The Hindu : Exodus of favourites continues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 12, 2003

Sport

Sport - Boxing

Exodus of favourites continues

BANGKOK JULY 11. More favourites fell by the wayside on Thursday in the quarterfinal of the 12th World amateur boxing championships at Bangkok's Nimibutr Gymnasium, as the Cuban contenders' ranks were culled once again.

Willy Blain of France defeated defending champion Diogenes Luna Martinez 47-29 in the light welterweight division. Blain, the 2001 World championship bronze medallist, had lost to Luna in the first round of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The Cuban went on to grab the gold on that occasion.

Thai flyweight Somjitr Jongjohor also dashed Cuban hopes when he beat Yuriolkis Gamboa Toledano 23-22 in one of the tournament's most sharply fought battles so far.

Members of the Cuban squad who previously fell by the wayside include light flyweight defending champion Yan Barthelmy Varela, featherweight Yudenis Gonzalez, and Olympic bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz.

Cuban winners on Thursday included lightweight Mario Kindelan Mesa, welterweight Lorenzo Aragon Armenteros, heavyweight Odlanier Solis Fonte and super heavyweight Pedro Carrion Sago.

The sole U.S. survivor of the tournament so far, welterweight Andre Berto, scored a 24-22 win over England's Darren Barker.

China's Zhou Shiming, meanwhile, became his country's first boxer since 1981 to advance to the tourney's semifinal round after beating Slovakia's Rudolf Dydi 21-9 in the light flyweight category.

``It's not about revenge,'' Blain told reporters afterward. ``It's about the confidence that I have after beating him.''

Somjitr was behind heading into the fourth and final round, but unleashed enough punches just before the final bell to bring the hometown crowd to its feet and save the day.

The Thai, who was last year's Busan Asian Games gold medallist, said the fight was surprisingly difficult because he had been prepared for the Cuban's usual aggressive style, but instead had to take the fight to him.

Zhou showed his mettle on Wednesday by beating defending champion Yan Barthelmy Varela of Cuba 22-15.

Zhou, the silver medallist at the East Asian Games in Japan in 2001, said that beating the Cuban had made him confident that he can bring home the gold medal. — AP

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