DID HUNTER & ESTRADA QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS?

locoxelbox · Post by **locoxelbox** » 28 Apr 2008, 06:16

Both must win one more bout to qualify for the Olympics. Hunter faces venezuelan Jose Payares in his semi-final and Estrada meets brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao.

boxmel · Post by **boxmel** » 28 Apr 2008, 09:11

http://www.aiba.org/default.aspx?pId=1305 for Guatamala results.

Shawn is scheduled to box tomorrow - Tuesday.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » 28 Apr 2008, 12:47

So far we have 8 that have qualified, 1 that did not qualify and the 2 remaining to qualify.

If we get 9, we did the same as in '04. Some people thought we wouldn't get more than half the team qualified. I always thought we would get 8-11 qualified. 11 is no longer possible, but I sure hope we get 9 or 10.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » 28 Apr 2008, 12:50

I still hope that this team does well in Beijing. I would really like to see a handful of the boxers get medals. 4 or 5 medals, with at least 1 gold. More would be awesome, but I'm trying to be optimistically realistic. The draw can have a huge impact on the number of medals.

jtyson · Post by **jtyson** » 28 Apr 2008, 12:56

Dennis wrote:I still hope that this team does well in Beijing. I would really like to see a handful of the boxers get medals. 4 or 5 medals, with at least 1 gold. More would be awesome, but I'm trying to be optimistically realistic. The draw can have a huge impact on the number of medals.

The draw will be important. Although I believe Warren and Andrade will medal regardless. If Hunter wins tomorrow and qualifies with the right draw he could medal. I mean at the WC he went head to head with Timurziev, andlost by a very small margin and Timurziez literally ran the last minute n thirty seconds. Wilder as well. Although he is inconsistent, he did beat Chakiyev

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » 28 Apr 2008, 13:37

With the right draw, I think we have 8 or 9 guys who could medal. Even Andrade and Warren could miss out on a medal if they have to box one of the top guys in the opening round or two of the Olympics. Remember, somebody has to box the guy who wins the Gold medal in the first round of the Olympics. It could easily be the boxer that faces Andrade or Warren.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » 28 Apr 2008, 13:45

106 - Yanez has some big wins, but is somewhat inconsistent.
112 - Warren should medal.
119 - Russell should medal.
125 - Raynell Williams is young, but has skills. It will be tough, but a medal isn't too far fetched.
132 - Sadam Ali is going to have a tough time. He is skilled and tough, but in a tough weight class. A good draw and a medal is possible.
141 - Molina is another really young boxer who might find it really tough like Warren did in '04. I hope he doesn't get a tough draw like Warren did in '04. If he gets a good draw, who knows. He has already surprised a lot of people. I will be cheering for him.
152 - Andrade should medal.
165 - Estrade will find it very difficult to medal. He has found it difficult to qualify. I hope he qualifies and a gets a good draw.
178 - Downs didn't qualify.
201 - Wilder is improving as he gains experience. He has some good wins and close losses. He has been sick a lot so I'm hoping he stays healthy and gets a good draw. With the right draw, a medal is realistic.
201+ - As long as Hunter qualifies, I think he will do well. He is gaining experience and improving. He has some big wins and close losses too. A good draw and we have another medal for USA.

Kolya · Post by **Kolya** » 28 Apr 2008, 16:02

I think I would go one further than Dennis and say I expect Andrade and 'Shee to both win Gold. I'm really optimistic with this team, a very good group of young men who seem to be improving a lot each time out and coming together as a strong group with the training in CS.

