WHO ARE THE FAVORITES FOR THE OLYMPIC TEAM NOW

[Dennis]

My former ameatur friend has fought 3 of the 8 finalists for the heavyweight box offs. (Wilder, Carey and Lawtown). I might add he went 2-1 versus these guys. I was also in attendance at all 3.
punching power - Wilder
speed - Lawton
ameatur style - Carey

Carey is obvisouly a groomed amateur from day one. Wilder is a beast but Lawton is a good boxer and may be the better pro. He is a bit undersized compared to these other guys.
My choice would be lawton but I think Carey's style is very favorable for this level of amateur boxing. Wilder is a maniac but his lack of skill is bound to show soon.

Who is your friend? You say former amateur friend, does that mean he is now pro?
Is it Isiah Thomas? I know Isiah Thomas defeated Lawton and lost to Wilder, but I'm not aware of him ever boxing Carey.
It is probably James Zimmerman since he defeated Lawton and lost to Wilder in '07 US Championships, but he lost to Carey at Pan-Am Box-offs. Perhaps they boxed some other time and Jimmy won.
I can't think of anyone else who has boxed Wilder and possibly the other two. Wilder only has 20 or so bouts.

[mich3102]

No, it is Brad Ginn. He retired from boxing after he beat wilder in the 2006 Alabama Golden Gloves. He beat lawton in a show bout in thomasville, ga and lost to Carey in the Ringsides back in 04.
He had unbelievable power. Lawton got hit early and never wanted to come back in. Carey pretty much stayed away from him and won a disputed decision. The Wilder fight was a slugfest and Brad wasnt at his best but still outworked Wilder to win the decision. I think they both traded multiple 8 counts. He did say that Wilder was the hardest hitter he ever fought. That included Jo-ell Godfrey.
He has actually gotten rejevunated after seeing Wilder do what he has.
I have been on him to turn pro with me.

[jpm1978]

HERE ARE MY PICKS.

106- LUIS YANEZ

112- RAU'SHEE WARREN

119- GARY RUSSELL

125- RAYNELL WILLIAMS

132- TERENCE CRAWFORD

141- BRAD SOLOMON OR JAVIER MOLINA

152- DEMETRIUS ANDRADE

165- SHAWN PORTER OR FERNANDO GUERRERO

178- CHRISTOPHER DOWNS

201- ADAM WILLETT

201+ - MIKE WILSON

i likes most of your picks, but bro here are mine;
106 - Yanez
112 - Warren
119 - Russell
125 - R. Williams
132 - Crawford
141 - Molina
152 - Andrade (Hatley has an outside shot)
165 - Guerrero or Porter
178 - Downs
201 - Willet
201+ - Hunter

so we J-Box almost agrees on everythang now we sees how the boxoffs go in houston to bad boxmel can't give us her reports so i guess we just sit back en see :x are they puttin these on the tv or cable or something : or we just gonna not know anyone know

[boxmel]

You'll be able to get daily updates on the USA Boxing web site at http://www.usaboxing.org. Julie Goldsticker, Media Director, posts daily recaps after the sessions, as well as the results.

[Dennis]

No, it is Brad Ginn. He retired from boxing after he beat wilder in the 2006 Alabama Golden Gloves. He beat lawton in a show bout in thomasville, ga and lost to Carey in the Ringsides back in 04.
He had unbelievable power. Lawton got hit early and never wanted to come back in. Carey pretty much stayed away from him and won a disputed decision. The Wilder fight was a slugfest and Brad wasnt at his best but still outworked Wilder to win the decision. I think they both traded multiple 8 counts. He did say that Wilder was the hardest hitter he ever fought. That included Jo-ell Godfrey.
He has actually gotten rejevunated after seeing Wilder do what he has.
I have been on him to turn pro with me.

It looks like Brad is about 6'0" or 6'1" and a southpaw. Is that correct? Why did he quit boxing?
Wilder does have a strong right hand. He is still green, but improving. His conditioning is his weakest link.
What is your name? I probably know you since you have Mich as part of your user name. I would presume that you are from Michigan.

