(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Olympians from both the United States and Italy showcased the skills that earned them berths in the world’s largest sporting event at the second USA vs. Italy Dual on Friday at the Eldorado Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nev. All four Olympians, three from Italy and one from the United States claimed victories at the dual competition with the visiting squad winning eight of the 12 bouts on the night.

Two-time Olympian and 2007 World Champion Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) returned to international action at the event and despite a move up to the featherweight division for the competition, Warren won a unanimous 3-0 victory over Italy’s Alessio DiSavino. The bout was forced to paper due to an issue with the computer scoring system in the first two bouts of the event. American female boxers went 2-0 at the USA vs. Italy dual with lightweight Mikaela Mayer (West Hills, Calif.) winning a convincing 22-10 decision over Romina Marenda of Italy. Mayer trailed by a 7-6 margin halfway through the bout, but turned up the heat in the second two rounds, closing the contest with seven points in the final two minutes to take the victory. 

Once again, U.S. boxers emerged victorious in the welterweight and middleweight bouts with Eduardo Alicea (Cleveland, Ohio) and Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pa.) earning victories in the 152 pound and 165 pound contests respectively. In welterweight action, Alicea ruled from the start, winning a 21-11 final decision over Diego DiLuisa of Italy. Hart suffered a slow start in his bout with Italy’s Luca Podda, falling behind by a 3-0 margin after the opening round. Yet, he enjoyed two straight seven-point rounds to close the bout and won a 14-4 final decision over Podda.

A trio of U.S. boxers looked to upset the visiting Olympic medalists, but all of them fell short of their goal. Hometown boxer Santos Vasquez (Sun Valley, Nev.) dropped a 16-6 decision to 2008 Flyweight Olympic bronze medalist Vincenzo Piccardi in his international debut. The two heavyweights kept their bouts close, but couldn’t pull out the upset victories. Javonta Charles (Memphis, Tenn.) trailed by only two points as the bout moved into the final round of his bout with Olympic silver medalist Clemente Russo but the Italian finished strong, more than doubling his point total over the final three minutes to win an 8-3 final decision. In super heavyweight action, reigning Olympic gold medalist Roberto Cammarelle of Italy won an 18-10 decision over Lenroy Thompson (Lenexa, Kansas). 

Two reigning national champions suffered losses with Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) dropping the dual opener to Alex Ferramosca in flyweight action and light heavyweight Robert Brant (Invergrove, Minn.) losing a close 9-6 decision to Italy’s Simone Fiori. Both the lightweight and light welterweight contests suffered an early end with Adrian Martinez (Milwaukee, Wis.) retiring in the second round of his lightweight bout with Italy’s Domenico Valentino and  Davide Cencianelli of Italy winning a second round stoppage over Jamel Herring (Jacksonville, N.C.) in the light welterweight contest.

Coaches Pat Barry (Las Vegas, Nev.), Steve Blea (Denver, Colo.) and Rodrigo Mosquera (San Bernadino, Calif.) led the U.S. team into action in Reno. Miguel Rosario (New York, N.Y.) and Tom Cleary (Mason, Ohio) served as AIBA officials with John Santore (Pittsburgh, Pa.) working as the computer technician. Former Reno resident Robert Lee (Lubbock, Texas) joined the delegation as the Team Manager for both the Harvey and Reno duals.

The Reno event was the second of two USA vs. Italy duals in the past week with the first taking place in Harvey, Ill., on March 27. A portion of the proceeds from the USA vs. Italy dual in Reno benefitted the University of Nevada, Reno boxing program through the Jimmy Olivas Foundation.

USA vs. Italy Dual II Results
112 lbs/51 kg: Alex Ferramosca, ITA, def. Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo./USA
112 lbs/51 kg: Vincenzo Piccardi, ITA, dec. Santos Vasquez, Sun Valley, Nev./USA., 16-6
125 lbs/57 kg: Rau’shee Warren, Cincinnati, Ohio/USA dec. Alessio DiSavino, ITA, 3-0 (paper scoring)
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, West Hills, Calif./USA dec. Romina Marendza, ITA, 22-10
132 lbs/60 kg: Domenico Valentino, ITA, won on retirement over Adrian Martinez, Milwaukee, Wis./USA, RET-3 (2:32)
141 lbs/64 kg: Davide Cencianelli, ITA stopped Jamel Herring, Jacksonville, N.C./USA, RSC-3
152 lbs/69 kg: Eduardo Alicea, Cleveland, Ohio/USA dec. Diego DiLuisa, ITA, 21-11
165 lbs/75 kg: Jesse Hart, Philadelphia, Pa./USA dec. Luca Podda, ITA, 14-4
178 lbs/81 kg: Simone Fiori, ITA, dec. Robert Brant, Invergrove, Minn./USA, 9-6
201 lbs/91 kg: Clemente Russo, ITA, dec. Javonta Charles, Memphis, Tenn./USA, 8-3
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Roberto Cammarelle, ITA, dec. Lenroy Thompson, Lenexa, Kansas/USA, 18-10