2012 Olympic Boxing Results: Vasyl Lomachenko over Arias Romero, Felix Verdejo Sanchez, Gani Zhailauov over Jai Bhagwan, Stefan Härtel & more...
By SecondsOut, special to Doghouse Boxing (Aug 3, 2012) Doghouse Boxing
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By SecondsOut.com on Doghouse Boxing. It was the second round of preliminaries for the Men’s Lightweights (60kg) and Middleweights (75kg) in the afternoon session of the sixth day of competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The packed ExCeL arena was once again treated to some top-class action.
It was a sensational start to the day with the first of the Lightweight (60kg) bouts seeing 24-year-old Vasyl Lomachenko, the top seed in the draw, against the Dominican Republic’s Wellington Arias Romero.
Widely considered the best pound for pound Olympic boxer, the Ukrainian
was just a cut above his opponent, effortlessly moving across the
canvas, biding his time before picking his spots. A great mover,
Lomachenko, the two-time AIBA World Champion, was being economical with
his shots but when he did let fly, he was so accurate, a sweet left
uppercut in the first round typifying that. Just to prove class, just as
the round came to a close, he threw a one-two combination to the body
before unleashing a right uppercut that caught Arias Romero square in
the jaw. It continued like that in the remaining two rounds as the
Ukrainian eased into the next round with a 15:3 win.
The action continued with Tunisia’s Ahmed Mejri battling it out with the orthodox Puerto Rican Felix Verdejo Sanchez in a very entertaining contest. Verdejo Sanchez was using his reach,
moving well before pouncing with some good hooks as he took the first
and second rounds in style. The same shots continued to be very
effective in the final round as the 22-year-old from Puerto Rico booked
his place for the quarter-finals where he will face the supreme
Lomachenko after winning 16:7.
The contest between Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Championships bronze medallist Gani Zhailauov and Jai Bhagwan began fast and furiously with two quick operators going head-to-head.
The Kazak’s footwork was just sensational as he danced around his
opponent, looking to land the big overhead. The taller Indian’s defences
were tight however and he was able to soak up the pressure before
waiting for the perfect opportunity to land those hard right hands as he
took the first. The nimble orthodox Zhailauov changed tack in the
second and used much more variation in his punches and he got instant
results as his rival was unable to cope with his speed as he scored
heavily. In the third, the Kazak continued to dictate proceedings again
to claim a 16:8 victory.
Cuban fourth seed Yasnier Toledo Lopez, silver medallist at the AIBA World Boxing Championships Baku 2011, took time to get into his stride against China’s Qiang Liu in the last Lightweight (60kg) contest of the session. Tentative in the
first, the 21-year-old southpaw from Cuba was showing a lot of respect
for his opponent who had looked very accomplished in his previous fight.
Liu was standing firm to the unrelenting attacks of Toledo Lopez but
the Cuban did enough to take the bout 14:10 and set up a meeting with
Zhailauov in the next phase of the competition.
With several members of the Royal Family attending, including
the Duke of Edinburgh, the much anticipated Middleweight (75kg) showdown
between Great Britain’s Anthony Ogogoand the AIBA World Champion and top seed in the draw Ievgen Khytrov of Ukraine had the raucous crowd up on their feet from the first bell.
23-year-old Ogogo started off positively, throwing the jab then looking
to land with the straight right on several occasions, a good left hook
and a precise uppercut saw him take the first round. The long arms of
the Brit were giving him good protection as the Ukrainian looked to land
those body shots, then with another good left hook, he seemed get the
upper hand but Khytrov came back with a right, and in the blink of an
eye Ogogo had taken two standing eight counts in the closing stages of
the second round. A sensational third saw the two boxers go toe-to-toe
for three minutes with both trading a high volume of power punches. On
count back, it was the British orthodox fighter who went through on
count-back.
Ogogo was delighted after the win, declaring, "You have to
believe in yourself and I certainly believed I could win. The Olympic
Games are meant to inspire and I know I was inspired".
Stefan Härtel of Germany was brilliant against Irish team captain Darren O’Neill,
the European Championships silver medallist, working the body early on
and showing real intent throughout the three rounds. Both boxers played
their part in a scintillating contest but the desire of the German
24-year-old ensured he progressed 19:12 to meet Ogogo for a place in the
semi-finals.
"It was very hard but we were well prepared for that. I had
sparred with him a few months ago. The victory was deserved. I am now
one win away from a medal and I want it", said Härtel after his success.
Then the crowds were treated to a professional performance by Hungary’s Zoltan Harcsa which saw the 20-year-old orthodox dominate the powerful Namibian Mujandjae Kasuto from the first bell, using his superior technique throughout their
encounter. The Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist had too much for his
African rival, seamlessly landing every punch he threw as he recorded
an emphatic 16:7 win.
The final bout of the evening saw tough Esquiva Falcao Florentino confirm his status as a gold medal contender with a quality performance against Soltan Migitinov of Azerbaijan. The Brazilian orthodox AIBA World Championships bronze
medallist showed great tactical awareness as he constantly moved around
the tough Azeri to outpoint his rival in each round and cruise to a
24:11 victory. Esquiva Falcao will now meet Zoltan Harcsa with a
guaranteed bronze medal awaiting the winner.
The evening session
of the sixth day of competition with see the final bouts of the second
round of Lightweight (60kg) and Middleweights (75kg) categories with the
winners moving into the quarter-finals
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This article provided by SecondsOut.com to Doghouse Boxing.
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