[mich3102]

Yeah that is about right on Brad. He is 32 and has a business of his own. The guy can flat out hit. He was one a few guys that would knock people out cold in the amateurs. It is a shame he didnt have more time. I still think he can do something in the pros or even mma (he has a grappling background also).
My name is Michael Gibbons. Brad and I are both Southpaws. I also fought out of Birmingham, AL with brad but I relocated to Gleasons in Brooklyn to train before returning home to turn pro.
I have dealt with just about every sleazy promoter in the past 4 months. Although I can say I have met some good ones also. I just had to tell one major promotional company to kiss my ass for constantly screwing with me over not signing with anyone else but they never could put me on any of their shows.

[Dennis]

mich3102 - I see that the user name comes from Michael and not Michigan. How many amateur bouts did you have? Any state or national titles? It helps to have a strong amateur background.

Good luck on your pro career.

[mich3102]

I had 21. I was 18-3. I had 3 or so state and a regional. The one year I had a real chance to make a deep run, I broke my nose the week before the state. I won there but there was no way my nose was going to allow me to compete the next week in the regionals. I had to bow out.
Being in Birmingham it was rough to get started. I actually had to do alot of tough man bouts before a club was started. Here is a good article on me.
http://www.bhammag.com/articles/index.php?art_id=34

[emile]

Not worth starting a new thread, but I thought somebody might be interested in Stan Martyniouk now competing for Estonia. He's shooting for the US Championships with his home country and then hopefully the Olympics.

So, maybe he'll make it and there will be another American at Beijing, although his chances seem pretty slim after he was bounced early at the US Championships.

http://www.sacbee.com/353/story/243902.html (requires registration)

[boxmel]

Good article, Emile. We're going to see quite a few of our boxers who didn't make it to the Box-offs, or the Olympic team, boxing for other countries. Glad to see Stan is doing it the right way by getting an official release from USA Boxing. Be interesting to see what he does at the Worlds.

[holeymoley99]

Every year we have a few boxer who try and represent other countires in the Olympics after failing to make ours.

Some make the squads like Andre Berto(Haiti),Darling Jimenez(Dom.Republic) and Jerson Ravelo (Dom.Republic) while some come up just short like George Garcia (Mexico) and Clarence Joseph (Virgin Islands).

Always an interesting story to follow,perhaps some day we will see 2 U.S. fighters in the finals,wouldnt that be something.

[ABA Boxing]

Always an interesting story to follow,perhaps some day we will see 2 U.S. fighters in the finals,wouldnt that be something.

Be something if you managed to get any in the final.

[Kolya]

Always an interesting story to follow,perhaps some day we will see 2 U.S. fighters in the finals,wouldnt that be something.

Be something if you managed to get any in the final.

Ouch. :(

[boxmel]

Said ABA,

Be something if you managed to get any in the final.

Europeans tend to not be very nice when it comes to the U.S.

[emile]

I think the US team will do better than it did in '04. We'll see.

[Kolya]

I think the US team will do better than it did in '04. We'll see.

I don't know about even that. I expect Rau'shee Warren to do better than he did in 04, but who else, really? I'm almost certain Matvei Korobov will take Gold at Middleweight...Chris Downs, because of his size, might have a good chance at Light Heavy, but he's inexperienced (relatively speaking) compared to the other Light Heavies from the Soviet bloc. We could maybe bring home more medals, but I don't know if many Golds are in the forecast for Beijing. I'm just hoping like hell that Duran Caferro is the US's 125 pounder.

[emile]

I think one gold and two bronzes.

That might be optimistic, since there are probably only three weights at the moment that seem reasonable to hope for a medal (112, 119, 152). But you never know what can happen with the short draws at 201 and 201+, and there are a few weights that I think are somewhat unsettled at the international level. If the eventual US entrants at 125 and 141 can show rapid improvement and gain confidence at the WCs, I think a medal is not completely out of the question at those weights.

