in confusion and despair.

Ok-Sung scored the first point of the round to take a slim 8-7 margin. The awarded point was questioned by announcers Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas, only catching a Warren shot upstairs, but what was awarded in Ok-Sung’s favor was a solid right hand to the body.

Warren came back seconds later to tie things up, only for Ok-Sung to immediately respond with a right hand straight down the middle for a 9-8 lead. Little would happen over the next half-minute or so before Ok-Sung took a knee with about 35 seconds left, requesting a time out for his corner to adjust his loose headgear.

The final 35 seconds would erase everything Warren spent the past four years attempting to rebuild. The sales pitch going in was that he entered the 2004 Games as an inexperienced 17-year old, and that four more years in the non-pay ranks would greater benefit him as opposed to turning pro too early.

With that experience came self-confidence; Warren’s goal wasn’t just to become a medal hopeful, but to run the tables and capture Olympic gold.

He instead ran around the ring, misinterpreting ringside advice as suggestion that he was up on the cards.

“People were cheering; I was confused,” Warren would admit afterward. “I heard people yelling move, so I thought I was up. Coach (Dan Campbell) was telling me to throw punches, which is when I realized I was down.”

He unfortunately needed that update 30 seconds or so prior. A last ditch effort at the bell went unrewarded by the judges, leaving Warren a point short and unaware what happened until he was informed by his corner at fight’s end.

“I didn’t know the score. The only time I knew was when I was in the corner.”

Warren tossed one glove to the ground upon receiving the news, then flinging off his headgear in disgust. He would later apologize for the negative reaction, but still had a hard time coming to grips with what just occurred.

“I got so far… I don’t get the judges. We work hard just like everyone else. When you work so hard and they can take it away so easy, it’s just not fair.”

Coach Dan Campbell, a no-nonsense straight shooter, echoed his fighter’s sentiments.

“From the first round on, it was obvious that someone around the ring was trying to help this kid. But every time he threw a combination, the other kid would get a point.”

What “the other kid” got was a second win over Warren in as many tries. Ok-Sung defeated the Cincinnati flyweight in the 2005 World Amateur Championships.

Warren became the first American since Davey Armstrong in the 1970’s to appear in back-to-back Olympic Games. Unlike Armstrong, who made it to the second round in ’72 and fourth round in ’76, Warren’s two tours end without a single win between ‘em.

Meanwhile, Ok-Sung moves on to the round of 16, where he will face another two-time Olympian in Walid Cherif of Tunisia.

Cherif bowed out in the opening round of the 2004 Games, but had a much easier go of things this time around, easily turning back the challenge of 17-year old Australian flyweight Stephen Sutherland by score of 14-2

Samir Mammadov of Azerbaijan enjoyed the widest margin of victory among all participating flyweights, serving up a boxing lesson in his 19-4 victory against Abdelilla Nhalia of Morocco. Things don’t figure to be so easy when he next faces Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand.

A returning Olympian, Jongjohor became the seventh member of Team Thailand to advance to the round of 16, with light flyweight Amnat Ruanroeng looking to make it a clean sweep in his opening round bout Wednesday afternoon.

Of the seven, Jongjohor is only the second to have actually won a bout; five members of the squad received first-round byes. Jongjohor was forced to earn his keep, struggling at times but eventually getting past Eddie Valenzuela with a 6-1 verdict. It’s an all-too brief journey for Valenzuela, who became the first Guatemalan boxer in 16 years to qualify for the Olympics.

While Thailand remains loaded, Team Brazil is barely treading water. Robenilson Vieria de Jesus becomes the second Brazilian to make the Sweet 16 after his 13-3 drubbing of Sri Lanka’s Anurudha Rathnayake.

A more formidable challenge awaits, as he draws Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan on Saturday. Yunusov sent home the lone boxer from Team South Africa, outpointing Jackson Chauke 9-1.

Also going home is Ali Hallab of France, who found himself on the wrong end of the afternoon’s second biggest upset. Responsible for the reshuffling of the bantamweight deck was Akhil Kumar, who became the third member from Team India to advance to the second round after his 12-5 win over the heavily favored Frenchman.

Chances are, Kumar’s glory will be very short-lived. He next meets Sergey Vodopyanov of Russia, who benefited greatly from the random open round seeding in facing McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico. Vodopyanov beat the Puerto Rican 20-9 in the 2007 World Amateur Championships, and managed to double him up 10-5 in the opening round of the ‘08 Games.

The remaining four bantamweight bouts of the afternoon went typically as expected.

Khumiso Ikgopoleng of Botswana and Hicham Mesbani of Morocco meet Saturday after dominating Luke Boyd of Australia and Colombia’s Jonatan Romero, respectively.

Enkhbatayn Badar-Uugan of Mongolia enjoyed an equally decisive opening round scrap with a 15-4 drubbing of Mexico’s Oscar Valdez.

Awaiting the Mongolian in the second round is Ireland’s John Joe Nevin, whose performance was reminiscent of the old adage “win today, look good the next time.” Very little of his fight with Abdelhalim Ouradi of Algeria was easy on the eyes, but scoreboard is all that matters at the end of the day. And so it read 9-5, giving Team Ireland a clean sweep in the opening round, with all five team members still alive in the round of 16.

For complete Boxingscene.com Olympic boxing coverage, check out the following links:

Day One Competition:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15327

Day Two Competition:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15336

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15339

Day Three Competition:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15346

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15357

Day Four Competition:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15366

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15377