There were really no surprises in the first round
of the bantamweight class. The most emotional bout was the second
bout of the day, which was between USA's Zahir RAHEEM and PRK's
Jong Gil HOE. RAHEEM scored three points in the first 30 seconds
of the bout and went on to win by a score of 19-4. RAHEEM will
face Arnaldo MESA of Cuba in the second round. MESA was originally
scheduled to box at the featherweight class, but because of recent
defections will box at a lower weight class. This match-up will
be a key one the next time that the bantamweights meet which is
on Thursday 25 July.
"I did everything I could early to set the tone," RAHEEM
said. "I began throwing some rights to gain his respect and
it worked. I was comfortable in the ring and could feel the excitement
of representing this country."
Several bouts were stopped by referees in the welterweight
class though all of welterweights looked extremely strong and
were very well prepared for combat. The European Champion from
Denmark Hasan AL looked good and stopped his competitor in the
third round (RSCH-3 (2:35)). He will be one to watch as he advances
through the brackets. Although last year's Pan American Games
bronze medalist Fernando VARGAS (USA) came out a little cautious,
he took control of the match and won by a score of 10-4. The
silver medalist of the 1992 Games Juan HERNANDEZ (CUB) also prevailed,
stopping his opponent in the second round (RSC-2 (1:48)).
"I know that I am a better caliber fighter than I showed today," VARGAS said. "My first fight in a tournament is usually not my best. As the tournament goes on my fighting tends to progress."
Fast Footwork, Upset, Miscommunication Characterize First Round: The highlight bout of the night in the bantamweight class was between THA's Vichairachanon KHADPO and Claude LAMBERT (CAN). KHADPO was ranked as Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur's (AIBA) top boxer in 1995 and he backed up that position with his stunning performance, advancing to the second round by a score of 12-2. His bout was characterized by fast footwork and being very quick on the inside. LAMBERT showed a lot of heart when he lifted the ropes of the ring for KHADPO when Taiwanese left the ring. KHADPO will meet Venezuela's Carlos BARRETO in the second round, which will take place on Thursday 25 July.
Carlos BARRETO defeated Bulgaria's Alexander HRISTOV in an upset. HRISTOV was a silver medalist at the 1988 Games in Seoul. He was also the 1993 world champion and won the AIBA World Cup in 1994.
At one point during the night, the decision on a bout was announced incorrectly. Khurshed KHASNOV of Tajikistan was told he had lost when he had really won. In the end the mess was straightened out and eventually the correct winner was crowned.
"I felt just terrible," said KHASNOV. "I started to cry. It was the first time that I saw something like this happen after I felt like I was winning all along."
Crowd Salutes Close Bout: The best bout of the night was between Argentina's Guillermo SALUTO and BAE Ho-Jo from Korea. Both fighters stepped into the ring throwing a lot of punches, with BAE leading the way. BAE held a 6-2 lead after the first round. Round two started off a little slow but SALUTO managed to close the gap to three, making the score 8-5. With less than 30 seconds left in the bout, BAE used a left followed by a damaging right cross to slow down SALUTO, and extend his lead 10-5. SALUTO did not allow this to discourage him. Both fighters traded blows for the remainder of the bout. BAE won by the close margin of four points, the final score being 11-7. The crowd applauded both boxers for their tremendous effort, and gave the boxers a standing ovation. This was the biggest crowd reaction to any bout all day.
"I wasn't really prepared for the aggressiveness of the first two rounds but I fought very well," said Saluto of the match-up. "It was a close fight."
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The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).