[Dennis]

I had 21. I was 18-3. I had 3 or so state and a regional. The one year I had a real chance to make a deep run, I broke my nose the week before the state. I won there but there was no way my nose was going to allow me to compete the next week in the regionals. I had to bow out.
Being in Birmingham it was rough to get started. I actually had to do alot of tough man bouts before a club was started. Here is a good article on me.
http://www.bhammag.com/articles/index.php?art_id=34

Michael - nice article. Good luck on your pro debut.

[Dennis]

Every year we have a few boxer who try and represent other countires in the Olympics after failing to make ours.

Some make the squads like Andre Berto(Haiti),Darling Jimenez(Dom.Republic) and Jerson Ravelo (Dom.Republic) while some come up just short like George Garcia (Mexico) and Clarence Joseph (Virgin Islands).

Always an interesting story to follow,perhaps some day we will see 2 U.S. fighters in the finals,wouldnt that be something.

Don't count on that happening anytime in the near future.

[Dennis]

I think one gold and two bronzes.

That might be optimistic, since there are probably only three weights at the moment that seem reasonable to hope for a medal (112, 119, 152). But you never know what can happen with the short draws at 201 and 201+, and there are a few weights that I think are somewhat unsettled at the international level. If the eventual US entrants at 125 and 141 can show rapid improvement and gain confidence at the WCs, I think a medal is not completely out of the question at those weights.

Yanez at 106 has a shot. 125 - the winner will probably be young 17-20 and could develop a lot over the next year. A medal might be a stretch. 132 and 141 will be long shots. 165 - should have a decent shot at a medal. 178 - I doubt it, but I'm hopeful. 201 - depends on who wins and then how hard they work for the next year. Wilder, Willett or Graves will most likely win the Trials Box-offs. You are correct, with a favorable draw a medal is possible. 201+: Hunter, Wilson or James will most likely win the Trials Box-offs. Again with a favorable draw a medal is possible. I think Hunter has more upside due to being young and still maturing. Wilson has the most experience and James has the size.

[emile]

In my opinion, the Eastern Europeans and Central Asians are much more ferocious at the higher weights, so it will probably take magic draws to medal at anything 165 and up. Several of the US fighters who are in the mix at those weights have fought some of the better international fighters, and the results have not been pretty. It's ironic that in a country where the mainstream conventional wisdom is that nobody likes to watch little guys box, that has become the best hope for the Olympics.

I initially included 106 and Yanez as one of the weights where a medal was possible, but after thinking about it, I deleted it. He didn't even win the World Juniors, and the competition at 106 will be strong with Zou, Laffita, Arapetyan, Bedak, maybe Dostiev. Although he has shown himself to be one of the more dominant fighters in US competition, he simply doesn't have the background to indicate that he's likely to medal. But like most of the US fighters, we can always hope for serious improvements between now and Beijing.

I'm bullish on the prospects at 152 though. Hatley, Thurman, and Andrade have all won against good Europeans, so whichever makes it I think has a good shot at a medal.

[pound per pound]

In my opinion, the Eastern Europeans and Central Asians are much more ferocious at the higher weights, so it will probably take magic draws to medal at anything 165 and up. Several of the US fighters who are in the mix at those weights have fought some of the better international fighters, and the results have not been pretty. It's ironic that in a country where the mainstream conventional wisdom is that nobody likes to watch little guys box, that has become the best hope for the Olympics.

I initially included 106 and Yanez as one of the weights where a medal was possible, but after thinking about it, I deleted it. He didn't even win the World Juniors, and the competition at 106 will be strong with Zou, Laffita, Arapetyan, Bedak, maybe Dostiev. Although he has shown himself to be one of the more dominant fighters in US competition, he simply doesn't have the background to indicate that he's likely to medal. But like most of the US fighters, we can always hope for serious improvements between now and Beijing.

