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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Team USA’s Claressa Shields Wins Historic Middleweight Gold at the 2012 Olympic Games‏

Claressa Shields of the USA celebrates defeating Nadezda Torlopova of Russia to win gold (AFP, Alberto Pizzoli)

Seventeen-year-old Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) marked her place in the historic books with the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s middleweight division. Shields concluded her run to gold with a 19-12 victory over Russia’s Nadezda Torlopova in the middleweight gold medal bout on Thursday at the ExCel Centre in London. The gold medal is the first for the United States since Andre Ward in 2004 and the first-ever in women’s action.

Shields, whose entertaining style has won many fans at the 2012 Olympic Games, fulfilled her Olympic dream with a third strong performance in London. The teenager came out disciplined in the opening round, feeling out her Russian opponent nearly double Shields’ age, and the bout was tied at three after two minutes of boxing. That was as close as Torlopova would get in the four round bout. Shields began utilizing her strong edge in hand speed to impose her will in the second and claimed a 10-7 advantage at the halfway mark. She continued to catch the Russian with strong shots and combinations in the third round on her way to a 15-10 lead with one round remaining. Shields extended her advantage to seven in the final two minutes en route to a 19-12 final decision and the middleweight gold medal.

This is something that I’ve wanted for a long time and when I felt that boxing wasn’t going right and my life wasn’t going right, I always wanted a gold medal,” she said. “I just kept working toward it and people were saying that I couldn’t do it, that I was too young, that I’ll never do it. There were going to be girls that would beat me, that had more experience and I proved them all wrong.”

The Flint native dedicated her medal to her hometown and joins Flint boxers Andre Dirrell and Chris Byrd in winning Olympic hardware. Between the three of them, they own every color of medal with Shields completing the trifecta with her gold.

“It’s always dedicated to Flint, that’s where I’m from. It’s dedicated to my coach; he deserves it. He deserves it. He trains a lot of men at our gym but none of them want to dedicate themselves. I feel that USA needed it,” Shields said. “I’m just glad that someone got a gold medal because we were all in the gym together, we all sweat together, we all trained together, we all worked hard together so we all want to see each other succeed.”

The teenager qualified won the Olympic Trials at only 16, claiming both a gold medal and the Outstanding Boxer title at the February event. The Flint Northwestern High School student will return to school for her senior year with her own piece of history to share. Trained by Jason Crutchfield, out of FWC Berston, Shields has been boxing since the age of 11 and quickly took to the sweet science under Crutchfield’s tutelage. She is the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team at only 17.

Flyweight Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) received her bronze medal on Thursday as well, giving Team USA two medals in the three women’s weight divisions.

Shields’ championship bout concludes Olympic boxing action for Team USA.

U.S. Result

165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA dec. Nadezda Torlopova, RUS, 19-12

Claressa Shields quotes

“I think I’m still numb. It feels great and unbelievable, I don’t even know if this is real right now. It feels unbelievable, I can’t believe this happening right now. I’m surprised I didn’t cry though.”

“I was thinking God knows my heart (while on the medal stand).”

“At the end of the day, when I got back from the fight, they always wished me the best. I represent myself and my teammates because if I had to count on one of them to represent me, I would hope that they would do good. I don’t think that anybody feels bad about me representing them, I did a pretty good job.”

“My game plan was to move to the right, and stay away from her right hand.”

“I haven’t been able to think past August 9, today. So having to think past that day right now, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m going to go wherever the wind blows me.”

“My life already changed because I’ve been leaving the country. I haven’t really been home a lot. I know I’m about to have a lot of publicity. I’m going in the history books, people are going to look at me as inspiration. I might have 10,000 followers on twitter when I get back. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to change, I’m going to be able to help me family out. I have a gold medal that I can wear everyday by my choice, it’s mine.”

“My trainers, Jason Crutchfield and Ed Kendall are here. They came to every fight.”

“I didn’t want to underestimate her, I wanted to make sure that I got settled in so with the score being 3-3, I was like alright. I already knew that I was faster than her before the fight. I know that with this being the Olympics, I knew that she was going to step up. It seems like she kind of stepped up in the first round. Then after that, I think she felt that she was stronger than me so she was just going to walk in. When she saw that I had a little bit of power, she kind of stepped back a little bit. Her right hand was her bread and butter.”

“I wasn’t able to call my dad before I fought today. I called him an hour before I fought yesterday but I wasn’t able to today. He watched, he already knows. I’m just going to call him, he’s probably going to be crying or something like that. I just can’t believe this right now.”

“I don’t know, I really can’t say whether I will be back in four years. I like traveling for free, I like going to training camp. I like being able to do what I want to do. I really do love boxing. I want to be the best in boxing. If I can be a two-time gold medalist, my coach and I just have to talk about it.”

