Boxing (Olympic)

Flyweight Rau’shee Warren has an excellent shot at the 2012 London Olympics to become the first boxing gold medalist since Andre Ward, who accomplished the feat in 2004. 

The great news for U.S. boxing fans is that Warren is not the only fighter with a strong shot at the gold.

U.S. boxing is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. The U.S. is sending nine fighters to these games. That is second only to Australia's 10, and it is a welcome sight after the U.S. walked away from the Beijing games with only a bronze medal to show for their efforts. 

Out of these nine, there are three fighters who stand out as having the best shot at standing on top of the medal stand while listening to the "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

No. 3: Welterweight Errol Spence Jr.

Spence, 22, is a no-nonsense fighter. He isn't into pre-fight theatrics or showboating in the ring. He has a nice combination of speed and power. He is mostly a straight-ahead fighter, but he is light on his feet and has shown the ability to adapt. 

Spence is a three-time national champion and has been the No. 1 ranked amateur boxer at his weight for three straight years. 

The former Texas State Silver Gloves Champion is well polished for being just 22. He is technical and plotting in the ring. He is not likely to get beaten by making a mistake, and this will serve him well in London. 

No. 2: Bantamweight Joseph Diaz

Joseph Diaz may be just 19 years old, but you would never guess it by watching him in the ring. He is very poised and smart. 

His emergence on the scene has been rapid. He shocked many when he came in second at the 2011 world championships. 

He has put together a nice amateur career, but it wasn't until recently when he began facing stiffer competition. This isn't all that surprising given he is still a teenager.

Diaz is the youngest member of the team, and this very well could lead to an early exit for him, but his talent and potential is unmatched. He is lightning quick and packs a little pop to boot. 

This could be his big coming out party. 

No. 1: Rau'shee Warren

Rau'shee Warren was singled out in the beginning of this article because he is the clear favorite to take home gold for the U.S.

Warren has plenty of international experience, and he was the 2007 world champion. This is the 25-year-old's third Olympic team.

Warren was bounced in the first round of both of his previous Olympic experiences, but he looked good in both.

He is a fierce boxer who can sway a fight in one furious flurry of punches. Where he failed in his previous efforts was his approach to his fights. He either didn't have a good game plan or failed to execute it. With age and more experience, this should not be as big of a problem.

It would be a disappointment if Warren came home from London without a medal. If he does bring manage to bring a medal home, it certainly wouldn't be a shock if that medal is gold.

Your feel-good Olympic news of the day comes courtesy of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), which this afternoon announced that American fighter Queen Underwood will be among the lightweight contenders in London this summer at the first ever women's Olympic boxing tournament (via nbcolympics.com).

After a painful 26-25 decision in the quarterfinals of the Women's World Championships left Underwood just shy of an Olympic berth, the AIBA's Tripartite Commission tabbed her for the final remaining American bid in her weight class.

This, in plain speak, is fantastic news. Few deserve the title "Olympian" more than the woman just granted it today.

Underwood's story begins in a dark and all-too-common place. As a child she and her older sister were regularly raped by their father. He was eventually arrested, but the psychological scars remained.

Despite evident athletic prowess, an oft-depressed Underwood drifted into a life of semi-employment and substance abuse after high school. It wasn't until she came upon a Seattle boxing gym at age 19 that she found purpose.

And now for the past decade she has poured her everything into the sport, toiling in gyms, gutting through workouts—and much of the time without any guarantee that her sweet science would achieve Olympic recognition.

But it has, and now so has Queen.

Don't assume the story will end here. Underwood is a six-time national champion and she took bronze at the 2010 Women's World Championships. As richly as she deserves this Olympic berth, she deserves equal consideration as a legitimate medal contender—perhaps even America's first in this just-introduced event.

We pundits are fond of skepticism and nuance, but this story has precious little of either. Queen Underwood's Olympic journey is one of unlikely triumphs and rewarded faith—an absolute gem buried beneath the rubble of cynicism that pervades so much of today's news.

Today, it just got better.

By 2008, Dominic Breazeale's NFL dream was drawing to a slow but certain close.

Northern Colorado's senior quarterback had garnered passing interest from pro scouts— intrigued, one would imagine, by his hulking 6'7", 260-pound frame.

But no bites.

Before leaving athletics altogether, Breazeale returned one final phone call—this one from a recruiter representing an innovative program called All-American Heavyweights (AAH).

Based in Los Angeles and backed by a wealthy television executive, AAH scours the country for elite college athletes and tries to sell them on boxing.

The recruiter told Breazeale the one thing NFL teams wouldn't: He had potential.

Fast-forward four years and Breazeale—who didn't even know boxing's basic rules when he first started with AAH—is headed to the Olympics as America's top fighter in the super-heavyweight division.

Before he makes that improbable Olympic debut, Breazeale sat down with B/R to chat about his journey and share a few thoughts on what makes him tick in the ring.

1. So the recruiter comes up to you and says, “I think you’d make a good boxer.” What’s your first reaction?

I told him, “You’re crazy. There’s no way. I’ve never boxed before in my life and I don’t plan on doing it now."

As time went by, they were persistent about it and I ended up making the decision to take a chance on boxing and I’ve done pretty good so far. But my first, initial decision was definitely no.

2. Do you remember one of the first real big, bad punches you took?

Well there were a ton of them because at the time I didn’t know how to move.

But we had an athlete in here...I think he plays football at the University of West Virginia...

First day, I still haven’t been punched or hit, and he hit me with the right hand.

I definitely felt it.

The thought in my mind was, “Do I really want to do this?” And I took a step forward and I competed with him all the way until the end of the bell.

