By CompuBox
Along with defending Olympic champion Claressa Shields, bantamweight Shakur Stevenson entered the 2016 Rio Games as one of America's brightest medal hopes in boxing. After all, Stevenson was named the outstanding boxer of the U.S. trials, captured gold at the 2014 Youth Olympics as well as the World Youth championships and boasted a 23-0 record in international competition entering the games. That pedigree, as well as his unmistakable talent, helped him turn those hopes into reality. The only remaining question is whether he’ll return home with a gold or silver medal and that query will be answered Saturday when Stevenson meets Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez.
On Wednesday it was announced that Stevenson's semifinal opponent, Russia's Vladimir Nikitin, was medically unfit to compete due to multiple injuries he suffered in his two tournament bouts against Thailand’s Chatchai Butdee and Ireland’s Michael Conlan, a development that vaulted the American directly into the final.
Nikitin was the beneficiary of arguably the tournament's most disputed verdict as he knocked off the top-seeded Conlan by unanimous decision this past Tuesday. The global firestorm was backed up by stats that saw Conlan throw more (365-267 overall, 90-26 jabs, 275-231 power) and land more punches (89-75 overall, 7-4 jabs, 82-74 power). The main bone of contention occurred in round three where all three judges deemed Nikitin a 10-9 winner despite the
Russian being out-landed 31-21 overall and out-thrown 126-87.
Nikitin paid a heavy price for that controversial win, for he left the ring with a gash over his left eye, bloody abrasions on the side and back of his head and a nose that dripped crimson. Olympic officials concluded the Russian's injuries would have put him at a severe competitive disadvantage against Stevenson and thus ended his tournament by fiat. Nevertheless, he’ll depart Rio with a bronze medal in tow while Conlan left with profound – and statistically justified bitterness.
Thus, Stevenson has a chance to become the first American man to win boxing gold since Andre Ward in 2004. He’ll be facing Ramirez, who, as the sixth seed, is perhaps the most under-seeded boxer in the tournament. Maybe that’s because Ramirez, the 2012 gold medalist at flyweight, was perceived to have a lesser pedigree at bantamweight but his three performances in Rio thoroughly debunked that assessment. Given Ramirez’s multi-layered approach and vast international experience that belies his 22 years on earth Stevenson will have to produce the effort of his life if he is to win gold. If he does so, he’ll become only the third American to win the Olympic bantamweight tournament (Oliver Kirk in 1904 and Kennedy McKinney in 1988 are the others).
Named for rapper Tupac Shakur, Stevenson, the oldest of nine siblings, will present his own formidable set of challenges. At 5-foot-8 Stevenson is unusually tall for a bantamweight and his style becomes even more difficult to solve when one adds his southpaw stance, dazzling in-and-out and side-to-side movement and his flashy combination punching. Finally, at 19, he's one of the youngest fighters competing in Rio yet displays uncommon poise. That fusion of stylistic and emotional maturity has propelled Stevenson to the medal stand and has drawn the attention of numerous scouts, including one Floyd Mayweather Jr.
When the draw was revealed the fourth-seeded Stevenson faced a potentially difficult path. Happily for him, a couple of significant roadblocks were removed along the way – a first round bye thanks to his high ranking being one and Nikitin’s administrative withdrawal being the other – but during both of his bouts Stevenson demonstrated why he belonged in the medal conversation.
Stevenson opened the competition Aug. 14 against Brazilian veteran Robenilson DeJesus, who defeated Algeria's Fahem Hammachi by unanimous decision to advance to the round of 16. With a heavily partisan crowd cheering DeJesus and jeering Stevenson -- some reportedly screamed "you're going to die" -- a confident Stevenson strode into the arena wearing a megawatt smile and proceeded to show everyone why he felt that way.
