(AUG 23)
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The
first day of boxing competition at the Youth Olympic Games
took various turns for the three American athletes scheduled to
box on Saturday at the International Expo Centre in Nanjing,
China. Male flyweight Shakur
Stevenson (Newark,
N.J.) boxed his way to a unanimous decision in his first round
bout while female middleweight Martha
Fabela (Oakland,
Calif.) found herself on the opposite site of a 3-0 score. Super
heavyweight Darmani
Rock (Philadelphia,
Pa.) was prepared to compete in his opening bout on Saturday but
his opponent didn’t seem to have the same mindset.
Stevenson took on European Junior
Champion Daniel
Asenov of
Bulgaria in his first round match-up in Nanjing, facing off with
his fellow flyweight for the first time. The 17-year-old
American high school student wasn’t the least bit fazed by the
Olympic atmosphere surrounding him and boxed beautifully in his
opening bout of the tournament. He used his height and reach
advantage to win all three rounds on each judge’s scorecards and
move on to Sunday’s semifinal round competition. Stevenson’s
next bout will be a rematch from the recent Youth World
Championships final round contest as he takes on Great
Britain’s Muhammad
Ali.
The British boxer has had quite a few public comments about his
loss to Stevenson and the changes he plans to make in the
rematch so Sunday’s bout promises great action. The two are
scheduled to compete at approximately 3:45 p.m. local time (3:45
a.m. ET).
Fabela competed in the first bout
of the event for the United States team, giving her the
designation as the first American female boxer ever to compete
in the Youth Olympic Games. Unlike Stevenson, she faced off with
a familiar competitor in her first round bout, battling 2014
Youth Olympic Games qualifier silver medalist Caitlin
Parker of
Australia. Fabela lost to her at the qualifying event in April
and she suffered the same fate in Saturday’s match, dropping a
3-0 decision to Parker. She will compete again on Monday in the
ranking bouts, facing Davina
Michel of
France to determine the fifth place spot.
Rock presented himself at the
morning weigh-in for Saturday’s bouts, but his opponent Kevin
Espindola of
Argentina did not do the same. Therefore Rock won his opening
bout on walkover to move on to a semifinal contest with Youth
World Championships bronze medalist Marat
Kerimkhanov. As
the two boxers were on opposite sides of the bracket at the
Youth World Championships, this will be the first meeting
between them. They are scheduled to compete in the final bout
of Sunday’s action at approximately 9:45 p.m. local time (9:45
a.m. ET).
Female lightweight Jajaira
Gonzalez (Glendora,
Calif.) enjoyed a first round bye on Saturday, but she will take
on a stiff test in her semifinal bout on Sunday. Gonzalez’s
semifinal bout features a Youth Olympic Games qualifier
quarterfinal rematch with 2013 Youth World Champion Agnes
Alexiusson.
Gonzalez won the first contest by a 2-0 margin but Alexiusson
will certainly be looking to avenge that loss when they meet
tomorrow. Their bout will be the first U.S. contest of the day
at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET).
All of the Youth Olympic Games
action is being streamed live and archived at www.olympic.tv.
Simply select the boxing window to watch the action live or
click on the magnifying class icon on the left side of the
screen and type in the name of the boxer you are looking to
watch to view an archived bout. All of the 2014 Youth Olympic
Games action can also be viewed on a tablet or smart phone by
downloading the free Olympic TV app.
United States Preliminary Round
Results
114 lbs/male: Shakur
Stevenson, Newark, N.J./USA dec. Daniel
Asenov, BUL, 3-0
165 lbs/female: Caitlin Parker,
AUS dec. Martha
Fabela, Oakland, Calif./USA,
3-0
201+ lbs/male: Darmani
Rock, Philadelphia, Pa./USA won
on walkover over Kevin Espindola, ARG, W/O
