Rau’shee Warren Leads Team USA Against Italy Dual 2

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Following a close international battle on Wednesday, a squad of top U.S. boxers will face off in the second competition of a two-dual event at the Lyrick Theatre in Assisi, Italy at 9 p.m. on Saturday. The home team won the opening match-up by a 6-4 bout margin in the first dual, but Team USA is primed to avenge their losses in the second event.

Team USA will be led into action by two-time Olympian and 2007 World Champion Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) as he faces off with 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Vincenzo Piccardi. The bout will be the first match-up between the two highly decorated flyweights with Piccardi competing on the opposite side of the bracket at the 2007 World Championships, where the Italian won a bronze medal. 

Heavyweight Steve Geffrard (Boca Raton, Fla.) will face another Italian Olympian in his second bout of the European Challenge. He will aim to claim another international second victory as he takes on 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2007 World Champion Clemente Russo of Italy. Russo won both of his USA vs. Italy dual bouts against American foes Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.) and Javonta Charles (Memphis, Tenn.) in April, but Geffrard plans to end Russo’s winning streak on Saturday night.  

Geffard’s fellow U.S. victors from Wednesday’s event will return to action on Saturday as well. Middleweight Luis Arias (Milwaukee, Wis.) will face Italy’s Luca Podda in a rematch of the earlier dual. Podda has lost three straight bouts to American foes, dropping his recent contest to Arias and April match-ups with Team USA’s Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio). Super heavyweight Lenroy Thompson (Lenexa, Kansas) faces Italy’s Francesco Rossano for the second time in a week, and will look to duplicate his 11-5 win over Rossano.

Welterweight Alex Martin (Crest Hill, Ill.) was the fourth U.S. boxer to record a win in the opening dual, and he will face a different opponent on Saturday following Italy’s Diego Di Luisa, sustaining a minor hand injury to in Wednesday night’s action. Martin will take on Italy’s Vincenzo Mangiacapre in his second bout of the European Challenge.

Three-time national champion Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) will enjoy another shot at avenging his earlier losses to Italy’s Alex Ferramosca in light flyweight action when he faces Ferramosca for the third time on Saturday. Both lightweight Joseph Diaz, Jr. (El Monte, Calif.) and light welterweight Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.) hope to claim their first wins of the event as well, battling Ciro Cipriano and Dario Vangeli respectively. Lightweight Jose Ramirez (Avenal, Calif.) will have to wait for another opportunity to avenge his loss to 2004 Olympian Domenico Valentino, but he will vie for an international victory over Italy’s Donato Cosenza in Saturday’s dual.  Light heavyweight Jeffrey Spencer (Fort Carson, Colo.) will look to end Italian Simone Fiori’s three-bout winning streak when the two face off on Saturday night. Fiori claimed victories over U.S. boxers Robert Brant (Oakdale, Minn.) and Siju Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.) during April’s USA vs. Italy duals in the United States.

Once again, the U.S. squad will be led into battle by coaches Al Simpson (Charlotte, N.C.), Gene Vivero (Dallas, Texas), and Anthony Chase (Marietta, Ga.). Kevin Franklin (McDonough, Ga.) and Joe Sanchez (Darien, Ill.) will serve as the AIBA officials with Dr. Martha Dodson (El Paso, Texas) working as the Team Physician.

In addition to outstanding boxing action, the dual will commemorate the nine-year anniversary of the devastating attack on the United States on September 11, 2001. Both teams will join local dignitaries at a special memorial ceremony on Saturday afternoon at La Strada Della Mattonata, a pathway in Assisi with the names of the victims of World Training Center attacks engraved in the stone. 

Saturday’s USA vs. Italy Dual Bouts

108 lbs: Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo./USA vs. Alex Ferramosca, Italy
114 lbs: Rau’shee Warren, Cincinnati, Ohio/USA vs. Vincenzo Piccardi, Italy
123 lbs: Joseph Diaz Jr., El Monte, Calif./USA vs. Ciro Cipriano, Italy
132 lbs: Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif./USA vs. Cosenza Donato, Italy
141 lbs: Pedro Sosa, Bronx, N.Y./USA vs. Dario Vangeli, Italy
152 lbs: Alex Martin, Crest Hill, Ill./USA vs. Vincenzo Mangiacapre, Italy
165 lbs: Luis Arias, Milwaukee, Wis./USA vs. Luca Podda, Italy
178 lbs: Jeffrey Spencer, Colorado Springs, Colo./USA vs. Simone Fiori, Italy
201 lbs: Steve Geffrard, Boca Raton, Fla./USA vs. Clemente Russo, Italy
201+ lbs: Lenroy “Cam” Thompson, Uniondale, N.Y.) vs. Francesco Rossano, Italy

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).