Having not fought since March, Stevenson spent the first round working off the rust as well as trying to figure out DeJesus' crouching, lunging approach. Numerically Stevenson earned a small edge in round one as he landed 8 of 51 punches overall to DeJesus' 6 of 46 as well as a 7-4 lead in landed power shots. The Polish judge was more impressed by DeJesus' aggression while the Lithuanian and Hungarian jurists scored 10-9 for the quicker, sharper American.
DeJesus entered the ring with a tiny cut over the left eye and an accidental butt late in the second opened a deeper slice over the South American’s right eye that prompted a lengthy time-out to assess and treat the injury.
Once the bout resumed, Stevenson's swift combinations extended the lead he already established in the round, which grew to 12-3 in total connects and 9-2 in landed power shots by round's end. Again, Stevenson won the round on two of the judges' cards but the result remained in doubt because the Polish judge that had voted for Stevenson in round one opted for DeJesus in the second, creating a 19-19 tie on two scorecards while the third had Stevenson up 20-18.
Stevenson removed all questions about his superiority in the third as he drove the crowd favorite into the ropes and raked him with lightning-quick combinations. At one point he landed three consecutive uppercuts and moments later he uncorked a brilliant seven-punch salvo. Stevenson fired 70 punches to DeJesus' 58 and out-landed him 23-8 overall, 5-0 jabs and 18-8 power.
All three judges gave the third to Stevenson and with it the unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 twice). Stevenson's final-round outburst created significant connect gaps in all categories (43-17 overall, 9-3 jabs, 34-14 power) and he also was the more precise puncher (24%-12% overall, 18%-6% jabs, 38%-24% power).
Two days later Stevenson met Mongolia's Tsendbaatar Erdenebat, who upset fifth seeded Belarusian Dzmitry Asanau to advance to the quarterfinal stage. The 20-year-old Erdenebat qualified for the Olympics thanks to a runner-up showing at last year's qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan but, in a rarity these days, it was the American who boasted more experience at world level.
The gulf in pedigree was graphically demonstrated in round one as Stevenson belabored his fellow southpaw with whipping blows that landed with unusual accuracy. In round one Stevenson landed 31 of his 57 punches (54%), 13 of his 24 jabs (54%) and 18 of his 33 power shots (54%) while Erdenebat was a mere 6 of 78 overall (8%) and 6 of 47 power (13%). Worse yet, he failed to land any of his 31 jabs.
The drubbing continued in round two as Stevenson landed his jab with extraordinary frequency (15 of 24, 62%) en route to doubling up Erdenebat 24-12 overall. The third was more of the same as Stevenson cruised to victory. The Mongolian tried his best but came up short as Stevenson went 24 of 49, 49% overall to Erdenebat's 12 of 70, 27%. The judges rightly scored every round for Stevenson and the stats favoring him further illustrated why as the American led 79-30 overall, 35-4 jabs and 44-26 power and was the far more precise puncher (50%-13% overall, 54%-5% jabs and 47%-18% power). Erdenebat was more active as he threw 226 punches to Stevenson's 158 but the American's wizardry proved too formidable.
Because of Nikitin’s mandated step-aside Stevenson will be fighting for the first time in four days and will be, by far, the fresher fighter entering the final. That said, Ramirez is a skilled operator who can instantaneously shift between styles. In his opening bout against Morocco’s Mohamed Hamout, Ramirez’s long-range boxing earned him a 22-18 lead overall in round one despite throwing 21 fewer punches (71 to 92) but in rounds two and three he skillfully and successfully fought on the inside while retaining his unusually high accuracy and excellent defense. In those rounds Ramirez landed 47% and 40% of his power shots while limiting Hamout to 20% and 24% power accuracy. However, Ramirez did show some vulnerability. Late in round two a sweeping right appeared to floor Ramirez but the referee called the tumble a slip.
Also, Hamout’s extreme volume in those rounds (99 per round to Ramirez’s 70) enabled him to get within 43-42 overall and 39-38 power. For that reason, Ramirez prevailed by only 65-60 overall but trailed 59-57 in power connects. Aesthetically, however, Ramirez was the clear victor.
