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| WARD ADVANCES TO THE QUARTERFINAL ROUND WHILE MARTIROSYAN SUFFERS DEFEAT TO REIGNING WORLD CHAMP |
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ATHENS, GREECE – Two California boxers stepped into the ring on Thursday afternoon with high hopes of reaching the quarterfinal round, but only one was able to accomplish his mission. Light heavyweight (178 lbs/81 kg) Andre Ward (Oakland, Calif.) won his Olympic debut, defeating Italian Clemente Russo, 17-9 to advance to the quarterfinal round. Welterweight (152 lbs/69 kg) Vanes Martirosyan (Glendale, Calif.) fell short in his attempt to defeat reigning World Champion Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba, losing a 20-11 decision in second round competition at the Peristeri Boxing Hall.
Ward climbed through the ropes for the first time at the Olympic Games on Thursday afternoon and it took him the early part of the first round to get adjusted to boxing on the Olympic stage as well as to get the feel for his Italian opponent. The score stayed low through the first two minutes of competition with Ward taking a slim 2-1 lead. The punch output picked up in the second round as Ward began to find his rhythm more and landed clean shots on Russo and he used the third stanza of boxing to extend his lead out to a 15-8 margin. After picking up the strong seven-point advantage, Ward used his movement to evade Russo’s punches and score a few of his own to win the 17-9 final decision and advance to the quarterfinal round. Ward will take on two-time World Champion Evgeny Makarenko of Russia in quarterfinal action on Tuesday, August 24.
“Andre likes to feel his opponent out first. He likes to take a good 30 or 45 seconds to feel him out but he was more aggressive in the last two rounds,” Abdullah said. “I thought he used the jab well and he used the ring when he needed to use it, but overall I thought he boxed very well particularly for his first day out.”
“It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I am always critical, I just wanted to go out there and look perfect but there is no such thing as a perfect bout, I’m just glad I got the win,” Ward said. “It was a combination of my opponent being awkward and nerves, but I settled down and God gave me the strength to pull through.”
Ward became the eighth U.S. boxer to win his first Olympic bout and is one of seven U.S. boxers remaining in contention.
Martirosyan took the ring with one decisive win under his belt and he would need all the experience he could get with the seasoned Aragon. The Cuban took the lead from the opening of the bout, quickly racking up an early advantage despite Martirosyan’s attempts to score on his moving target. Aragon emerged from the first round with an 8-2 lead that grew to a 14-4 advantage after the second round to the bewilderment of the coaches. Martirosyan came charging out in the third round but was able to make up little ground and went into the final round needing to make up a nine-point deficit. Despite his strong efforts, Martirosyan couldn’t make a dent in the lead and Aragon went on to win the 20-11 final decision.
“He showed me a lot of respect this time, last time he just came at me,” Martirosyan said. “This time he kept his distance. He was the better fighter and I hope he gets the gold.”
U.S. Head Coach Basheer Abdullah questioned Martirosyan’s point total, but knows that there are many factors that can affect computer scoring. “I have to look at the tape, my gut instincts tell me that he probably wasn’t in position,” Abdullah said. “I thought he scored more than he did but with the computer scoring, you have to have yourself in the center of the ring where three judges can react within one second. We just have to go in there and box and do our thing and I think the judges have been fair throughout the tournament.”
Despite the loss, Martirosyan remained positive and upbeat and said that he looks forward to cheering his teammates on to victory and gold medals. “I thought I did good. I’m glad I came, my dad told me that I am a hero no matter what,” Martirosyan said. “I did my best and he won and if that’s the way God wanted it, I’m happy. I just love being in the ring, if you put me in the ring right now I would spar, I just love boxing so much.”
Light welterweight (141 lbs/64 kg) Rock Allen (Philadelphia, Pa.) will be the final U.S. boxer to compete when he takes on Bulgaria’s Boris Georgiev in Thursday evening preliminary action.
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