Several lowly-rated boxers shocked their strong opponents by either defeating them or giving them a hard time to win at the Light Welter (64kg) and Welterweight (69kg) competitions?on Sunday.
World Welterweight Champion Demetrius Andrade (USA) escaped a possible surprising defeat by Georgian boxer Kakhaber Jvania, with a close score of 11-9. Andrade started cautiously, gaining a 2-0 lead in the opening round before facing a fierce onslaught from Jvania in the second round which ended 2-2.
Cautioned for ducking and grappling, Andrade finally came out with a flurry of punches in the third round, which he won 6-4. The Georgian battled on and with a series of quick punches claimed the fourth round 3-1.
British teenager Billy Joe Saunders also depressed world Bronze medalist Adem Kilicci (TUR) with a 14-3 victory in the Welterweight (69kg) class.
After a cautious start and with a 2-0 lead in the opening round, Saunders prevailed over Kilicci in the second which he won 4-1 before dominating the third and fourth rounds with a 5-1 and 3-1 scores.
Chinese Hanati Silamu defeated his Zambian challenger Makina Precious with ease by a score of 21-4. Enjoying more power and faster movement, Hanati controlled the bout from the first round, and thrust powerful punches to Precious. At the fourth round, the referee had to give Precious a count eight after seeing his obvious disadvantage.
At another exciting 69kg fight, German Jack Culcay Keth crashed with South Korean Kim Jungjoo with a final tie of 11-11. The referee in the end declared Kim winner of the game.
During the 64kg competition, world Silver medalist Gennady Kovalev (RUS) defeated his Chinese opponent Maimaitituersun Qiong with an obvious lead of seven points. Qiong fought fearlessly against his powerful opponents, but was lagged behind by his ineffective punches and less skillful defense.
Ionut Gheorghe (ROU), the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Bronze Light Welterweight (64kg) medallist, notched-up a facile 21-4 win over Jonathan Gonzalez Ortiz (PUR). Boris Georgiev (BUL), another 2004 Games Bronze medal winner, got the better of an injured Javier Molina (USA) 14-1. The capable Cuban Roniel Iglesias smashed his Cameroonean rival Mahaman Smaila with a stunning 15-1.
(Xinhua News Agency August 11)