COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The United States Boxing Team has been eliminated from contention at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico following losses by the final four competitors on Monday. Flyweight John Franklin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), lightweight Toka Kahn Clary (Providence, R.I.), light heavyweight Jeffery Spencer (Fort Carson, Colo.), and super heavyweight Danny Kelly (Washington DC) all dropped their quarterfinal contests in Monday’s quarterfinal action at the Guadalajara Expo Arena.
Franklin was the first U.S. competitor to take the ring, battling Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in his first Pan American Games bout. Ramirez took the early lead, holding a 6-1 advantage after the first round. Ramirez extended his edge to an 11-2 margin after the second round and the referee stopped the contest in third stanza to give the Cuban the victory.
Franklin admitted that he struggled to adapt to the Cuban’s unique style. “I wanted to go forward with my hands up and just try to execute that, but when I got in there, the guy was elusive. He was very slick and his punches came from all over the place. I couldn’t really D it up the way I wanted to,” Franklin said. “My coaches wanted me to throw the right uppercut because he kept leaning every time I jabbed. He just out-smarted me today. He felt stronger than me today and that’s not something I’m used to. It kind of threw me off.”
Kelly was the second American boxer to compete in the day’s afternoon action as he battled Colombia’s Isaias Mena in super heavyweight action. The contest was the closest of the day for the U.S. squad with Kelly and Mena boxing to a 4-4 tie after the first round. The Colombian boxer grabbed a slim 8-7 advantage in the second stanza, and Kelly wasn’t able to take the lead over the final three minutes. Mena won a 13-11 final decision over Kelly, eliminating him from the tournament.
“I pretty much wanted to stay behind my jab. He threw the straight right hand a couple times. I followed behind instead of cutting the ring off,” Kelly said of Mena. “I think I won it because in the last round he didn’t hit me with any punches. I started off slow. I beat myself.”
Kahn Clary took on Brazil’s Robson Conceicao in the first U.S. contest of the evening session, and he wasn’t able to record the first victory for the American squad. Kahn Clary trailed 7-2 after the first and faced an 18-5 deficit after the second stanza. The place was slower in the third round, but Kahn Clary dropped a 21-6 final decision to Conceicao in their lightweight quarterfinal contest.
“I was surprised at the way he came at me. I didn’t think he would jump at me like that. When I watched him fight, he came out a little slower. But when he jumped at me, it changed my game plan. I had to go to a different game plan. When that happened, I couldn’t let my hands go and I couldn’t find a rhythm,” Kahn Clary said of Conceicao. “I didn’t feel he was better than me. He was a strong fighter, but I didn’t feel he was better than me. I just didn’t feel I had the experience to adapt to his style. It just wasn’t my night. I felt like I had the faster hands and the better footwork and I really wasn’t using it that much.”
Spencer closed the night in a tough bout with reigning World Champion Julio de la Cruz of Cuba. Like many of his U.S. teammates, Spencer fell behind early in the bout. De la Cruz outscored Spencer 7-1 in each of the first two rounds en route to a 19-2 final decision. The loss ended Spencer’s Pan American Games and eliminated Team USA from contention in Guadalajara.
“Our plan was to stay low and box him, but after the first round, they had me down 1-7. I kind of got discouraged with the score, but it was my fault for not executing our game plan,” Spencer said. “It’s a learning process. Everything that happens in boxing is a learning process. I just take it as a learning experience and move on.”
Coaches Gloria Peek (Richmond, Va.), Bruce Kawano (Pearl City, Hawaii) and Charles Leverette (Fort Carson, Colo.) led Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games.
For a full schedule and live results from the boxing competition at the 2011 Pan American Games, go to: http://info.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/ZZ/ZZS103A_BX@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG.htm.
U.S. Results
114 lbs/male: Robeisy Ramirez, CUB, stopped John Franklin, Colorado Springs, Colo./USA, RSC-3
132 lbs/male: Robson Conceicao, BRA, dec. Toka Kahn Clary, Providence, R.I./USA, 21-6
178 lbs/male: Julio de la Cruz, CUB, dec. Jeffery Spencer, Fountain, Colo./USA, 19-2
201+ lbs/male: Isaias Mena, COL, dec. Danny Kelly, Washington DC/USA, 13-11
POTENTIAL FIGHT EXPLOSIVENESS IN PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ III
By Reni M. Valenzuela: Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez is a uniquely different contender to fling down the gauntlet against eight-division title-holder Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao cannot afford to hyperbolize his presumed advantages against Marquez. He doesn’t have an assurance to warrant “presumptuousness” heading to a “star war” against the boxer who made him stagger in the air and gave him some real hurting blows in their first two encounters. Only the Marquez camp knows for certain at this juncture who Pacquiao would be up against on fight night.