I'm bullish on the prospects at 152 though. Hatley, Thurman, and Andrade have all won against good Europeans, so whichever makes it I think has a good shot at a medal.

I don't think this USA team will win more than 1-3 medals. Russel has a real chance to win gold or silver, but outside of him I think the other fighters are long shots to advance to the final round.

[mich3102]

I had 21. I was 18-3. I had 3 or so state and a regional. The one year I had a real chance to make a deep run, I broke my nose the week before the state. I won there but there was no way my nose was going to allow me to compete the next week in the regionals. I had to bow out.
Being in Birmingham it was rough to get started. I actually had to do alot of tough man bouts before a club was started. Here is a good article on me.
http://www.bhammag.com/articles/index.php?art_id=34

Michael - nice article. Good luck on your pro debut.

Thanks Dennis. Unless I am on the July 12th card w/ Moore in the Bronx I will be debuting August 4th in Olive Branch, Ms.

[Dennis]

In my opinion, the Eastern Europeans and Central Asians are much more ferocious at the higher weights, so it will probably take magic draws to medal at anything 165 and up. Several of the US fighters who are in the mix at those weights have fought some of the better international fighters, and the results have not been pretty. It's ironic that in a country where the mainstream conventional wisdom is that nobody likes to watch little guys box, that has become the best hope for the Olympics.

I initially included 106 and Yanez as one of the weights where a medal was possible, but after thinking about it, I deleted it. He didn't even win the World Juniors, and the competition at 106 will be strong with Zou, Laffita, Arapetyan, Bedak, maybe Dostiev. Although he has shown himself to be one of the more dominant fighters in US competition, he simply doesn't have the background to indicate that he's likely to medal. But like most of the US fighters, we can always hope for serious improvements between now and Beijing.

I'm bullish on the prospects at 152 though. Hatley, Thurman, and Andrade have all won against good Europeans, so whichever makes it I think has a good shot at a medal.

I don't think this USA team will win more than 1-3 medals. Russel has a real chance to win gold or silver, but outside of him I think the other fighters are long shots to advance to the final round.

Emile - I think we have a good shot at 165 and 106.
Pound for Pound - Gary Russell, Jr. does have a good shot at making the Olympic team and then medaling. Don't forget Warren at 112. Those two will be the most probable medal winners, but you never know.

[Kolya]

In my opinion, the Eastern Europeans and Central Asians are much more ferocious at the higher weights, so it will probably take magic draws to medal at anything 165 and up. Several of the US fighters who are in the mix at those weights have fought some of the better international fighters, and the results have not been pretty. It's ironic that in a country where the mainstream conventional wisdom is that nobody likes to watch little guys box, that has become the best hope for the Olympics.

I initially included 106 and Yanez as one of the weights where a medal was possible, but after thinking about it, I deleted it. He didn't even win the World Juniors, and the competition at 106 will be strong with Zou, Laffita, Arapetyan, Bedak, maybe Dostiev. Although he has shown himself to be one of the more dominant fighters in US competition, he simply doesn't have the background to indicate that he's likely to medal. But like most of the US fighters, we can always hope for serious improvements between now and Beijing.

I'm bullish on the prospects at 152 though. Hatley, Thurman, and Andrade have all won against good Europeans, so whichever makes it I think has a good shot at a medal.

I don't think this USA team will win more than 1-3 medals. Russel has a real chance to win gold or silver, but outside of him I think the other fighters are long shots to advance to the final round.

Emile - I think we have a good shot at 165 and 106.
Pound for Pound - Gary Russell, Jr. does have a good shot at making the Olympic team and then medaling. Don't forget Warren at 112. Those two will be the most probable medal winners, but you never know.

I don't know about 165. Like Emile mentioned, some of our guys from the US have fought some of the top Europeans and it hasn't been good. Daniel Jacobs fought Matvei Korobov at the World Cup I believe and lost by RSCO in the second round. That doesn't bode well, as he is one of the better 165 pounders, I believe.