(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Teams from the United States in Italy competed in the final USA vs. Italy dual on Saturday night at the Lyrick Theatre in Assisi, Italy. The international dual event highlighted a day focused on commemorating the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The two squads took the ring following multiple ceremonies with both teams and local dignitaries to honor the memory of those lost on September 11, 2001.
The U.S. team fell just short of tying the host delegation in the second dual with four American boxers claiming victories and light welterweight Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.) boxing to an 8-8 tie. Middleweight Luis Arias (Milwaukee, Wis.) and super heavyweight Lenroy “Cam” Thompson (Uniondale, N.Y.) both recorded their second straight wins in the night’s action while light flyweight Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) and Joseph Diaz Jr., (El Monte, Calif.) avenged their losses in Wednesday’s competition.
The U.S. team enjoyed extra motivation as they took the ring, and Byrd used it to his advantage in his contest with Italy’s Alex Ferramosca. The Italian boxer won the two previous meetings between the two, but Byrd prevented the three-peat with a convincing 22-11 victory over Ferramosca on Saturday night.
In the third bout of the evening, Diaz, Jr. rebounded nicely from his one point loss to Italy’s Ciro Cipriano in Wednesday’s dual action. The 17-year-old national champion won a 9-4 decision over Cipriano in the rematch for his first senior division international victory.
Arias suffered a two-point deficit as his bout with Italy’s Luca Podda went into the third round, but he battled back over the final three minutes to claim a two-point lead of his own at the sound of the final bell. Arias’s efforts earned him a 14-12 victory over Podda and his second win of the European Challenge.
Team USA closed the event in victorious fashion with Thompson winning a 9-4 decision over Italy’s Francesco Rossano of Italy in their super heavyweight contest. Thompson joins Arias as the only two U.S. boxers to go undefeated in USA vs. Italy action.
Two U.S. boxers faced off with Italian Olympians in the second USA vs. Italy dual. The United States’ own two-time Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) took on 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Vincenzo Piccardi of Italy, in his first USA vs. Italy bout. Yet, t was the host nation boxer claiming the victory by aN 11-9 margin in highly anticipated match-up between the two flyweight Olympians.
Heavyweight Steve Geffrard (Boca Raton, Fla.) faced a large step up in competition from his Wednesday victory in the form of 2008 Olympic silver medalist Clemente Russo. Geffrard kept the contest close but dropped a 9-7 decision to Russo to move his USA vs. Italy dual record to 1-1.
Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.) hoped to grab the victory in his rematch with Italy’s Dario Vangeli, but he settled for the next best thing in their light welterweight contest. Sosa and Vangeli boxed to an 8-8 tie at the end of the nine minutes of boxing to give Sosa a draw.
Welterweight Alex Martin (Crest Hill, Ill.) enjoyed one of the four U.S. victories in Wednesday’s action but he couldn’t duplicate the win in his second bout with new opponent Vincenzo Mangiacapre of Italy. Martin dropped a 10-7 decision to Mangiacapre to go 1-1 in USA vs. Italy dual action.
Lightweight Jose Ramirez (Avenal, Calif.) faced off with a new opponent on Saturday as well, taking on Italy’s Donato Cosenza in the second dual. Yet once again, he came up on the short end of the scoreboard, dropping a 13-6 decision to Cosenza. Light heavyweight Jeffrey Spencer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took on Italy’s Simone Fiori for the second straight bout, and fell just one point short of avenging his earlier loss. Spencer lost a slim 5-4 decision to Fiori, who has now won four straight over American opponents.
Al Simpson (Charlotte, N.C.), Gene Vivero (Dallas, Texas), and Anthony Chase (Marietta, Ga.) worked as the U.S. coaches for the European Challenge. Kevin Franklin (McDonough, Ga.) and Joe Sanchez (Darien, Ill.) served as the AIBA officials for the event with Dr. Martha Dodson (El Paso, Texas) working as the Team Physician.
The Italian federation and local officials were excellent hosts to the United States delegation, and placed critical importance on the commemoration of September 11. During the afternoon ceremony at La Strada Della Mattonata, a pathway displaying the names of the September 11 victims; the U.S. team stopped and honored the name, Timothy Higgins, a New York firefighter killed while on duty and the brother of top U.S. coach, Joe Higgins.
The U.S. team will return to the United States on Sunday, concluding a nearly three week trip to Europe, which included training camps in both Great Britain and Italy and two dual events.
USA vs. Italy Dual II Results
108 lbs: Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo./USA, dec. Alex Ferramosca, Italy, 22-11
114 lbs: Vincenzo Picardi, Italy, dec. Rau'shee Warren, Cincinnati, Ohio/USA, 11-9
123 lbs: Joseph Diaz Jr., El Monte, Calif./USA, dec. Ciro Cipriano, Italy, 9-4
132 lbs: Donato Cosenza, Italy, dec. Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif./USA, 13-6
141 lbs: Pedro Sosa, Bronx, N.Y./USA draws with Dario Vangeli, Italy, 8-8
152 lbs: Vincenzo Mangiacapre, Italy, dec. Alex Martin, Crest Hill, Ill./USA, 10-7
165 lbs: Luis Arias, Milwaukee, Wis/USA., dec. Luca Podda, Italy, 14-12
178 lbs: Simone Fiori, Italy, dec. Jeffrey Spencer, Colorado Springs, Colo./USA, 5-4
201 lbs: Clemente Russo, Italy, dec. Steve Geffrard, Boca Raton, FL, 9-7
201+ lbs: Lenroy 'Cam' Thompson, Uniondale, N.Y./USA, dec. Francesco Rossano, Italy, 9-4
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).
