(LONDON, ENGLAND) – The U.S. Olympic Boxing Team
pushed its undefeated to streak to four on Sunday night with lightweight Jose Ramirez (Avenal, Calif.) and
welterweight Errol Spence (Desoto,
Texas) both claiming first round wins at the ExCel Centre. Ramirez pulled out a
21-20 decision over France’s Rachid Azzedine and Spence closed the night for Team USA with a 16-10 win over Brazil’s Myke Carvalho de Ribeiro.
Ramirez was the first American boxer to compete in
Sunday’s evening action, facing veteran and World Series of Boxing champion
Azzedine. The 19-year-old looked to get started early in the bout, and enjoyed
success late in the round. He trapped Azzedine on the ropes and landed some
strong shots at the conclusion of the opening round and held a one-point lead
after the first. Both boxers continued to let their hands go in the second but
Ramirez did not relinquish his lead, pushing his advantage to two with three
minutes of boxing remaining. Azzedine attempted to dent Ramirez’s slim lead in
the final round but he wasn’t able to do so and Ramirez won the 21-20 final
decision. He moves on to a Thursday match-up with Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in
his second round bout.
“There were
some nerves coming in, being my first Olympics and being my first bout of the
tournament,” Ramirez said. “Now, I feel like I shook those nerves out and
hopefully I can just be me in the next bout and let my punches flow better, be
smoother inside, and stay smart.”
Spence took the ring just 30 minutes later in a bout
with Carvalho de Ribeiro, and it was clear early on that he was the superior
boxer. The Dallas native got through his first day jitters and a bit of ring
rust, controlling the pace throughout the contest. He took a 5-3 lead after one
and the Brazilian boxer looked to combat Spence with several dirty tactics in
the second round. The referee took a point from Carvalho de Ribeiro in the
second for pushing Spence’s head down repeatedly and Spence held a 12-7
advantage at the end of two. He stayed to the game plan in the third round,
winning a 16-10 final decision and pushing the American winning streak to four.
“The
Brazilians have a style just like us. They fight like Americans and I was kind
of getting used to his style. I wanted to use my jab and pick up the pace. I
saw him get a little bit tired so I wanted to keep the pressure on him,” Spence
said. “The first one is always the toughest one because you have the
butterflies and I haven’t fought since March. I haven’t fought in awhile, at
least five months. So to get the first one out of the way, and get my feet wet
is good.”
Spence will return to the ring on Friday in a second
round match-up with Krishan Vikas of India.
Light
heavyweight Marcus Browne (Staten
Island, N.Y.) will be the only U.S. boxer competing in Monday’s action as he
faces off with Australia’s Damien Hooper at 3:45 p.m. London time (10:45 p.m. ET).
U.S. Results
132 lbs/60
kg: Jose Ramirez, Avenal, Calif./USA dec. Rachid Azzedine, FRA, 21-20
152 lbs/69
kg: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas/USA dec. Myke Carbalho de Ribeiro, BRA,
16-10
Jose Ramirez Quotes
“I didn’t
feel a strong hit from him. I know he landed a couple punches and I know I gave
away some points that I shouldn’t have. I am still very blessed and thankful that
I got the decision. He was a great opponent and it was a great fight. There
were a lot of fans here coming to support both of us. It was a big honor to put
on a good show.”
“I was just
more excited and once I got to the front of the ring and saw the people, a
little nerves came in. I was just excited. I was actually talking to my family
while I was getting ready through skype. I was very blessed that there’s wifi.
I was just trying to think the fight out in my head and stay relaxed and
confident. The nerves did come in but I wasn’t really thinking about my
opponent too much.”
“There’s
always a lot of nerves and tension. You go in there a little tense. I had a lot
of motivation knowing that a lot of people are watching. It tenses your body up
a little bit. I’m very glad that Team USA is doing so well and overall we are
going to take that to the top and go as far as we can go. We are a young team
but we’re very hungry.”
“I just like
the color (of his boxing boots). It stands out. If you look better and you feel
good, you’ll probably fight better. I wanted the gold for the gold medal as
well.”
Errol Spence Quotes
“You have to
stay focused, it comes with the game, some people just fight like that (with
dirty tactics) and you have to stay focused and keep going to the game plan and
doing what you’re doing and what you and your coaches worked on.”
“I could hear
my teammates and I heard my father and my mother screaming. It does a lot, it
is a big momentum booster. It keeps me going and keeps me throwing punches
because I heard them rooting for me.”
“I’m not
surprised (by the strong American start). We worked really hard in training
camp. Everyone has a certain game plan they’re following and as long as we
stick to the game plan, we will be fine.”
“I’ve been
running a little bit earlier here, I run with the team. We do team runs in the
morning.”
“Yes, it’s a
team that’s really close. We’ve been in camp for awhile together and we’ve
known each other for awhile too so that helps. We are all on the same page, we
are all focused and we all have the same goal.”
“It helps a
lot when you’re a little bit tired and you hear your teammates cheering you on,
telling you come on, come on and your mother and father in the crowd. It’s just
a big boost and it gets you going.”
“The nerves
are gone but you still have a little nerves there because you’re fighting in
the Olympics. We are all relaxed and we are all very focused and focused on the
task at hand. We are just going to keep pushing and keep the momentum going and
keep it going as the bouts progress.”
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).
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