An Electrifying Semifinal Night Sets the Stage for Men's Finals
The men's welterweight (152 lbs) class showed how competitive it was on Wednesday, with both bouts going to tiebreakers after ending their respective fourth and final rounds with tie scores. In the first semi, Greg Carter (Waterbury, Conn.) and Errol Spence (Desota, Texas) faced off in a low-scoring contest that was close throughout. Spence used a 5-1 second round to take a slim 6-5 advantage going into the third. After each boxer earned two in the third, Carter outscored Spence in the final round, 2-1, to force a tie and earn the decision.
In the other welterweight contest, Jovante Sparks (Maples, Minn.) used a 10-3 fourth round - the 10th point coming just before the final bell - to even the score at 18-18 after Anthony Campbell (Covington, Tenn.) had just used a 6-2 third to build a solid seven-point lead through three rounds. The tiebreaker went to Sparks, who will face Carter in Friday night's finals.
One of the night's most entertaining bouts came in the lightweight (132 lbs) class, as Fidel Maldonado (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Shemuel Pagan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) battled tooth-and-nail in a match that was not decided until the final seconds. The two boxers ended each of the first three rounds in a tie before opening up the offense in the fourth, where Maldonado earned the last three points of the evening to take a dramatic 16-15 win.
Maldonado will face Miguel Gonzales (Cleveland, Ohio) in the lightweight final. Gonzales used a strong defensive effort against Jesse Carradine (Cincinatti, Ohio), shutting him out through the first two rounds on his way to a 14-4 victory.
Those looking for offense on Wednesday night found plenty of it in the heavyweight (201 lbs) division, where all four boxers scored at least 20 points. In the first semifinal Paul Koon (Philadelphia, Pa.) got off to a strong start, taking a 12-10 lead into the third round. From there, Michael Bissett (Smyrna, Tenn.) took over offensively, outscoring Koon 12-5 in the third to take the lead. Bissett would add eight in the fourth and hold off a strong charge from Koon to win, 30-27.
In the other heavyweight semifinal, Jeremiah Graziano (Lenexa, Kan.) slugged his way to the finals, defeating Craig Baker (Baytown, Texas), 25-20. Among the match's highlights was the high-scoring second round, where Graziano outscored Baker, 12-7. Both boxers were still throwing big punches until the finish, much to the delight of the crowd.
Action kicked off with the light flyweight (106 lbs) division, where two-time Junior Olympic champion Louie Bird (Denver, Colo.) used a 6-0 third round to pull ahead of Stephen Young (St. Louis, Mo.) before closing with a 6-3 fourth to punch his ticket to the finals. Bird will face Fabian Cervantes (Ableto, Calif.), who outscored Sergio Ramirez (Omaha, Neb.) 10-2 in the middle rounds on his way to a 17-12 win.
Next up was the flyweight division, where Raul Lopez (Bronx, N.Y.) earned a hard-fought 13-7 win over Bruno Escalante (Waimanalo, Hawaii) to advance to the finals. Lopez outscored Escalante 5-1 in the third round to build a six-point lead, which held up as the final point margin. Lopez's opponent in the finals will be Randy Caballero (Coachella, Calif.), who scored two consecutive 14-point rounds in the third and fourth to defeat Michael Ruiz (Fresno, Calif.), 36-12.
Defending bantamweight (119 lbs) national champion Ronny Rios (Santa Ana, Calif.) will be back to defend his title this year after boxing to a 25-18 win over Roman Morales (San Ardo, Calif.) in the semifinals. Rios used his offense to jump out to a 15-9 lead after two rounds, then clamped down defensively in the fourth, holding Morales to two points in the fourth. Rios will face Paul Romero (Phoenix, Ariz.) in the finals. Romero only managed two points in the first two rounds against Antonio Nieves (Cleveland, Ohio), but scored nine in the final two to take an 11-6 decision.
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials participant Robert Rodriguez (Evans, Colo.) will compete for a national championship in the featherweight (125 lbs) division after his victory over Guy Robb (Sacramento, Calif.). Rodriguez was ahead, 7-6, after two rounds, but a 6-0 third and a 7-3 fourth gave him a 20-9 win. Rodriguez will face Mercedes Manriquez (Houston, Texas), who never lost a round in his semifinal against Lesley Walker (Las Vegas, Nev.) in a 19-9 decision.
Another 2008 Trials participant, Daniel O'Connor (Framingham, Mass.), will also be on the finals card Friday night. O'Connor took care of business early, building a 12-3 lead over Jared Robinson (Sumter, S.C.) through two rounds and winning, 16-7. Across the ring from O'Connor on Friday will be Emmanual Taylor (Edgewood, Md.), who advanced to the finals by defeating Charles Watson (Johnson City, Tenn.), 14-7. After a scoreless first round, Taylor took a 6-3 lead in the second before using a 6-2 fourth to close it out.
The middleweight (165 lbs) class promises to have an outstanding final, as Luis Arias (Milwuakee, Wis.) and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials participant Shawn Porter (Stow, Ohio) advanced from their semifinal match-ups. Arias, leading 2-1 over Christopher Chapman (San Diego, Calif.) after the first round, opened the match up in the second and ran away with a 20-2 win. Meanwhile, Porter dictated the pace throughout his match against Aleem Whitfield (Geneva, N.Y.), maintaining strong offensive pressure on his way to a 10-3 win.
In the light heavyweight (178 lbs) division, DeRae Crane (Marquette, Mich.) defeated Michael Faulk (St. Paul, Minn.), 8-7, to earn his spot in the finals. Crane led the low-scoring match most of the way, carrying a two-point lead into the fourth round and holding off a late surge by Faulk. Crane will face Dorian Anthony (Lynwood, Calif.), who shut down Jeff Page (Andover, Kan.), 11-2, for an opportunity for the championship.
In the super heavyweight (201+ lbs) division, Lenroy Thomspon (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) defeated Darlington Agha (Richmond, Texas), 9-4. Thompson maintained a good offensive through the bout to earn a spot in the finals on Friday night. Thompson will face Tor Hamer (New York, N.Y.), who stopped opponent Andrew Shepherd (Fort Carson, Colo. - Army) in the first round.
The women's finals will take place Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. MST, with the men's finals Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
