33 boxers from 24 countries have secured a medal for themselves in Singapore, at the first Youth Olympic Games. Cuba and Uzbekistan lead the way with three medallists apiece, however, the Caribbean island has the upper hand, with all three of their medallists in today's finals, while the Central Asian republic has to content itself with three bronze medallists beside their sole finalist, Ahmad Mamadjanov in the welterweight.
Six of the eleven gold medallists of the Youth World Championships held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last May, stand a chance of repeating the feat they accomplished at the Caspian seaside capital. Salman Alizada of Azerbaijan (48 kg), Artur Bril of Germany (57 kg), David Lourenço of Brazil (69 kg), plus all three Cuban participants at the Youth Olympic Games - Robeisy Ramirez (54 kg), Irosvani Duverger (81 kg) and Lenier Pero (91 kg) - have qualified for Wednesday's final bouts. The sold-out International Convention Centre in downtown will be a scene of the repeat final from Baku in the light flyweight (Alizada vs Ryan Burnett of Ireland), the bantamweight (Shiva Thapa of India vs Ramirez) and the welterweight (Ahmad Mamadjanov of Uzbekistan vs Lourenço).
Cuba's cakewalk so far is not a surprise. Head coach Humberto Horta's pupils have demonstrated their superior physical and technical skills throughout, they have stepped in the ring six times, won one bout by RSC, and the combined score in the remaining five matches has been 36 to 6 in their favour. "For us it is an unbelievable feat to represent Cuba with three boxers in the finals, the strong preparation has paid off," said coach Horta after Sunday's semi-finals, pointing out that his boxers always put an enormous pressure on the opponent from the first moment of the encounter, making use of their unparallelled physical condition and punching power. After the Caribbean boxers' less successful performance at the Beijing Olympic Games two years ago and the 2009 Elite World Championships in Milan, Cuba seems to have regained its old strength, the successors to the legendary Teófilo Stevenson follow in the footsteps of their giant predecessor.
Azerbaijan - the host country of next year's Elite World Championhips - have sent two of their three boxers into the finals. The first, reigning Youth World Champion Salman Alizada, an astonishingly talented 16 year-old, did not have to work a lot against the home country's sole representative in the semi-finals, but featherweight Elvin Isayev had his hands full with pesky Fradimil Macayo of Venezuela.
Arguably the most improbable finalist is Dj Maaki from the little Pacific island of Nauru, who had a bye in the quarterfinals, then outlasted his opponent from another tropical island, Grenada. Maaki will dedicate his medal to his parents who gave him his first name to commemorate the child's love of music and dance.
Australia has also emerged as a boxing powerhouse at this tournament, thanks to the outstanding performance of Brett Mather - from the Western city of Perth - and Damien Hooper, a mannish boy, hailing from the authentic Australian outback, a little town in Western Queensland. Both have a relentless, powerful style, Hooper having already survived two rounds at last year's Elite Worlds in Milan.
Lithuania have caused probably the major surprise of the semifinals by sending two boxers to the gold medal round, though both athlete's victories were hotly debated by their Indian and Ukrainian opponents. Evaldas Petrauskas beat reigning Youth World Champion Vikas Krishan 4-3, whereas Ricardas Kuncaitis outlasted Oleg Nekliudov 5-4.
The super heavyweight bout, dubbed Clash of the Titans is expected to live up to its name as two giants, Joseph Parker of New Zealend and Tony Yoka of France, face each other. Both are almost two meters tall, with over a hundred kgs of pure muscle each.
Pairings for the finals (Wednesday, 25 August, 2010, Afternoon)
Light Fly 48 kg Salman Alizada (AZE)-Ryan Burnett (IRL)
Fly 51 kg Dj Maaki (NRU)-Emmanuel Rodriguez (PUR)
Bantam 54 kg Shiva Thapa (IND)-Robeisy Ramirez (CUB)
Feather 57 kg Artur Bril (GER)-Elvin Isayev (AZE)
Light 60 kg Brett Mather (AUS)-Evaldas Petrauskas (LIT)
Light Welter 64 kg Ricardas Kuncaitis (LIT)-Samuel Zapata (VEN)
Welter 69 kg Ahmad Mamadjanov (UZB)-David Lourenço (BRA)
Middle 75 kg Juan Carlos Carrillo (COL)-Damien Hooper (AUS)
Light Heavy 81 kg Burak Aksin (TUR)-Irosvani Duverger (CUB)
Heavy 91 kg Fabio Turchi (ITA)- Lenier Pero (CUB)
Super Heavy +91 kg Joseph Parker (NZL)-Tony Yoka (FRA)
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