The room for improvement has no restrictions . Every person has equal opportunity and access to it. Pacquiao went through that room and has emerged a complete boxer. So does a “better” Marquez approaching destiny. But as to what type of a fighter Marquez has evolved to this day against Pacquiao since they last figured in a brawl, the odds makers can only play their familiar game (to guess), wildly as they please.
Marquez is confident and already in a fighting mood as he exuded readiness and determination during a recent interview: “This third fight would be just like the two-closely-fought fights and very much a war… the smarter, better-conditioned fighter will win this fight.”
The Filipino champion has found his match in the Mexican counter-punching specialist who knows how to get up twice each time he falls down. Unlike Pacquiao’s previous opponents, Dinamita has the resilient “distinct style” suitable to challenge the Pacman dynamo (in every round and angle), good enough to cause “shiver” in the heart of Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez, the reason being why they tried to avoid making the trilogy happen. For styles indeed make fights, and make fights intense and classic.
All being invariable in the equation of both fighters’ strength and weakness in style and ability, there is going to be fierce exchange of punches again between Marquez and Pacquiao come November 12, but on one condition. This time, though, it’s going to be a knockout win for either of the two champions, but, again on the same one condition. Other than that, there will be nothing much different in the vaunted upcoming welterweight contest in Las Vegas except that Pacquiao is not the same static, single-dimensional and “less-powerful” fighter anymore from his two previous bouts against Marquez. Thus it would be a great undoing for Marquez to engage Pacquiao exactly the way he did before if he doesn’t pass the test.
Hence the requisite: Unless Marquez catches up with the big improvements of Pacquiao, the outcome of the Pacquiao-Marquez III would be a one-sided sensational and devastating knockout victory within seven rounds in favour of the Filipino sports icon.
Pacman continues to soar. He “lightly” calls the fight to be “personal” to him, a simple-sounding harmless word that carries a lot of weight to what it means and something that the team Marquez ought to take cautiously, and with much preparedness.
The excitement, therefore, of the forthcoming third matchup between a “Superman” and a “Spiderman” is laid heavily on the shoulders of the Mexican “swinging” hero; for him to do enough in training and conditioning to gain grounds in areas where Pacquiao has made adequate strides and has effectively put in place significant “adjustments” to become versatile and stronger inside the ring, or in space.
If Marquez improves just the way he should, he has the chance to pull an “upset” in a surprising fashion or he could be the toughest foe that the current top pound-for-pound pugilist would have ever fought and will ever likely face in the future which may include Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Sergio Martinez.
The ultimate “finale” between Pacquiao and Marquez ought to be suspenseful and very explosive as both fighters could be aptly described in their long-running rivalry as Dynamo vs. Dinamita. Though if not, it is going to be just another “fireworks” exhibition hit-show on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena amid the rousing applause of the entertained “happy” crowd.
renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com
Rodriguez-Rosinsky Not Far Off Judges’ Scoring
CompuBox PunchStats results for last Friday night’s entertaining, 10-round fight between undefeated super middleweight Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez and previously unbeaten Will “Power” Rosinsky, headlining “ShoBox: The Next Generation” at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, were much closer to the judges’ scoring than those by Showtime’s ringside commentators.
All three official judges scored the bout 100-90 in favor of Rodriguez, while the television commentators had it a 95-95 draw.
The CompuBox Punch Stats (see below) revealed that Rodriguez (20-0, 14 KOs) landed more punches in eight of the 10 rounds with one even (4th). The highly-rated Rodriguez was also the sharper and more consistent puncher, as well as busier throughout the course of the rounds, while there were definite lulls in Rosinsky’s attack. That’s why Rodriguez was able to pile-up his numerical advantages.
Overall, Rodriguez landed 83 more power punches than Rosinsky, who connected on 19 more jabs. “La Bomba” rocked Rosinsky in the eighth round, which was the only time either boxer was in trouble.
Team Rosinsky didn’t debate the final outcome, only the disparity between the judges’ scores for both fighters. Everybody was a winner: fans saw what has to be considered one of the top 10 fights of the year, the highly-touted Rodriguez passed his stiffest test against a fellow National amateur champion, and Rosinsky established himself as a potential title challenger.