Middleweight Shawn Estrada (E. Los Angeles, Calif.) became the ninth member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team to qualify for the 2008 OIympic Games, winning his semifinal bout at the second Americas Qualifier in Guatemala City, Guatemala on Tuesday. Estrada earned a 12-7 victory over Brazil’s Yamaguchi Florentine in their semifinal round match-up..
The bout was close throughout the first three rounds with the boxers tied up after each of the first two rounds. The score was 1-1 at the midway point, but the pace quickened in the third round with Estrada pulling out to a 7-6 lead as the contest moved into the definitive final round. Estrada simply wouldn’t be denied, piling on the points over the last two minutes of action to claim the 12-7 win and a berth in the 2008 Olympic Games.
Super heavyweight Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) will compete in semifinal action on Tuesday evening, facing Venezuela’s Jose Payares in the qualifying contest. If Hunter wins his semifinal bout on Tuesday night, he will become the tenth member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team with only light heavyweight Christopher Downs (Fort Carson, Colo.) failing to qualify.
Estrada will take on Argentina’s Ezequiel Maderna in championship round competition on Wednesday.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
Michael Hunter Drops Semifinal Bout at the Americas Qualifier
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Super heavyweight Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) suffered a devastating loss in his semifinal bout with Venezuela’s Jose Payares at the Americas Qualifier in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The defeat eliminates Hunter from Olympic contention.
Hunter, who had been battling an illness throughout his time in Guatemala, fell behind by one point after the opening two minutes before the Venezuelan extended his lead to a 5-2 margin after two rounds of boxing. Payares moved out to a four-point advantage in the third before winning a 10-3 decision over Hunter.
With Hunter and Downs failing to qualify, the United States will take nine boxers to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The nine boxers is the same size squad that represented the United States in Athens at the 2004 Olympic Games. The nine boxers competing in the Olympic Games will be light flyweight Luis Yanez (Duncanville, Texas), flyweight Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio), bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.), featherweight Raynell Williams (Cleveland, Ohio), lightweight Sadam Ali (Brooklyn, N.Y.); light welterweight Javier Molina (Commerce, Calif.), welterweight Demetrius Andrade (Providence, R.I.), middleweight Shawn Estrada (E. Los Angeles, Calif.) and heavyweight Deontay Wilder (Tuscaloosa, Ala.).
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).