Three Team U.S.A. Boxers Qualify for Beijing at Summer Olympian

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Three Team U.S.A. Boxers Qualify for Beijing

Posted March 19, 2008 at 09:00 AM by Michael J. Sedor

Section: Events, Boxing, Columns/Blogs, Michael Sedor

DEONTAY WILDER It wasn’t a great Final Day at the Americas Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament for Team U.S.A. Boxers. No Americans claimed gold medals at the competition and only three of Team U.S.A.’s six boxers qualified for Beijing. The remaining three must attempt to qualify again in Guatemala April 23-30. The story of the competition was the dominance of Team Cuba who won eight gold medals and one silver. Here is a quick rundown of Team U.S.A.’s results:

Lightweight (132 lbs/60kg) - Sadam Ali, Brooklyn, N.Y.; QUALIFIED for Beijing; Silver Medal; lost in final to 2005 World Champion Yordanis Ugas Hernandez from Cuba 13-5.
Light Welterweight (141 lbs/64kg) - Javier Molina, Commerce, Calif.; QUALIFIED for Beijing; Third Place; won third place box off against Canada’s Kevin Bizier 20-5.
Middleweight (165 lbs/75kg) - Shawn Estrada, East Los Angeles, Calif; failed to qualify for Beijing; lost in semi-final round against Ecuador’s Carlos Mercado Gongora 13-3.
Light Heavyweight (178 lbs/81 kg) - Christopher Downs, Knoxville, Tenn.; failed to qualify for Beijing; lost in third place box off against Brazil’s Washington Silva 9-3.
Heavyweight (201 lbs/91 kg) - Deontay Wilder, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; QUALIFIED for Beijing; Silver Medal; lost in final to 2007 Pan Am Games Gold Medalist Cuban Osmai Acosta Duarte 12-1.
Super Heavyweight (201+ lbs/91+ kg) - Michael Hunter II, Los Angeles, Calif.; Silver Medal; failed to qualify for Beijing; lost in final to 2007 Pan Am Games Gold Medalist Cuban Robert Alfonso Acea 9-1.

Michael Hunter, II’s loss is especially disappointing since he fought so well during this tournament and had been undefeated until the final. Only one super heavyweight Beijing ticket was available during this competition and Hunter ran into Cuban juggernaut Alfonso. Fortunately, there are two super heavyweight berths available in Guatemala so if Hunter repeats this week’s stellar level of performance in Central America then he won’t go home disappointed.

One more American qualified for the Olympics: Oscar Valdez. Valdez, a 119 lb. bantamweight, won the silver medal here in Trinidad losing in the final to Cuban Yankiel Leon Alarcon 13-5. Valdez hails from Tucson, Ariz. but will be representing Mexico at the Olympics. Valdez had trained with Team U.S.A. in Colorado Springs, Colo. but failed to qualify for their final Olympic team. As a result he has continued his quest for Mexico. Valdez was the only Mexican team member to qualify for Beijing at this tournament.