By Cliff Rold
Much has been made of the struggles of the US boxing team at recent Olympics. There was the failure to medal in 2012, already surpassed at these games by light flyweight Nico Hernandez. Prior to that, only one fighter medaled in 2008 and two in 2004 (with Andre Ward winning gold).
It hasn’t been since 2000 that Team USA men have gone home with an overall medal count of four, when Team USA won matching pairs of silver and bronze. After this weekend, the chance to match that count is still there.
There is still a long way to go.
The chance for the combined men’s and women’s team to go home with six total medals is also still there. Four US battlers currently stand one win away from the medal stand with bantamweight Shakur Stevenson and light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell earning quarterfinal berths Sunday, lightweight Mikaela Mayer already clear to the quarterfinals, and middleweight Claresa Shields, the reigning gold medalist, receiving a bye into the round of eight.
Mayer will be the first with a chance to punch her way to medal glory, facing Russia’s Anastasiia Belakova on Monday afternoon (4 PM EST). Earlier in the day, we’ll find out if flyweight Antonio Vargas can earn a quarters berth when he faces Uzbekistan’s Zoirov Shakhobidin (10:45 AM EST).
Here is a closer look at the weekend results for Team USA.
Antonio Vargas
Through the Round of Thirty-Two: Vargas, 20, of Kissimmee, Florida, wasn’t impressive against Brazil’s Juliao Neto. He was just enough better to snare a 2-1 split decision against the local favorite making his second Olympic appearance. It’s not easy to defeat someone in their home country and it showed Saturday. Neto was deducted a point in a fight that was level heading into the final round. Vargas still got a split decision.
Vargas is attempting to become the first US fighter to medal at flyweight since Tim Austin won bronze in 1992. It is a class that his historically been strong for the US with six gold medalists dating to 1904, the last of them Steve McCrory in 1984.
Coming Next: Vargas will face Shakhobidin, 23, in an interesting clash between fighters with international experience but no major medals as yet. Shakhobidin finished one shy of the quarterfinals at the 2015 worlds.
Shakur Stevenson
Through the Round of Sixteen: Stevenson, 19, of Newark, New Jersey, has been hailed as Team USA’s strongest gold medal hopeful. The quick southpaw, who received a bye in the opening round, attempts to become the first US medalist in the class since Clarence Vinson won bronze in 2000 and first gold medal winner since Kennedy McKinney in 1988.
Stevenson was lucky in spots in his opening win over Brazil’s Robenilson De Jesus, getting away with a few low blows and an aided shove to the canvas without losing a point. In terms of clean punching, it was really no contest but, like Vargas, Stevenson was facing a Brazilian in Brazil The first was, one supposes, close enough to see one judge favor De Jesus. That any judge saw round two for the Brazilian was head scratching. In the end, Stevenson got the duke. That’s all that mattered
Coming Next: Stevenson next must overcome Mongolia’s Erdenebat Tsendbaatar, 20, on Tuesday (10:45 AM EST). Do so, and he is on the medal stand. He will have to win three more to fulfill the big hopes he brought to Rio. This is the rare fight where the international experience edge may belong to Team USA. We’ll see if the class edge also resides there.
Gary Antuanne Russell
Through the Round of Sixteen: Russell, 20, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, has a swagger, charisma, and aggression about him that might make him a ticket seller in the pro ranks. For all the attention received by Stevenson, the southpaw Russell will be fighting in weight classes where it is easier to build a star. This is, after all, the division that launched Sugar Ray Leonard. Before he gets there, Russell attempts to medal at light welterweight for the first time since Ricardo Williams won silver in 2000. No member of Team USA has won light welterweight gold since Jerry Page in 1984.
Russell was good enough to get by in his first fight and was just barely good enough again Sunday. His split decision against Thailand’s Wutticai Masuk, 26, was a nail biter. It was also a more impressive outing than Russell’s first. Russell was giving up a sizable experience gap to the 2015 world bronze medal winner. Russell’s best round was the first, outfighting and outlanding the Thai with his greater speed. Masuk had a strong second, taking some but delivering better. In the third, it was a coin toss. Russell got out of the gate better but Masuk closed the gap with some accurate blows. The Thai will watch the tape wishing he had done more in the final minute to sway the judges. Russell, who was showboating instead of fighting down the stretch, could have been in the same boat.
As it was, he heads home with a win that was 2-1 across the board.
Coming Next: Russell’s road to the medal stand gets no easier on Tuesday (11:15 AM EST). He will face Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, 25, in a fight that will ask him to raise him game even more than Masuk did. Gaibnazarov was the 2015 silver medalist at the world championships and is making his second Olympic appearance.
Previous Olympic Thoughts
Team USA: Nine Minutes from Medals for Two
Team USA: Can Boxing Become a Story?
Team USA: The Journey Ends for Two, Mayer Advances
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com