Two days later Ramirez secured his place in the semifinal by thoroughly out-boxing China’s Jiawei Zhang. Zhang, the third seed, attempted to flood the zone with punches as he averaged 118 per round to Ramirez’s 82 but the Cuban’s sharpness on offense and ability to pick off punches with his arms and gloves created massive percentage gaps (33%-14% overall, 26%-13% jabs, 42%-15% power) and equally vast connect gulfs (81-49 overall, 34-23 jabs, 47-26 power). Ramirez’s jab was particularly impressive as he averaged 11.3 connects per round, and if he can achieve similar distance control against Stevenson he’ll all but wrap up the gold.
Ramirez’s final hurdle took place Thursday against the second-seeded Murojdon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan, who recorded victories over Kazahstan’s Kairat Yeraliev and Argentina’s Alberto Melian to advance to the medal round. Wednesday’s first-round TKO victory over Melian was peculiar for several reasons. First, as Irish referee Michael Gallagher shouted break several times, Akhmadaliev pushed Melian to the ropes and as the South American boomeranged off them the Uzbek landed a crushing left to the chin that scored a knockdown. Melian arose immediately and was allowed to continue, but as Akhmadaliev chased after him he motioned to the canvas as if he had lost his mouthpiece and wanted a time-out to have it replaced. Instead, Gallagher issued a standing eight count, after which he waved off the fight to the clear-eyed Argentine’s shock. In the end, like all the others who were on the wrong end of controversies, Melian was powerless to have the result re-examined.
As much as any fight in the tournament, the semifinal between Ramirez and Akhmadaliev illustrated the transformation “Olympic-style” boxing has undergone since the London games. The unwatchable fencing of the past six Olympics was replaced with a pleasing blend of mutual aggression, ceaseless power punching and technical brilliance. The conventional wisdom was that a trench war would have benefited Akhmadaliev but inside the ring Ramirez more than held his own.
In round one Ramirez was out-thrown 109-90 but still managed a 36-33 lead in overall connects thanks to his marksmanship (40%-30% overall and 52%-33% power). The second saw the pair accelerate the pace (98 punches for Ramirez to Akhamadaliev’s 106) but the statistical story remained the same as Ramirez prevailed 42-30 overall, 43%-28% overall and 55%-28% power. Not surprisingly, Ramirez swept both rounds on the scorecards to build a nearly unassailable lead.
Akhmadalaiev tried to bridge the gap in the third and while he persuaded the Italian and Moroccan judges to give him the round, Ramirez threw more (76-74), landed more (27-23) and did so at a higher percentage (36%-31% overall, 47%-34% power). The Danish judge saw Ramirez the winner, completing a unanimous decision victory and advancing to the final.
In the end Ramirez led 105 of 264 (40%) to 86 of 289 (30%) overall, 20 of 99 (20%) to 10 of 47 (21%) jabs and 85 of 165 (52%) to 76 of 242 (31%) power. The pace was tremendous as Ramirez averaged 88 punches and 35 total connects per round while Akhmadaliev averaged 96 punches and 29 connects per round.
So who will win the gold at bantamweight? On paper – and perhaps in the ring as well -- Ramirez appears a cut above Stevenson in every way. That said, Ramirez appears to fight best when playing the role of cerebral counter-puncher and the willowy Stevenson has the height, reach and skill to force the Cuban to adopt the somewhat uncomfortable role of aggressor. If Stevenson is at the top of his game and if Ramirez is somewhat worn down by his more demanding schedule, the well-rested American is capable of pulling the upset.
Conversely, Ramirez doesn’t have to rely on any “ifs” to secure victory. He’s a seasoned campaigner who has already proven he can win the big one and he possesses every possible skill needed to succeed in this brand of boxing. In a fast-paced chess match of the highest order, Ramirez will emerge with his second Olympic gold by unanimous – and potentially shutout – decision.