“I really wanted to represent the women well and I think I did a great job. I can always do better, I think I showed the best display of women’s boxing. I don’t think that there’s going to be anyone watching the Olympics saying that women can’t box because they saw me get down. I think I did a good job, I think more women will come in to the sport. I think the women who weren’t able to get into the Olympics are proud of me.”

“I will probably wear the medal everyday for the first year. There might be some days where I say I don’t want it to disappear from me, I earned it. This is my medal. I worked too hard, I worked really hard for this medal. I can’t even explain what I went through, all the people I had to deal with and just life period. There were people who were telling me that I couldn’t do this and when someone doubts me, it makes me push harder. So the haters kind of helped.”

“I kept looking at the medal, I tried not to look at it but I was like, there it go. It just made me laugh because I couldn’t believe that this medal was in front of me right now. When he put it on me, I was like aaaah. I started going crazy. I thought I was going to have a seizure or pass out.”

“There’s no good or bad draw. I came prepared to fight the best. If I had Savannah Marshall (reigning world champion), first, I really didn’t care because she beat me. I was in the gym steadily, constantly planning on fighting her. That’s why I beat the Kazakhstan girl so bad because she beat Savannah. I came prepared to fight the best. Girls 6-2, 6-3, girls who are strong, I came prepared. I didn’t care who I had first, second or last, I came prepared to do well. I was going to try my best to win every match.”

“My coach Jason, it’s so deep, that every summer I live with him. I stay with him and his family and whenever he sees me getting a little off track, he’s on me like white on rice. He’s not super strict, but he didn’t’ let me date. Made sure I was at the gym everyday. Sometimes when he couldn’t pick me up, he made me run to the gym. There were a lot of things that I had to sacrifice my own. I had to get up at six a.m. and run, and that was just to show how hungry I was to win. My coach did a lot, he sacrificed a lot of time with me. He used to call and come get me every morning to go run. When I learned how to do it myself, my coach and I were like half and half and we fit right together.”

“During training camp, one of the things that we were working on was patience. People used to hit me and I’d want to get it right back as soon as it happened. As you can see, in my first fight, I did a lot of thinking. The girl was tall and I knew that she didn’t want to fight me so I had to make my own plan to get in there but they told me to stay calm. She might get one point off you but you might be able to get three off in the next 10 seconds so make sure that you think. They were on me everyday to stay on my jab and make sure that I keep my hands up. They added on some tools that I felt like I needed.”

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

Review: Mike Tyson's one-man show packs no punch

There is apparently a threat by someone on Twitter to execute a shooting rampage at the Broadway theater that's playing "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth." This has added something sadly lacking in Tyson's one-man show: any sense of drama.

The former champion boxer and convicted rapist promises at the beginning of his odd and pathetic show, which mercifully ends its run Sunday at the Longacre Theatre, that he'll offer the unvarnished truth of his tortured life. What actually comes out sounds more like a press release written by someone else.

"I know many of you are probably wondering, 'What the hell is Mike Tyson going to do up here onstage tonight?'" he asks. "Well, frankly, I'm wondering the same thing, too."

The two-hour show, directed in a paint-by-numbers style by Spike Lee, doesn't really come to an answer about that. Nothing new or very interesting is revealed, and the stage hasn't been turned into a place for deep thinking. Maybe that's because it was written not by Tyson, but by his wife, Kiki, who got him sober and apparently convinced him that this embarrassment of a show would work.

"Really can't complain these days. I'm really grateful things have come full circle for me," he says, somewhat unconsciously mournful. "I'm pretty domesticated now."

The show traces Iron Mike's rise from violent street hood in Brooklyn to a fearsome athlete. Then comes the fall — prison inmate, tabloid target, cocaine and Evander Holyfield's delicious ear. (He admits he wanted to title the performance "Boxing, Bitches and Lawsuits.")

First wife Robin Givens and ex-manager Don King are excoriated. Kiki Tyson, not surprisingly, comes off angelic. As does trainer Cus D'Amato, a father figure as much as an adviser, who fed him with the thirst for success. The account of the accidental death of his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus, is heartbreaking. But unlike shows by masters of the genre — John Leguizamo, for instance — this is a string of anecdotes leading nowhere.

When the audience arrives, the Longacre has been turned into a dance club, with DJ Clark Kent spinning mostly Jay-Z from a box. The inside of the theater has been lazily decorated by Tim Mackabee with what looks like homemade banners from Brooklyn neighborhoods. (Carroll Gardens? Really?)

Projections of photos and videos accompany Tyson's soliloquies without adding much. Lee didn't feel it necessary to find much archive footage. So when Tyson is talking about his tough childhood home, the screen is filled with a nice-looking complex — it's the new one built over the slum. (Lee shakes his camera to make it look ominous, but it's futile.)

The stocky boxer opens the show seated in the dark as Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" plays, presumably to highlight the lyrics, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn/Is just to love and be loved in return."

"I promise if you listen and you really trust me, you'll leave here with both ears tonight," Tyson vows. The theater is half-empty and it soon gets emptier. Not everyone wants an earful of drivel. (Plus, there's more interesting things outside, like a police car in case the Twitter threat turns real.)

There's a funny story about Brad Pitt, who showed up one day as Givens' date while Tyson was still sleeping with her. The actor apparently looked pretty freaked out to see the muscular boxer. There's another rambling tale about Tyson fighting fellow boxer Mitch Green while his rival was on angel dust (he never stayed down).

Tyson denies raping 18-year-old Rhode Island beauty queen Desiree Washington. "I deserved to be punished for all the pain and humiliation I caused plenty of women. But I didn't deserve the punishment I got from this women," he says. That inexplicably leads to a funny story about Florence Henderson visiting him in prison.

It's clear that Tyson is not a natural stage presence. He actually seems like a changed man and a sweet one, too, but his high voice and mumbling make it hard to hear even — if you wanted to. He stumbles over words like "scrotum" and "abstinence" and blames Lee for salting the show with words to make him look smart.

But the fact that it's not in his own words just makes him look like a puppet with others pulling the strings — the very thing he complains about throughout his hard-knock life.

It's no contest: Tyson beaten by Broadway in a quick TKO.

Adams, Taylor and Shields win first ever women's boxing gold medals‏

Olympic history was re-written at the ExCeL with the first ever Women's boxing gold medals presented to Nicolas Adams of Great Britain, Ireland's Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields of the United States.

The first of the Women's Finals, the Flyweights (51kg), saw Great Britain's Nicola Adams faced her nemesis in the last two AIBA World Boxing Championships, the boxer who defeated her both times in the final and the dominant force in this weight category, China's 26-year-old Cancan Ren.

It began at a frantic pace with Adams seemingly landing the cleaner shots with a couple of big right hands finding their target. It was fast and furious with the Brit taking the first round 4:2. Unrelenting in the second, Adams continued to unload on Ren, and midway through the round, she threw a huge right that floored the Chinese southpaw, with Ren having to take a standing eight count. The partisan crowd were singing in unison, "Nicola, Nicola", as she stormed into a five point lead after claiming the second 5:2. Ren sprung into action in the third but the British orthodox fighter, clearly buoyed by the support, was counter-punching expertly and scored heavily to win that round by a clear four points. At ease and moving well, the 29-year-old Adams used her jab well to close out the fight and win in style 16:7, becoming in the process the first woman in the history of the Olympic Games to claim a boxing gold medal.

There was a bronze medal for Marlen Esparza from the United States, who had fought valiantly against Ren in the semi-finals but was ultimately defeated by the three-time AIBA World Champion. There was huge cheer for Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte, also known as Mery Kom, the diminutive Indian who moved up two weight classes in order to qualify and compete at these Olympic Games, as she also collected her bronze. The 29-year-old from India had shown true grit and determination to defeat bigger and stronger opponents to make it onto the podium.

It was a sea of green at the ExCeL arena, with Irish fans out in force to see Katie Taylor take to the ring against the tough Russian southpaw Sofya Ochigava in the Lightweight (60kg) final. The quadruple AIBA World Champion from Ireland began the contest as the overwhelming favourite and with vociferous support; the pressure on the 26-year-old was huge. It was tentative by both boxers in the early exchanges of the opening round and with the two evenly matched, the points were shared, 2:2. Ochigava was boxing exceptionally well, throwing some good punches on the counter as she edged the second round 2:1. A couple of good right hooks by Taylor saw her regain the initiative and in the third she landed two sublime straight right hands to go two points clear going into the final round. It was a tense finale but Katie Taylor confirmed her legendary status with a hard-fought 10:8 victory as the ExCeL exploded into delirium.

Joining the finalists on the podium to collect their bronze medals, were Tajikistan's 19-year-old Mavzuna Chorieva, one of the success stories of these Olympic Games and at print the only medallist from her country, and the experienced Brazilian orthodox Adriana Araujo, who had come through two tough contests to make it to the semi-final stages.

American teenage sensation Claressa Shields battled 33-year-old two-time European Champion and 2010 World Champion from Russia, second seed Nadezda Torlpova in the Middleweight (75kg) final. The 17-year-old US star had been in scintillating form coming into this contest and started in confident mood, looking to connect with the jab and that big one-two combination. The experienced Russian's height however allowed her to thwart Shields' attacks to land a few good shots of her own as the first round was tied 3:3. The fledgling young talent initially struggled to get on the inside of her opponent but as she slowly wore her down she connected with a series of hard combinations to open a gap of three points after taking the second 7:4. The speed of Shields and her sheer determination saw her land some huge hits with a couple of good overheads landing flush on her rival's chin as she powered into a five point lead going into the fourth round. The American starlet seemed simply unstoppable as she calimed the gold medal with an impressive 19:12 victory.

Bronze medals in this category went to Maria Volnova of Kazakhstan, who defeated the top seeded favourite Savannah Marshall of Great Britain in the quarter-finals, and China's 22-year-old Jinzi Li, who had come through two gruelling fights of her own to claim that medal.

Friday is semi-finals day for all ten Men's weight categories, it promises to be a day to remember.

Katie Taylor adds best boxer trophy to Olympic gold medal‏

It has always been tradition for the best boxer across all of the Men's weight categories to be rewarded for his efforts with a trophy, but with Women making their debut at the Olympic Games this year, it was decided that the same honour should be bestowed upon them.

The choice would be decided by the experts, by the journalists, those who covered every single minute of competition, analysed and dissected every bout to give their expert opinions.

After triumphing in the Lightweight (60kg) final, Ireland's Katie Taylor was the overwhelming choice to take the 'Best Women's Boxer of the London 2012 Olympic Games' trophy. Her technique, her poise and her all-round excellence had the pundits acclaiming her exploits in unison as she took sixty percent of the vote.

A pioneer, 25-year-old Katie Taylor has taking the sport to new heights with her level of skills and dedication to the sport. She is a worthy winner of the first ever women's best boxer trophy. The decision was not decided on sentiment; the experts agreed that her performances at the ExCeL in both the quarters and semi-finals made her the perfect choice to be rewarded with the trophy. The Irish legend was in scintillating form in her previous two bouts, eliminating the rising star from Tajikistan Mavzuna Chorieva in the semi-finals and before that overcoming the tough challenge of Natasha Jonas of Great Britain in arguably the best contest of the whole competition, including the men.

We are proud at AIBA that Katie Taylor has graced the sport of boxing and we sincerely hope that she will be there in Rio 2016 to defend her title and once again showcase women's boxing in all its splendour.

Errol Spence Drops Quarterfinal Bout to Russian Foe at the 2012 Olympic Games‏

The final American male boxer, welterweight Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas), fell in quarterfinal action on Tuesday at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Spence faced 2009 World Championships silver medalist Andrey Zamkovoy of Russia for a spot on the medal stand, and it was the Russian advancing to the semifinal round with a 16-11 victory.

Spence claimed a spot on the quarterfinal round following a successful protest of his bout against India’s Krishan Vikas in the second round. The 22-year-old hoped to use the momentum in his bout with Zamkovoy, which was a rematch from a March bout. Spence won the earlier match-up but he didn’t have the same success in London.

The American boxer got off to a somewhat slow start in a tactical first round for both boxers as Spence looked to solve his Russian opponent. Zamkovoy held a 4-3 lead after the first but Spence became more aggressive in the second round, pressing the action against the Russian. Yet it was Zamkovoy holding a 9-7 advantage with one round remaining. Spence came out quickly in the final round while Zamkovoy looked to tie him up and hold throughout the final three minutes. He tried to fight out of the Russian’s lock and land shots in the final round but he wasn’t able to score enough to overcome his deficit and Zamkovoy won a 16-11 final decision. The loss eliminates Spence, the final male American boxer in contention at the 2012 Olympic Games, from the tournament.

“I started a little bit slow, I could have started a little bit faster then what I did. Overall, he’s a good fighter. He was just the better man today,” Spence said. “I took me a little while to feel him out. Usually in my fights, I start real slow and feel my opponents out, but today it kind of hurt me.”

U.S. Result

152 lbs: Andrey Zamkovoy, RUS, dec. Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas/USA, 16-11

Errol Spence Quotes

“I’m using to fighting southpaws. The Indian guy (Spence’s last opponent) was a southpaw and I’m used to fighting southpaws at home. You’d always rather fight orthodox guys.”

“It doesn’t make it difficult (losing after getting a second chance with the protest). I thought I won the fight (against the Indian boxer) anyway so it wasn’t difficult. I was really disappointed that I left the tournament the way I did when I fought the Indian boxer. But having a guy be better than me tonight is not a disappointment. He was just the better man and I’d rather go out like that then the way I did against the Indian boxer.”

“There was a little bit of pressure there, but it didn’t affect me in the ring. I didn’t think about it once I was in the ring.”

“I plan to come back and help the amateur program in 2016. I’m kind of disappointed that I’m out of the tournament. I’m just glad it was a better guy beating me rather than the way it happened before.”

“Fighting international fighters is always unusual because of the awkward style that they have and that made me start out late but I don’t take anything from him. He fought a good fight and he was the better man today.”

“My corner told me that I needed to throw more punches and stop waiting for him to throw and then I’d throw. Initiate the action.”

“I felt more comfortable, I’ve been more aggressive this tournament. I have an aggressive style, that’s just the way I fight. I wanted to come forward and I was trying to figure him out in the first round but I should have picked up the pace and when I did, it was too late.”

“Everybody here is tough, everybody here is the best in the world. I didn’t feel the pressure, I had a little bit of confidence because I beat him in March so I had a little bit more confidence but he stepped it up a little bit.”

“It’s a big eye opener but it’s kind of too late because I’m turning pro. I got a lot of experience and I’m happy I did because the experience was great. I met a lot of people and I think I gained a lot of fans and hopefully they will follow me.”

“I was happy (after the decision was overturned) that I got to fight again and I got a second chance because I didn’t want to be known for that loss.”

WealthTV secures the Live Telecast for the IBF North American Heavyweight Battle of Tomasz Adamek vs Travis Walker‏

WealthTV, the latest destination for boxing’s premier live events, Main Events & Ziggy Promotions, announced today that WealthTV has secured the live US television rights for the upcoming heavyweight battle between Tomasz “Goral” Adamek (46-2-0) and Travis “Freight Train” Walker (39-7-1) for the IBF North American Heavyweight Title.

The fight will originate in front of Adamek’s rabid fans at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This will be Adamek’s ninth appearance at the “Pru Center”

Adamek of Gilowice, Poland is the former World Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion and is widely regarded as the top Heavyweight not named Klitschko as he has amassed a record of 8-1 as a Heavyweight with signature wins over Former title challengers Andrew Golota, Chris Arreola, Michael Grant and most recently Eddie Chambers.

With a win over the battle tested Walker, Adamek will be right back in position at the top of the list to earn another shot at Heavyweight Supremacy.

Standing nearly 6’5” Walker of Houston, Texas is coming off a big TKO win over IBF Pan Pacific Title Holder and former world title challenger tough Australian Kali Meehan. Walker is ranked number-twelve by the IBF and a win over Adamek will catapult him to the top of the Heavyweight heap.

“This will be an exciting fight to watch. Adamek is rated 4th in the World and has tremendous talent and speed. Walker is recognized as one of the legitimate heavyweights in the US and has size and power and the winner will see himself in a major fight later in the year. We’re excited to feature this top-world rated match on WealthTV,” stated Charles Herring, president ofWealthTV.

“Once again Tomasz is testing himself against a ranked opponent”, said Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events.

“The winner of this bout will be in the mix for a significant bout in the Heavyweight division. Walker knows that this is his big opportunity to position himself for another major fight”

WealthTV, demonstrating that it’s dedicated to becoming a powerhouse in world-class live professional boxing, will be featuring this world-class heavyweight bout live to its viewers across the United States. In July, WealthTV featured top heavyweight Tyson-Fury on the network. According to Robert Herring, CEO of WealthTV, “There’s an extra level of excitement with the heavyweight bouts and securing this strong event with the main event featuring two of the best heavyweights in the world is exactly what we want to deliver to our viewers.” WealthTV currently has a dozen additional professional bouts in the works for its subscribers.

WealthTV will begin airing the undercard bouts at 3 pm ET on Saturday, September 8^th. The live telecast is available nationally on Verizon FiOS TV, channels 169 and 669 in HD, AT&T U-Verse TV, channels 470 and 1470 in HD, along with over 100 cable systems across the country.

WealthTV secures Live Telecast for Twelve World-Class Boxing Events with Hennessy Sports and GYM Promotions

WealthTV secures Live Telecast for Twelve World-Class Boxing Events with Hennessy Sports and GYM Promotions

WealthTV hooks a combination of World-class Live Boxing Series for its Viewers

WealthTV, the latest destination for boxing’s premier live events, announced today that it has secured the live US television rights for an initial twelve world-class professional boxing events scheduled for 2012 and 2013 from Hennessy Sports and GYM Promotions. WealthTV will air live six select dates from GYM Promotions’ wildly popular boxing series “Fast and Furious”, featuring top rated fighters from across North American. In addition, WealthTV is schedule to air live an additional six dates with UK based Hennessy Sports from its “Next Generation” series.

WealthTV, demonstrating that it’s dedicated to becoming a powerhouse in world-class live professional boxing, is gearing up to showcase multiple fight cards each month. In July, WealthTV featured two live events. On July 7^th the network featured top rated and undefeated UK heavyweight Tyson Fury against Vinny Maddalone, a Hennessy Sports event, to its US audience. A week later, WealthTV PPV featured Anthony Mundine v. Bronco McKart IBF North American Middleweight Championship representing the networks first live pay-per-view. According to Robert Herring, CEO of WealthTV, “We’re dedicated to featuring the best boxers from around the world for our viewers. As we ramp-up, we anticipate airing 20 to30 live events in 2013. Hennessy Sports is allowing us to deliver on that promise.

The “Fast and Furious” boxing series is scheduled to air on select Friday nights with the Hennessy Sports European series airing live on select Saturday afternoons. WealthTV and Hennessy Sports are scheduled to feature at least four live airings in 2012, including on September 21, October 12^th, October 27^th, and December 14^th. WealthTV’s live telecasts are available nationally on Verizon FiOS TV, channels 169 and 669 in HD, AT&T U-Verse TV, channels 470 and 1470 in HD, along with over 100 cable systems across the country.

Claressa Shields into final after sumptuous display‏

It was the Women's semi-finals during the afternoon session on the twelfth day of competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The ExCeL Arena was again packed full with an atmosphere unrivalled.

In the first Flyweight bout (51kg), AIBA World Champion Cancan Ren from China faced the American starlet Marlen Esparza. It was the orthodox 23-year-old USA boxer who looked to take the initiative, using the jab before throwing body shots but the Chinese top seed's quick counter-punching gave her a slender point advantage coming into the second round. The precise shots of the favourite once again saw her score vital point of the counter with her hand speed making the difference. A big right hand from the Chinese southpaw had Esparza on the back foot, however the diminutive American landed a couple of good hits at the end of the third to reduce her deficit to two points coming into the final round. Ren's reach advantage gave her the edge as she booked her place into Thursday's final with a 10:8 victory.

There was a huge cheer for the next two boxers as Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangtechallenged Great Britain's AIBA World Championships silver medallist Nicola Adams in the second Flyweight (51kg) semi-final. Five-time AIBA World Pinweight (46kg) Champion Mery Kom tried hard but unfortunately could not cope with the height and poise of the local fighter. The 29-year-old Brit was clever and did not try to bully Kom, instead looking to make her reach count as she outpointed the Indian legend by a point in each of the four rounds to triumph 11:6 and book her place in the final to face Ren.

The loudest noise was reserved for the women's best pound for pound boxer Katie Taylor as she battled the 19-year-old rising star from Tajikistan Mavzuna Chorieva in the first of the Lightweight (60kg) semi-finals. The Irish legend was moving well, choosing her shots wisely against an opponent who was both tough and undaunted with facing the top seed and overwhelming favourite in the competition. Taylor, who looked in scintillating form in her previous bout, continued where she left off, using that jab before throwing a quality variation of shots to take the first two rounds. The 25-year-old orthodox Irishwoman had too much in her locker for the young Chorieva as she stepped it up another gear in the final two rounds to progress in style 17:9.

Brazil's Adriana Araujo and the second seed from Russia Sofya Ochigava then went to head-to-head to decide who would face Katie Talyor in the Lightweight (60kg) final. It began evenly with both boxers testing each other with the jab. Araujo tried to take the fight to her opponent but was met by stiff resistance and the points were shared in the first. The Russian southpaw's quality counter-punching made the difference in the second and third as she connected with some good hooks to take a four point lead going into the final round. Full of confidence, Ochigava was fighting with her gloves down, inviting her rival in before throwing some quick one-twos as the big left made the difference. The Russian ensuring she would challenge Taylor in the gold medal contest after winning 17:11.

In the first of the Middleweight (75kg) semi-finals, American teenage sensation Claressa Shields came up against Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan. It was fast and furious in the first round as the two went toe-to-toe, however it was the 17-year-old orthodox fighter from the USA who was landing the cleaner shots and she took the first round by two points. Shields was really stamping her authority on the bout in the second as a series of hard hooks hit their target and once against she claimed the round. In the third, a series of powerful right hands by the American had Volnova taking a standing eight count as Shields was now completely dominant. In the end, Shields was simply unstoppable as she stormed to a resounding 29:15 victory after an enthralling battle.

In the final bout of the afternoon session, Russian second seed Nadezda Torlpova met Jinzi Li of China in a contest that would see the winner then challenge Shields in the Middleweight (75kg) final. It was the Chinese orthodox 22-year-old who took the first round after the good use of the jab gave a slender point advantage. Torlpova reassessed her tactics and threw some good variation of punches in the second and third rounds to overturn the deficit. A huge left-right combination rocked Li and the Chinese boxer had to take a standing eight count and the 33-year-old two-time European Champion and 2010 World Champion from Russia confidently closed out the final stages to win 12:10.

The evening session will see the Men's Light Fly (46-49kg), Light Welter (64kg) and Light Heavyweights (81kg) battling it out in the quarter-finals.

Claressa Shields Advances to the Gold Medal Bout While Marlen Esparza Claims Bronze‏

The final two U.S. competitors in Olympic boxing took the ring on Wednesday and it was a split decision for the pair. Flyweight Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) lost a 10-8 bout to reigning World Champion Cancan Ren of China while Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) won a dominant 29-15 victory over Kazakhstan’s Marina Volnova. Esparza will leave London with a bronze medal but Shields will vie for gold on Thursday.

After facing a towering two-time World Champion in her Olympic opener, Shields enjoyed a much easier day in her semifinal contest with Volnova. The power-punching teenager started landing heavy shots early in the bout, and held a 7-5 lead after the round. She continued to control the action in the second, boxing well off the ropes and getting the best of the exchanges and Shields enjoyed a 12-8 advantage at the midway mark of the bout. Yet it was the third round where Shields really began to impose her will. She landed every punch in the book, giving Volnova a standing eight count en route a 20-11 lead with one round remaining. Volnova had no answer for Shields in the fourth round as the 17-year-old continued to catch her with heavy shots, giving her another standing eight count. She continued her onslaught through the sound of the final bell and went on to win a 29-15 final decision. Shields victory earns her a berth in the championship bout where she will face Russia’s Nadezda Torlopova.

“She was going to try and come in and fight me, she didn’t have any other option. She couldn’t outbox me so she was going to come in and try to out-bang me. We already knew that and we came up with a game plan for it,” Shields said. “The game plan was basically to move to the right and jab and box her but she didn’t respect me when I did that so I turned it into a fun game and I started banging with her. I got the best of it, I was able to pick my shots, make her miss a lot and we were just in there fighting. It was fun though.”

Should she win tomorrow’s championship bout, Shields will be the first American boxer since Andre Ward to win Olympic gold and the first middleweight champion ever in women’s Olympic boxing.

Esparza faced a much more tactical and slow-paced bout with her Chinese opponent and the 23-year-old veteran planned well for her inactive opponent. The first round was contested at a very slow pace with Esparza looking to make Ren come forward and the Chinese boxer was up by a 3-2 margin after one. The trend continued in the second round as Esparza stayed disciplined and looked to bait Ren, but she trailed 7-4 after two. Esparza picked up the pace in the third round, still boxing in a tactical fashion with her awkward and frustrating opponent and she was able to knock one point off Ren’s advantage. She faced an 8-6 deficit as the final round began but wasn’t discouraged by the score. Esparza stayed focused, and set up strong right hand shots, while Ren refused to engage over the final two minutes. However it was Ren taking the decision, winning the bout by a 10-8 margin. Although the loss eliminates Esparza from the tournament, she still claims a bronze medal in the Olympic debut of women’s boxing.

“I thought I got away with it. I really thought that I landed, I guess maybe her punches are a little longer, a little easier to see. I have to watch the tape but I definitely thought that I got away with it. When I was only down by two, I thought, okay I can do that because I was starting to find my range. I should have shot off my breaks more but its hard with someone that constantly pulls back. She was frustrated, she was pissed because I wasn’t coming forward so that was part of the game plan and I thought I did everything that I could do.”

Shields will face Torlopova tomorrow at 5:15 p.m. London time (12:15 ET).

U.S. Results

112 lbs: Cancan Ren, CHN, dec. Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas/USA, 10-8

165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA dec. Marina Volnova, KAZ, 29-15

Marlen Esparza Quotes

“I can’t be angry about any medal at all but it wasn’t my goal. I did accomplish something here, it just wasn’t what I had in my head but any medal is a blessing at the Games.”

“We knew she wasn’t going to commit ever so the game plan was to not go forward so when I did, that’s when I got in trouble. When I did leap forward, she would catch me with those hooks. So when I didn’t follow the game plan was when I did get countered, but the point was to throw when she throws. In the beginning, it was just supposed to be one punch and see if she comes back with anything. I thought I got away with it so I can’t really change too much.”

“The third and fourth round was also the plan, I wasn’t really supposed to throw in the first or second. I was supposed to only wing it in the first and second and see what she does and find my range and then got closer in the third and fourth. I thought I got away with it in the last round because I really didn’t feel anything but I didn’t.”

“No her style is as boring to us as it is to everyone else. Everyone can’t stand it but it works so you can’t blame her.”

“This was my hardest loss because I thought I was gonna win. Usually, 99% of the time, when you get in the ring, you know if you’re gonna lose or if you’re gonna win and I definitely thought I was gonna win.”

“I hope that whatever I did was some type of limelight for what we can do (female boxers). I was hoping for a gold medal to have a little more concrete of a reason but I’m hoping that whatever we’re doing here, not just myself, but everyone else gives us more of a force to get in as a solid start.”

“I’m done, that was my last bout.”

“My body’s falling apart already. I’m in sports med about four hours a day.”

“I think for the women in the U.S., we’re very capable of competing in this sport. We’re very capable of competing with other countries so I think we’re doing very well for the three women that did come and hopefully it will give us a foot in the door, more than we already have.”

“I thought I got away with it, I wasn’t too nervous at the decision. I was gaining every round and I felt that my last round was my better round and I thought they were going to give me what I felt. I thought it was even or I was up by one and I figured if it was even, I would win on punch count. I was feeling really good about it and I could tell she was worried and her coach wasn’t so happy so I felt good until I heard the score and then I knew.”

“It (the Olympics) was definitely more than I expected, I played it in my mind a hundred times but it was way better than I ever thought. It was a big crowd, it was fun, it was beautiful so it definitely surpassed my expectations.”

“The worst part about it is that you imagine it in your mind so many times and to watch somebody else right in front of me feel and get and have what I feel like I worked my whole life for is just horrible but its just the way it worked out for me so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I plan to be really fat later on. I’m just going to watch boxing. I’m done. Maybe coaching later. I’m just going to go school and see what life is actually besides boxing.”

“It was definitely worth it. It didn’t play out exactly the way I wanted but besides getting a gold medal, I wouldn’t change anything.”

“Olympic medalist has a nice ring to it but the podium’s not going to be as fun as I thought it was going to be.”

“I’m a hard critic so I really don’t feel like I accomplished enough for us (female boxers). I had a lot of media so I figured if anyone was going to do it, it was going to be me.”

Claressa Shields Quotes

“I do that, they actually don’t like me on the ropes. I fight good off the ropes, they want me to stay in the middle of the ring but I’m good at fighting off the ropes.”

“It’s wonderful (knowing that I’m going to fight for the gold medal). I’m already thinking, is it really true? Am I really gonna fight for the gold tomorrow? I just think to myself, I’m not dreaming anymore, its real. I know I can beat anybody so it’s right there. I just have to grab it.”

“I didn’t know what they were saying but I saw in the second round he was doing this (makes jab motion) so I know he was telling me to use my jab. Use it, use it. I did that and it opened me up to a lot more combinations.”

“I think that’s the performance I wanted everyone to see. My performance the other day was okay. I was fighting a taller girl, I threw a lot of wide shots but this one. I was able to put my combinations together, land my clean, hard shots, punch straight. I was able to do a lot of things that people don’t see women doing.”

“I know I was faster than her before I got in the ring.”

“I’m not going to celebrate too early, people do that. They get excited that I won a bronze medal. I’m not going to do that. I have to make sure I stay focused. I think yesterday, I was with my coaches the whole day. We went out and had dinner. I ate some duck. We really just sat down and talked about all my mistakes from my first fight. He told me what he wanted me to do this fight.”

“When Errol lost last light, I felt kind of heavy. I was like ugh. It might be all on me and Marlen. It might me all on me. It’s all on me to get a gold medal. I can overcome all that because at the end of the day, I have to get in the ring and fight.”

“I’ll take on any task that has to do with women’s boxing so if that’s what’s asked me I’ll be the face of American women’s boxing.”

“I was a lot sharper than what I was. People were like you swing wide and fight like Rocky Balboa.”

“My favorite Rocky movie is when he beat the Russian. No, when he fought Mr. T. Mr. T is crazy but I feel like this fight, I showed my Sugar Ray Robinson. I like to call myself Baby Robinson because I feel like I fight like him. I did my thing today. Out of 1 through 10, I’d give myself an eight or nine.”

“Right now, I can’t imagine winning a gold medal. Not right now.”

“I like the way Sugar Ray Leonard fights too but Robinson is someone that I’ve looked up to forever. Whenever I’m stressed out or I have a bad day, I use it to calm myself down. I was watching Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta last night.”

“I was geeked up, I listened to slow music to calm me down and some crunk music to geek me up. I had to have confidence going in there. Whenever someone wants to bang with you, you can either say I’m not going to bang with this person, I’m going to let them beat me up or you can fight them and I got the best of her every round so I did pretty good. The first round, I didn’t like that. It was like we were trading and I’m supposed to be hitting her and she’s not supposed to be hitting me.”

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Thursday, August 9, 2012