The G Manifesto

U.S. Olympic Boxing Team on the Ropes

The United States sent nine boxers to the Olympics. After four days of competition, five remain. There are a few viable medal contenders within that group, but the team is reeling after Rau’shee Warren, the reigning flyweight world champion and the team’s best hope of winning gold, lost his opening bout, 9-8, to Lee Ok-Sung of South Korea.

Warren, 21, the only returning boxer from the 2004 Olympics, passed up a potentially lucrative professional career after his first-round light flyweight loss in Athens in an effort to fulfill his promise to his mother, Paulette, of placing a gold medal around her neck. His future, like his team’s, is now in flux.

Once a boxing superpower, the United States has had a turbulent few months, with Warren’s loss ranking as perhaps the most disappointing moment of its time here. The coach Dan Campbell went so far Tuesday night to say that the bizarre circumstances surrounding the outcome of Warren’s match, which he said was scored unfairly, threatens to dent the confidence of the remaining boxers.

Washington D.C.’s Gary Russell Jr., also a medal favorite, collapsed in a desperate final effort to make weight and was disqualified. It continued Sunday and Monday, when Javier Molina and Sadam Ali were defeated handily in their Olympic debuts. And it reached its peak Tuesday when Warren, who fell behind by a point with about 55 seconds remaining, presumed he was winning until the final 15 seconds, when he realized he needed to stop dancing around the edge of the ring and start throwing punches.

Source: Loss by Top Flyweight Sends U.S. Boxers Reeling

Sure isn’t a 1976 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team:

106: Louis Curtis, Washington, D.C.
112: Leo Randolph, Tacoma, Wash. (1st)
119: Charles Mooney, Army (2nd)
125: Davey Lee Armstrong, Puyallup, Wash.
132: Howard Davis Jr., Glen Cove, N.Y. (1st)
139: Ray Leonard, Palmer Park, Md. (1st)
147: Clinton Jackson, Nashville, Tenn.
156: Charles Walker Jr., Mesa, Ariz.
165: Michael Spinks, St. Louis, Mo. (1st)
178: Leon Spinks, St. Louis, Mo. (1st)
+178: Johnny Tate, Knoxville, Tenn. (3rd)

or an 1984 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team:

106: Paul Gonzales, Los Angeles, Calif. (1st)
112: Steve McCrory, Detroit, Mich. (1st)
119: Robert Shannon, Edmonds, Wash.
125: Meldrick Taylor, Philadelphia, Pa. (1st)
132: Pernell Whitaker, Norfolk, Va. (1st)
139: Jerry Page, Columbus, Ohio (1st)
147: Mark Breland, Brooklyn, N.Y. (1st)
156: Frank Tate, Detroit, Mich. (1st)
165: Virgil Hill, Williston, N.D. (2nd)
178: Evander Holyfield, Atlanta, Ga. (3rd)
201: Henry Tillman, Los Angeles, Calif. (1st)
+201: Tyrell Biggs, Philadelphia, Pa. (1st)

Hell, looking back, the 1988 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team was pretty sick too:

106: Michael Carbajal, Phoenix, Ariz. (2nd)
112: Arthur Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn.
119: Kennedy McKinney, Killeen, Texas (1st)
125: Kelcie Banks, Chicago, Ill.
132: Romallis Ellis, Ellenwood, Ga. (3rd)
139: Todd Foster, Great Falls, Mt.
147: Kenneth Gould, Rockford, Ill. (3rd)
156: Roy Jones, Pensacola, Fla. (2nd)
165: Anthony Hembrick, Army/Ft. Bragg, N.C.
178: Andrew Maynard, Army/Ft. Carson, Colo. (1st)
201: Ray Mercer, Army (1st)
+201: Riddick Bowe, Brooklyn, N.Y. (2nd)

Even 1992 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team

106: Eric Griffin, Broussard, La.
112: Timothy Austin, Cincinnati, Ohio (3rd)
119: Sergio Reyes, Marines/Camp Lejeune, N.C.
125: Julian Wheeler, Navy/Virginia Beach
132: Oscar De La Hoya, Los Angeles, Calif. (1st)
139: Vernon Forrest, Augusta, Ga./NMU
147: Pepe Reilly, Glendale, Calif.
156: Raul Marquez, Houston, Texas
165: Chris Byrd, Flint, Mich. (2nd)
178: Montell Griffin, Chicago, Ill.
201: Danell Nicholson, Chicago, Ill.
+201: Larry Donald, Cincinnati, Ohio

1996 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team

106: Albert Guardado, Topeka, Kan.
112: Eric Morel, Madison, Wis.
119: Zahir Raheem, Philadelphia, Pa.
125: Floyd Mayweather, Grand Rapids, Mich.
132: Terrance Cauthen, Philadelphia, Pa.
139: David Diaz, Chicago, Ill.
147: Fernando Vargas, Oxnard, Calif.
156: David Reid, Philadelphia, Pa. (1st)
165: Rhoshii Wells, Riverdale, Ga.
178: Antonio Tarver, Orlando, Fla.
201: Nate Jones, Chicago, Ill.
+201: Lawrence Clay-Bey, Hartford, Conn

and 2000 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team

106: Brian Viloria, Waipahu, Hawaii
112: Jose Navarro, Los Angeles, Calif.
119: Clarence Vinson, Washington, D.C.
125: Ricardo Juarez, Houston, Texas
132: David Jackson, Seattle, Wash.
139: Ricardo Williams, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio
147: Dante Craig, Cincinnati, Ohio
156: Jermain Taylor, Little Rock, Ark.
165: Jeff Lacy, St. Petersburg, Fla.
178: Olanda Anderson, Ft. Carson, Colo./Army
201: Michael Bennett, Chicago, Ill.
+201: Calvin Brock, Charlotte, N.C.

Weren’t too bad.

2004 and 2008 are the weakest yet.

Got to love the ’76 and ’84 though. And ’60 because of Muhammad Ali.

I am young, I am handsome, I am fast, I am pretty and can’t possibly be beat either.

The Rest is Up To You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA The Game Doctor Spock
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

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