Canada · Post by **Canada** » 28 Apr 2008, 16:09

Yanez- Hard to say as he was dominant in winning the Pan Ams , but then seemed to lose 3 or 4 in a row. I still think he is one of the strongest at 106

Warren= GOLD

Russell- Medal

Williams- I believe he is underated= Medal

Ali= Early Exit

Molina= Will do ok, but I doubt will medal

Andrade= GOLD

Estrada= Early Exit

Wilder= Early Exit

Hunter- Only the very elite fighters will beat him (Timurziev, Alfonso, Cammerelle) and I beleive he has what it takes to pull of some upsets, good draw= Medal

Many of these depend on the draw. If Russell for example draws the Russian or Mongolian at 119 before the medal round, he will have tough luck getting on the podium and this goes for everyone.

emile · Post by **emile** » 28 Apr 2008, 16:39

I think you can make a strong argument that Raynell Williams is #4 at his weight. Unfortunately for him, the top three are all young, terrific fighters, and he will be hard pressed to beat any of them if he draws them before the semis. This might be my favorite weight class.

I think it's possible Russell can beat Vodopyanov if they have a rematch, but I also think there are other fighters who can beat Russell. Russell doesn't quite have 'it' - that ability to dominate less talented guys.

Yanez is going to have to improve a lot to medal. He didn't beat anyone of note in Chicago and was outclassed badly by Tanamor. 48kg has a lot of veterans, so he's going to have to get a lot smarter, because it is almost guaranteed he will have a tough draw.

Gray-Fox · Post by **Gray-Fox** » 28 Apr 2008, 18:04

emile wrote:.I think it's possible Russell can beat Vodopyanov if they have a rematch, but I also think there are other fighters who can beat Russell. Russell doesn't quite have 'it' - that ability to dominate less talented guys.

The only people I've seen as virtually unbeatable in recent times are Rigo and Kindelan. If Warren doesn't have "it" then no one else aside from those two have.

Canada · Post by **Canada** » 28 Apr 2008, 20:42

I think Korobov has "it" and Zou certainly has for the last 3 years.

emile · Post by **emile** » 29 Apr 2008, 09:41

Gray-Fox wrote:
emile wrote:.I think it's possible Russell can beat Vodopyanov if they have a rematch, but I also think there are other fighters who can beat Russell. Russell doesn't quite have 'it' - that ability to dominate less talented guys.
The only people I've seen as virtually unbeatable in recent times are Rigo and Kindelan. If Warren doesn't have "it" then no one else aside from those two have.

I was talking about Russell, not Warren - but you are essentially correct in calling my bluster, but more because I actually haven't seen Gary fight all that much. By 'it', I don't mean being unbeatable, I mean having the confidence to control bouts and maximize talent.

Russell has the talent to win the gold (and is helped by his weight not being that strong, IMO), but I think he also has the possibility to get upset early. Against Vodopyanov in Chicago, he was right with him for a while, but when he started to fall behind he got frustrated and taken out of the fight. He also struggled in the Olympic Trials, and there was an article or two about his having trouble dealing with the pressure and being a slow starter and inconsistent.

I'm hoping for the best for him because he seems like a great kid and he's got a lot of energetic people rooting for him.

JMac · Post by **JMac** » 29 Apr 2008, 20:49

Estrada is in with a 12-7 victory in the semi's. Hunter should be boxing soon.

jtyson · Post by **jtyson** » 29 Apr 2008, 21:20

i wish usaboxing.org would post all the results for the rounds and not just the Americans... they are 100x faster than the AIBA

NYboxing · Post by **NYboxing** » 30 Apr 2008, 00:11

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.

(source USA BOXING)

Dancin' Dan · Post by **Dancin' Dan** » 30 Apr 2008, 16:26

I thought Mike Wilson kinda got jammed up by the politics at the box offs this year and probably would have been our super heavy choice. I wish Hunter and Wilson the best. Wilson has the talent but fell out of favor when he had his last national taken from him for marijuana in his blood. He had won two in a row and had been the runner up for the last Olympics.

boxmel · Post by **boxmel** » 30 Apr 2008, 18:46

thought Mike Wilson kinda got jammed up by the politics at the box offs this year

Just curious - what politics?

a87star · Post by **a87star** » 01 May 2008, 12:03

verballistic wrote:
NYboxing wrote: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.

(source USA BOXING)
that's terrible news!! :(

this kid would have been a fan favorite at beijing & with his dad's untimely death you really gotta feel bad for michael...hope he rebounds and goes onto greatness, since at age 19 he DOES have time on his side!!

