2008 Olympic Boxing Results, Day Six (Part One)

By Jake Donovan

Round two action begins in the light welterweight, welterweight and light heavyweight divisions. Welterweight medal hopeful Demetrius Andrade was the lone American tabbed to appear on Day Six of the Olympics with his bout coming later Thursday evening, along with three more welterweight bouts as well as all eight second round light welterweight matchups.

A quartet of welterweight bouts kicked off Day Six competition, beginning with the debut of Carlos Banteaux Suarez of Cuba. Banteaux received a first-round bye and a brief scare in the early going of his round of 16 match against Great Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders before surging ahead to a 13-6 victory.

Saunders, the first ever member of the British Romany Gypsy community to qualify for the Olympics, kept things close through the first four minutes of the contest, only down by one point (5-4) heading into the third round.

That dynamic changed considerably in the final two rounds, with Banteaux adding four points in each of the third and fourth rounds to pull away.

Banteaux advances to the quarterfinals, where he will meet Egypt’s Hosam Bakr Abdin. The Egyptian scored the first big upset of the afternoon, edging out Thailand’s Non Boonjumnong.

Abdin sprinted out to an early 3-0 lead after one and was up 4-0 before Boonjumnong finally got on the board. From there, the Thai guy battled all the way back, tying things up at 7-7 and pulling ahead for a brief moment late in the third before leaving the round with the game tied at eight.

The final round went right down to the wire, with Abdin scoring early with a left hook to take a brief 9-8 lead. Boonjumongnon scored two points in less than thirty seconds, only for Abdin to immediately respond on both occasions to go ahead 11-10, a score that would hold up for the final 1:15 of the bout.

Bahamian rhapsody would provide the second big upset of the afternoon. The lone member of Bahama’s boxing squad, Tureano Johnson keeps his Olympic dream alive after a shocking 9-4 win over Ukraine’s Olexandr Stretskyy.

Johnson was down 2-1 after one, but came back to tie up at 3 by the end of the second round.

It was the third round when the party broke wide open, scoring five straight points to take the lead and stay ahead for good.

The fight ended with Johnson dropping to his knees in celebration, as well as dedication to a family member unable to make the trip to Beijing.

“During the fight I was thinking of someone special – my Dad,” explained an emotional Johnson. “I was wondering what my Dad would say to me if he were here right now. I really wish my Dad was here.

“This was his dream and I just want to bring this home for my Dad.”

It’s a daunting task that lies ahead for Johnson, beginning with his quarterfinals match against China’s own Hanati Silamu, who had way with Cameroon’s Joseph Mulema. Silamu never trailed in taking a 9-4 victory.

He now joins super heavyweight teammate Zhang Zhilei in the quarterfinals, though the party would soon become three after light heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping upset Artur Beterbiyev of Russia, 8-2. The score didn’t tell the whole story, however, as the first true evidence of hometown favoritism was on full display.

Beterbiyev actually led 2-0 after the end of a tactical first round. He wouldn’t receive another point for the remainder of the bout, a matter that’s sure to raise eyebrows in the wake of computerized scoring that’s been widely criticized, particularly in this year’s competition.

Team Russia has a valid complaint this time around. Beterbiyev began the second round by landing two flush right hands and a knockdown. The latter was waved off, the former never showing up on the scorecards.

From there, it was a complete meltdown. Beterbiyev grew sloppy as the fight went on, with Xiaoping there to take full advantage. A 2-2 tie after two quickly became a 5-2 lead for the Chinaman midway through the third. The lead grew to 6-2 by rounds end, despite Beterbiyev closing the frame with a right hand and yet another knockdown erroneously ruled a slip.

Xiaoping’s 7th point came on a clinch early in the fourth immediately after getting tagged by a straight right hand. Though Beterbiyev appeared to be scoring, one adjustment he never made was constantly staying close enough to where Xiaoping could tie him up. A left hook by Xiapoing with 30 seconds left became the final registered point in the controversial and awkward fight.

Awaiting him in the quarterfinals will be Abdelhafid Bechabala of Algeria, who scored an upset of his own with a 13-6 win over 2004 Olympian Ramadan Yasser of Egypt.

Washington Silva became the first member of Team Brazil to advance to the 2008 Olympic quarterfinals, though his 9-7 win over Ghana’s Bastir Samir didn’t come without controversy.

Samir was the aggressor throughout the contest, but wasn’t being rewarded by the judges. A 4-1 opening round deficit didn’t begin to tell the story, as Samir was landing flush right hands, only for Silva’s slapping shots to be recognized as scoring blows.

It was rinse and repeat throughout the fight. Silva spent most of the fight in retreat, while Samir chased him down, cutting off the ring and unloading with a relentless body attack. The Ghanaian at one point landed a dozen unanswered body shots, which only converted to one point in bringing the score to 6-3.

A right hand upstairs would make it 6-4, but it was the closest Samir would come to catching up. Silva let his hands fly in the fourth, rattling off flashy combinations to win over the judges.

Silva’s quarterfinal match comes against Kenneth Egan of Ireland, who had his way with Turkey’s Bahram Muzaffer en route to a 10-2 win.

Tony Jeffries of Great Britain will meet Imre Szello of Hungary in the next round, though the two fighters traveled completely different paths to get there.

Jeffries led for much of his bout against Eleider Alvarez, only for the Colombian to rally back hard in the final 30 seconds to end the fight in a 5-5 tie. But it was the Brit who advanced by virtue of countback, a tiebreaker method that rewards the fighter determined to have landed the more meaningful blows.

A more effective way of determining it would be to knock out your opponent. Imre Szello did just that, thrice dropping Luis Gonzalez of Venezuela in just 1:47 of action.

The final two light heavyweight bouts of the afternoon came free of controversy or drama.

Djakhon Kurbanov of Tajikistan easily turned away Croatia’s Marijo Sivolija by an 8-1 margin, though the bout took a couple of rounds to get going. He next faces Yerkebuian Shynaliyev of Kazakhstan, who cruised past Puerto Rico’s Carlos Negron by score of 9-3.

More on Team USA and The Quest For Gold:

Day One Competition:

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

Round One Report Card – Shawn Estrada:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15332

Day Two Competition:

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

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

Scoreboard - https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15337

Round One Report Card – Javier Molina:

https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15341

Round One Report Card – Demetrius Andrade: