SHIFT OF POWER IN OLYMPIC BOXING
by Ronnie Nathanielsz
If the boxing results at the Beijing Olympics is any indication then there’s a clear shift of the balance of power in the sport.
Cuba, the traditional powerhouse in boxing failed, for the first time, to win an Olympic gold medal and had to be content with eight medals of lesser glitter and value.. 4 silver and 4 bronze medals.
It was the first time since 1968 in Mexico that Cuba didn’t win a boxing gold medal. The country boycotted the Los Angeles Games in 1984 and the Seoul Games in 1988.
But its fall from its previous lofty pedestal is understandable since Cuba’s roster of top boxers was decimated by defections in the 18 months prior to the Beijing Games and officials were hard-pressed to prepare a young, competitive squad in the time available.
While the Cubans faltered , China, a rising power on several fronts internationally, won not only its first-ever boxing gold medal but added a second to boot on the same day.
Light flyweight Zou Shiming who won a bronze in Athens four years ago and a gold medal in the 2005 World Championships and then stamped his class in the 2007 World Championships in Chicago beating the Philippines Harry Tanamor easily, was heavily favored to win in Beijing.
Sports Odds had Zou at 1.25 to 1 while Sports Illustrated had him ranked No.1 in its Olympic preview while Tanamor was ranked No. 3 at odds of 11 to 1.
While the Philippines once again failed rather miserably, Thailand proved its pre-eminence in the region with one gold and one silver medal - Somjit Jongjohor winning the flyweight gold and Manus Boonjomrong the 2004 gold medalist settling for silver in the light welterweight division.
Zou lived up to his billing by defeating Mongolia’s Serdamba Purevdorj in the final but Tanamor was a bitter failure, losing to African champion Manyo Plange of Ghana in his very first bout 6-3. The 20 year old Plange was defeated in his next bout. .
While Zou’s gold medal came as no surprise not many expected light heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping to win a gold medal and for the Chinese his victory came as a welcome surprise and demonstrated the progress China has made in the sport.
Super heavyweight Zhilei Zhang gave China a silver in the Super Heavyweight division losing by a Referee Stopped Contest in the fourth round to awesome Italian punching machine Roberto Cammaralle while Silamu Hanati won a bronze after losing in the welterweight semi finals to Cuba’s Carlos Suarez 17-4.
Well-known and internationally respected pro boxing referee Bruce McTavish who has traveled to China to referee fights in recent years told us of the progress China was making in the sport and indicated that while their boxers will take a beating at first they were sure to improve with experience and should soon prove to be a power in boxing.
That assessment was clearly reinforced not just by Zou’s win but more so by Zhang who defeated Ireland’s Kenny Egan in the final by a comfortable 11-7 margin.
Despite Purevdorj’s loss to Zou when he was forced to quit 19 seconds into the second round with a painful shoulder injury, Mongolia was clearly very happy with its showing and in fact a raucous band of Mongolian supporters celebrated their performance with unbridled exuberance.
Aside from the light flyweight silver medal, the small Asian country with a population of less than 3 million people also won a gold medal in the bantamweight class when Badar-Uugan Enkhbat defeated Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba in sensational fashion winning by a lopsided 16-5 margin.
In its worst showing in Olympic history the United States which qualified 9 boxers won only one bronze medal to finish alongside such tiny countries as Mauritius and the Republic of Moldovia while Australia failed to win a single medal despite qualifying nine boxers to the Beijing Games.