I think Hunter should stay in the amateurs for another four years. With some more experience, he would definitely qualify in 2012.

JMac · Post by **JMac** » 01 May 2008, 12:36

a87star wrote:

I think Hunter should stay in the amateurs for another four years. With some more experience, he would definitely qualify in 2012.

I asked Mike before the US trials that if didn't make the team, would he turn pro. He said he would turn pro. There are no guarentees in life or boxing. Mike Wilson stayed around 4 more years hoping that he would make the team this time around and it did not work for him. Same thing for Karl Dargon. Dargon didn't even make it to the trials this time. I would love to see a young boxer like Hunter stick around but with no guarentess, I wouldn't blame him for going pro and make money when he can.
Now if USA Boxing or the USOC can come up with a way to pay the top guys like him to stay amateur where they would make similar money as if they were boxing four-six round pro fights, it would be worth their time to try again.
Warren was able to make decent money because he had already been an Olympian.

Dancin' Dan · Post by **Dancin' Dan** » 02 May 2008, 17:38

I used the word politics where I should have used the word poor judging. Both one point losses for Wilson could have easily gone the other way. Seemed a little unfair, but as usual the amateur scoring system is difficult for anyone with more of a pro style.

boxmel · Post by **boxmel** » 02 May 2008, 18:16

but as usual the amateur scoring system is difficult for anyone with more of a pro style.

True - but Mike had enough years in amateur boxing to know how to score points.

janedoe · Post by **janedoe** » 02 May 2008, 20:15

Mel, it is apparent that you have your favorites. I don't remember you ever having anything nice to say about Wilson. Every comment is neutral or in favor of the other boxer, never a compliment or a nice comment. You have been doing this long enough to know the politics in the game. You know full well what politics. Both losses for Wilson and Hunter by one point come on... Then Bethel and Wilson by one point...please it was clear that someone did not want Wilson and Hunter to fight at the nationals. Hunter was the favored boxer. Wilson made a mistake and he payed dearly with his positive drug test. He made good on his word and learned a lesson. He is overall a class act guy. Playing the fact that Hunter lost his father and his win would make a good human interest story was ridiculous. His father was shot on a roof after he hit a cop. He had spiraled down into the life of a drug addict. That would be someone to look up to huh? I feel bad for Hunter losing his bid for this Olympics but maybe he can stick around another four years and make the next team. Or maybe someone a little more favored will come in and Hunter will lose by one point. We all know loyalty is not a guarantee.

emile · Post by **emile** » 02 May 2008, 21:39

janedoe wrote:Mel, it is apparent that you have your favorites. I don't remember you ever having anything nice to say about Wilson. Every comment is neutral or in favor of the other boxer, never a compliment or a nice comment. You have been doing this long enough to know the politics in the game. You know full well what politics. Both losses for Wilson and Hunter by one point come on... Then Bethel and Wilson by one point...please it was clear that someone did not want Wilson and Hunter to fight at the nationals. Hunter was the favored boxer. Wilson made a mistake and he payed dearly with his positive drug test. He made good on his word and learned a lesson. He is overall a class act guy. Playing the fact that Hunter lost his father and his win would make a good human interest story was ridiculous. His father was shot on a roof after he hit a cop. He had spiraled down into the life of a drug addict. That would be someone to look up to huh? I feel bad for Hunter losing his bid for this Olympics but maybe he can stick around another four years and make the next team. Or maybe someone a little more favored will come in and Hunter will lose by one point. We all know loyalty is not a guarantee.

Jane, you're embarrassing yourself, and poor Mike Wilson by association.

locoxelbox · Post by **locoxelbox** » 02 May 2008, 21:40

Dancin' Dan wrote:as usual the amateur scoring system is difficult for anyone with more of a pro style.

The amateur scoring system isn't difficult. You just have to land more shots than the other guy (unless you knock him out of cours). It doesn't favor any style. Just land clean, hard shots and you'll get your hand raised.