Nine Rio hopefuls clinched their berths in the final round of the Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing on Wednesday in Reno, Nev. The winners bracket concluded competition with nine bouts over two sessions of action at the Silver Legacy Grande Exposition Hall.
All of the victors in winners bracket action earned not only a championship berth but also two days off from competition. They will await the challengers bracket winners on Saturday at the Reno Events Center. The athletes falling in today’s winners bracket action will now move in to the challengers bracket with one exception in the super heavyweight division.
WSB and World Team Trial champion Brent Venegas (Sacramento, Calif.) claimed the first winners bracket victory of the day in his flyweight match with 2015 Pan American Games champion Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.). The two engaged in an action-packed bout despite a head butt that opened a cut on Vargas’ head. At the end of three rounds, Venegas was named the winner by split decision.
In the lightweight division, 2015 National Golden Gloves champion Teofimo Lopez (Davie, Fla.) and 2014 National Golden Gloves titlist Maliek Montgomery (Macon, Ga.) faced off in the winners bracket final. Heavy shots were flying from the opening bell as the two battled out for a spot in the championship bout. Lopez took the victory and a spot in the finals with a 2-1 win over Montgomery. The lightweight division is competing in non-Olympic Trials action.
2015 USA Boxing National Champion Ardreal Holmes (Flint, Mich.) and WSB and World Team Trial champion Brian Ceballo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) competed for the third final round berth of the day in their welterweight match-up. It was Holmes taking the victory by unanimous decision over Ceballo in the match-up to clinch his berth in the championship bout.
Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, Calif.) took the fourth victory of the afternoon session in a light heavyweight match-up with Elvis Figueroa (New Haven, Conn.). Esquivel advanced on to finals night with a 3-0 victory over Figueroa in the winners bracket final.
The afternoon session came to a dramatic conclusion in the super heavyweight showdown between 2015 USA Boxing National Champion Darmani Rock (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Men’s Trials Qualifier I titlist Marlo Moore (Hayward, Calif.). Rock entered the bout as the strong favorite and appeared to be winning the early rounds. Yet Moore came out of the corner on a mission in the third round and sent Rock to the canvas. He returned to his feet but Moore jumped right back on him, flooring him a second time and the referee called a halt to the bout. Moore advances to the championship bout and will await his opponent. As the rule dictates that a mandatory 30-day restriction must be administered following a TKO due to head blows, Rock will not be able to compete again in the Olympic Trials.
The light flyweights kicked off evening action on Wednesday at the Silver Legacy Grande Exposition Hall in a great match-up between two-time USA Boxing national champion Leroy Davila (Princeton, N.J.) and WSB and World Team Trial champion Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas). The two boxers fought their hearts out with both athletes looking to secure a spot in the finals but only one could be victorious. Hernandez claimed the victory by a 3-0 margin to advance on to championship night.
Bantamweight Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.) returned to the ring against his second straight California boxer on Wednesday, facing off with Efren Lopez (Fresno, Calif.). He recorded his third victory of the tournament with a 3-0 win over Lopez in a contest of familiar foes to clinch his spot in the final round.
Light welterweight Jaron Ennis (Philadelphia, Pa.) wasn’t well known on the national scene prior to the Olympic Trials but he continued his introductory tour with a victory in the winners bracket finals. He faced off with USA Boxing National Championships bronze medalist Rahim Gonzales (Sylmar, Calif.) in light welterweight competition and earned a unanimous decision victory to claim the eighth spot on championship night.
Another young star advanced on to the finals in the middleweight division. Two-time youth national champion Charles Conwell (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) continued his impressive run through the tournament in his match-up with 2015 USA Boxing National Champion Chordale Booker (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Conwell claimed a 2-1 victory over Booker in their battle to join his fellow teenagers in the final round.
As he always enjoys, Cam F. Awesome (Lenexa, Kansas) closed the show in the heavyweight division. He faced off with veteran Derae Crane (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in a bout that should have taken place in the finals of the first Men’s Trials Qualifier. Awesome got the win he was looking for, taking a 3-0 decision over Crane to complete the winners bracket side of the championship night bout sheet.
Challengers bracket competition will continue at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Silver Legacy Grande Exposition Hall alongside the finals of the Women’s World Championship Team Trial. With the exception of Rock, the athletes who fell in winners bracket competition will enjoy one day off and await the winner of Thursday’s challengers bracket bouts. The winners bracket champions will have two days of rest before returning to competition on Saturday. They are now just one win away from taking gold in the 2016 Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing.
Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing Results
108 lbs/challengers bracket: Pablo Ramirez, Weslaco, Texas, dec. Adrian Servin, Phoenix, Ariz., 3-0
108 lbs/challengers bracket: Nicholas Scaturchio, Hartsdale, N.Y., dec. Melik Elliston, Denver, Colo., 2-1
108 lbs/winners bracket: Nico Hernandez, Wichita, Kansas, dec. Leroy Davila, Princeton, N.J., 3-0
108 lbs/challengers bracket: Ruben Villa, Salinas, Calif., dec. Duke Ragan, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2-1
114 lbs/challengers bracket: Christian Carto, Deptford, N.J., won on walkover over Khalid Twaiti, Brooklyn, N.Y., W/O
114 lbs/challengers bracket: Eros Correa, San Jose, Calif., dec. Gilbert Renteria, Houston, Texas, 3-0
114 lbs/winneres bracket: Brent Venegas III., Sacramento, Calif., dec. Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla., 2-1
123 lbs/challengers bracket: Francisco Martinez, Dallas, Texas, dec. Mikhail Montgomery, Macon, Ga., 2-1
123 lbs/winners bracket: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J., dec. Efren Lopez, Fresno, Calif., 3-0
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Bruce Carrington, Brooklyn, N.Y., won on walkover Israel Mercado, Pomona, Calif., W/O
132 lbs/winners bracket: Teofimo Lopez, Davie, Fla., dec. Maliek Montgomery, Macon, Ga., 2-1
141 lbs/challengers bracket: Gary Russell, Capitol Heights, Md., dec. Abraham Nova, Albany, N.Y., 2-1
141 lbs/challengers bracket: Jamaine Ortiz-Rodriguez, Worchester, Mass., dec. Tyrek Irby, Oxon Hill, Md., 3-0
141 lbs/winners bracket: Jaron Ennis, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Rahim Gonzales, Sylmar, Calif., 3-0
152 lbs/challengers bracket: Paul Kroll, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. Vardges Vardanyan, Panorama City, Calif., 3-0
152 lbs/challengers bracket: Ferdinand Kerobyan, N. Hollywood, Calif., dec. Jose Alday Jr., Odessa, Texas, 2-1
152 lbs/winners bracket: Ardreal Holmes, Flint, Mich., dec. Brian Ceballo, Brooklyn, N.Y., 3-0
165 lbs/challengers bracket: LeShawn Rodriquez, Medford, N.Y., dec. Marquis Moore, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2-1
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Anthony Campbell, Covington, Tenn., won on walkover by medical disqualification over Charles Monroe, Snelville, Ga., W/O
165 lbs/winners bracket: Charles Conwell, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, dec. Chordale Booker, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2-1
178 lbs/challengers bracket: Miguel Teo, Framingham, Mass., dec. Eric Moon, Marietta, Ga., 3-0
178 lbs/challengers bracket: Joseph George, Brooklyn, N.Y., dec. Steven Nelson, Omaha, Neb., 2-1
178 lbs/winners bracket: Jonathan Esquivel, Anaheim, Calif., dec. Elvis Figueroa, New Haven, Conn., 3-0
201 lbs/challengers bracket: Brandon Glanton, Atlanta, Ga., dec. Adrian Taylor, Mesquite, Texas, 2-1
201 lbs/challengers bracket: Joshua Temple, St. Louis, Mo., dec. Patrick Ferguson, Spokane, Wash., 3-0
201 lbs/winners bracket: Cam F. Awesome, Lenexa, Kansas, dec. DaRae Crane, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
201+ lbs/challengers bracket: Brandon Lynch, Albany, N.Y., dec. Manase Raikadroka, Inglewood, Calif., 3-0
201+ lbs/challengers bracket: Alante Green, Cleveland, Ohio, dec. Nkosi Solomon, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2-1
201+ lbs/winners bracket: Marlo Moore, Hayward, Calif., dec. Darmani Rock, Philadelphia, Pa., KO-3
Women’s World Team Trial Results
106 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, dec. Alex Love, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0
106 lbs: Jennifer Amato, Keene, N.H., dec. Jacquelyn Cuddeback, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2-1
119 lbs: Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., dec. Marie Gonzalez, Tucson, Ariz., 3-0
119 lbs: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Jaime Mitchell, Las Vegas, Nev., 3-0
125 lbs: Rory Santos, Anchorage, Alaska, dec. Kymmberli Stone, Charlotte, N.C., 3-0
125 lbs: Stalacia Leggett, San Diego, Calif., dec. Elise Aubespin, New York, N.Y., 2-1
125 lbs: Melody Montes, Charlotte, N.C., dec. Lessa Daniel, Austin, Texas, 3-0
125 lbs: Melissa Parker, Fort Carson, Colo., dec. over Rianna Rios, Fort Carson, Colo., 3-0
141 lbs: Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif. won on TKO over Anna Crutchfield, Travelers Rest, S.C., TKI
141 lbs: Amelia Moore, Millersville, Md., dec. Alycia Baumgardner, Freemont, Ohio, 2-1
152 lbs: Martha Fabela, Oakland, Calif., dec. Emily Atwood, Fairhope, Ala., 3-0
152 lbs: Naomi Graham, Ft. Carson, Colo., dec. Jessica Bass, Atlanta, Ga., 3-0
178 lbs: Tika Hemingway, Brackenridge, Pa., dec. Sonya Gallegos, Windsor, Colo., 3-0
