And then there were two. The Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing competitors have been whittled down to two finalists in each weight division following challengers bracket championship action on Friday night in Reno, Nev. The tournament moved down the road to the Reno Events Center for the final two days of the domestic Olympic qualifying tournament.
Saturday’s championship bouts can be viewed live on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET via the NBC sports app or by logging on to http://liveextra.nbcsports.com. Andre Ward, the last American man to win Olympic gold will team up with Hall of Fame broadcaster Rich Marotta to call all of the final round action on the live stream.
Friday’s challengers bracket competition featured 10 bouts of action in the men’s weight weight classes and all of the winners advanced on to Saturday’s finals where they will face the winners bracket champions.
In the light flyweight division, Leroy Davila (Princeton, N.J.) advanced on to the championship bout with a 2-1 decision over Pablo Ramirez (Weslaco, Texas) in their challengers bracket final round match-up. Davila will take on WSB and World Team Trial champion Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas) in the winners bracket final on Saturday. He will have to defeat Hernandez twice to win the Olympic Trials.
After losing his winners bracket final to WSB and World Team Trial champion Brent Venegas (Sacramento, Calif.), 2015 Pan American Games champion Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.) came back with a vengeance in Saturday’s action. He took on 2014 National Golden Gloves champion Christian Carto (Deptford, N.J.) for a spot in Saturday’s finals. Vargas looked to make a statement and he did just that, sending Carto to the canvas with a left hook causing the referee to call a halt to the bout in the second round. Vargas moves on to a rematch with Venegas in Saturday’s competition and will need to win on Saturday to remain in contention for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Two friendly foes faced off in the bantamweight division bout on Friday with Ruben Villa (Salinas, Calif.) and Efren Lopez (Fresno, Calif.) competing for the remaining 123 spot in the tournament. Once again, Villa enjoyed loud and raucous fan support and his contingent went home happy as he won a 3-0 victory over Lopez. He will face Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.) in the bantamweight finale on Saturday and will look to push the weight division to Sunday with a victory.
In the lightweight division, Maliek Montgomery (Macon, Ga.) advanced to a rematch of the winners bracket finals with a victory over Bruce Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Montgomery defeated Carrington by a 3-0 margin to move on to a final round showdown with Teofimo Lopez (Davie, Fla.) in tomorrow’s action.
Gary Russell (Capitol Heights, Md.) became the second Russell brother to advance to the Olympic Trials championship round out of the challengers bracket. He won a 3-0 victory over Rahim Gonzales (Sylmar, Calif.) to secure a rematch with Jaron Ennis (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday. The two met on the first day with Ennis taking the victory to send Russell in to the challengers bracket.
Another Philadelphia boxer will compete on Saturday in the welterweight division. Paul Kroll (Philadelphia, Pa.) pulled out a 2-1 decision over WSB and World Team champion Brian Ceballo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in challengers bracket final round competition. Kroll will battle 2015 USA Boxing National Champion Ardreal Holmes (Flint, Mich.) in Saturday’s action.
Two former USA Boxing national champions faced off for the final middleweight spot on Friday at the Reno Events Center. Two-time titlist Leshawn Rodriquez (Medford, N.Y.) and 2015 gold medalist Chordale Booker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) competed for the chance to challenge Charles Conwell (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) in tomorrow’s competition. Rodriquez won 2-1 decision over Booker in the match-up and will enjoy a rematch with Conwell from opening night in Saturday’s action.
Elvis Figueroa (New Haven, Conn.) grabbed the championship in the light heavyweight division. Figueroa took a 3-0 victory over Joseph George (Houston, Texas) in their challengers bracket showdown to move on to a Saturday battle with Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, Calif.).
Derae Crane (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took the final contested victory of the night in a heavyweight match-up with Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) He pulled out a 2-1 decision over Temple to set up a rematch-up with Cam F. Awesome (Lenexa, Kansas) on Saturday.
Melissa Parker (Fort Carson, Colo.) won the final Women’s World Team Trial championship of the event, winning the featherweight spot with a 3-0 victory over Stalacia Leggett (San Diego, Calif.).
Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing Results
108 lbs/challengers bracket: Leroy Davila, Princeton, N.J., dec. Pablo Ramirez, Westlaco, Texas, 2-1
114 lbs/challengers bracket: Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla., won on TKO over Christian Carto, Deptford, N.J., TKO-2
123 lbs/challengers bracket: Ruben Villa, Salinas, Calif., dec. Efren Lopez, Fresno, Calif., 3-0
132 lbs/challengers bracket: Maliek Montgomery, Macon, Ga., dec. Bruce Carrington, Brooklyn, N.Y., 3-0
141 lbs/challengers bracket: Gary Russell, Capitol Heights, Md., dec. Rahim Gonzales, Sylmar, Calif., 3-0
152 lbs/challengers bracket: Paul Kroll, Philadelphia, Penn., dec. Brian Ceballo, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2-1
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Leshawn Rodriquez, Medford, N.Y., dec. Chordale Booker, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2-1
178 lbs/challengers bracket: Elvis Figueroa, New Haven, Conn., dec. Joseph George, Houston, Texas, 3-0
201 lbs/challengers bracket: Derae Crane, Colorado Springs, Colo., dec. Joshua Temple, St. Louis, Mo., 2-1
201+ lbs/challengers bracket: Brandon Lynch, Albany, N.Y., won on medical disqualification over Darmani Rock, Philadelphia, Pa., DQ
Saturday’s Bout Sheet
108 lbs: Nico Hernandez, Wichita, Kansas vs. Leroy Davila, Princeton, N.J.
114 lbs: Brent Venegas, Sacramento, Calif., vs. Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla.
123 lbs: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J., vs. Ruben Villa, Salinas, Calif.
132 lbs: Teofimo Lopez, Davie, Fla., vs. Maliek Montgomery, Macon, Ga.
141 lbs: Jaron Ennis, Philadelphia, Pa., vs. Gary Russell, Capitol Heights, Md.
152 lbs: Ardreal Holmes, Flint, Mich., vs. Paul Kroll, Philadelphia, Pa.
165 lbs: Charles Conwell, Cleveland Heights, Ohio vs. Leshawn Rodriquez, Medford, N.Y.
178 lbs: Jonathan Esquivel, Anaheim, Calif., vs. Elvis Figueroa, New Haven, Conn.
201 lbs: Cam F. Awesome, Lenexa, Kansas vs. Derae Crane, Colorado Springs, Colo.
201+ lbs: Marlo Moore, Hayward, Calif., vs. Brandon Lynch, Albany, N.Y.
Women’s World Team Trials Results
125 lbs/Women’s World Trial: Melissa Parker, Ft. Carson, Colo., dec. Stalacia Leggett, San Diego, Calif., 3-0