I think it was right then and there that I realized boxing was either for me or wasn’t for me.

3. You’ve been involved in two sports—first football and now boxing—that have been connected to post-career head trauma. Do you ever worry about your long term cognitive health?

You know, it’s always a definite concern. I do a ton of mental things as far as reading books, mental brain games and things like that on a general, daily basis—only because of the fact that there is a ton of head trauma in the sport.

But I think if you exercise and use the tools to keep your cognitive brain waves flowing you shouldn’t have brain damage or any kind of issue in the long run.

4. I’m putting you up there on that podium in London, gold medal around your neck. What’s going through your head?

Just...awe. I’d probably be so overwhelmed with joy and happiness. I’d be the happiest person in the world at that point. I couldn’t ask for any more.

Flag raised high, the best national anthem in the world being played and a gold medal being placed around my neck...I’d be living the dream.

Be honest with me, though. If I’m giving you a choice between an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl trophy, which are you taking?

I’ll take the Olympic gold medal.

Every time?

Every time.

5. I’ve read that you’re into reggae music. That doesn’t seem to jibe with a boxer’s attitude—it seems a little too laid back. How does reggae get you juiced for a workout?

It’s funny you say that.

When I put the music on in the gym, at first guys were like, “No way I can work out to this. We need some more up-tempo crazy type of music.”

So I put it on in my head phones.

After I became an Olympian, I had guys coming up to asking to put reggae on the radio because they think there’s something about it that’s making me better.

But I think just being relaxed even in everyday situations...helps you get the best out of everything.

U.S. Olympic boxing is back.

The once proud program has been massively faltering in recent efforts. In fact, the Americans have only one gold medal in the past three Olympics. That is an outcome that would have once seemed unthinkable.

The last gold medal by the Americans was in 2004 by Andre Ward.  

They will end this streak this year. The U.S. is ready to take home several medals in these games and at least one of them will be the gold. 

Since their embarrassment in Bejing, they won just one medal there and that was a bronze.

The U.S. has stepped up their efforts to rebuild their program. Boxers are now getting in much more work with their own trainers, and they even brought on boxing icon Freddie Roach to help develop some of these boxers. 

It is already paying off. The U.S. is sending nine fighters to the London Games. This is the second most to only Australia. The only weight class where the Americans will not be represented is light flyweight. 

Here is who will represent the Stars and Stripes at these games:

Flyweight Rau’shee Warren

Bantamweight Joseph Diaz

Lightweight Jose Ramirez

Light welterweight Jamel Herring

Welterweight Errol Spence

Middleweight Terrell Gausha

Light heavyweight Marcus Browne

Heavyweight Michael Hunter

Super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale

Of this group, Rau'shee Warren has the best chance to capture the gold. He has a wealth of international experience and was the 2007 world champion. 

Bantamweight Joseph Diaz also has an excellent shot. He is just 19 but is supremely gifted. He came in second at the 2011 World Championships. 

Welterweight Errol Spence also has a solid chance. He is a three-time national champ. 

This strong and deep crop of boxers is ready to make some noise on the international boxing scene.

These games will be the coming out party for the rejuvenated U.S. team. 

Following in the gilded footsteps of sports like basketball and hockey, Olympic boxing is expected to feature professional fighters at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Wu Ching-Kuo tells Reuters that over 50 professionals will participate in Rio.

But before you buy your Floyd Mayweather Team USA pullover, take note: This is not a free license for any and all boxers to participate in the Olympics.

Rather, it seems the plan is to create something of a middle ground between amateurism and the traditional professional path in order to keep young, promising fighters in the Olympic pool.

Under the new plan, only professional fighters based in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and the soon-to-be-launched AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) will be eligible for the Olympic games.

Boxers in these leagues are somewhat akin to NBA, MLB or NFL players, receiving regular salaries rather than a fight-based lump sum, according to a Reuters report.

Via Reuters:

APB, Wu's brainchild, would mean that boxers coming through the amateur ranks would not have to turn their backs on the Olympic Games in their prime by going down the established professional route, he said.

Thursday's news must come as a blow to whatever remains of the pro-amateur Olympic contingent. Clearly the purists lost this fight long ago, but boxing was one of their last bastions.

That bastion is no more, swept away in the growing demand for world-class competition at the planet's premier athletic showcase.

In that way, this move was inevitable. As UFC and other mixed martial arts entities chip away at boxing's popularity, the sport could no longer pass on the potential exposure Olympic competition provides.

And yes, qualifying only amateurs equates to a pass in this age of rampant Olympic professionalism. Folks don't want to see the best amateurs anymore. They want to see the best, period.

Boxing didn't accomplish quite that with this move, and perhaps never will. But for a sport mired in anachronisms, this is at least a step forward.

The 2011 World Boxing Championships, the major qualifying event for the London 2012 Olympics, rang down the curtain earlier this month in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, with China bringing home one gold, one bronze and three "Olympic tickets".

"Generally speaking, the performance of our boxers is up to the mark," Jianping Chang, president of the Chinese Boxing Association, the highest organ of power overseeing boxing in China, told this journalist in Beijing after the Worlds. "I'm especially satisfied with Shiming Zou's exceptional showing."

China's boxing kingpin Zou put on a series of dominating shows and claimed his third world title in Baku after being crowned at the 2005 and 2007 Worlds.

"It's Asia's only gold medal at this Worlds," Chang said, referring to Zou's latest success. "By winning the world title for the third straight time, Zou is spoken highly of by almost all the global experts."

The 30-year-old Chinese, who has remained unbeaten since 2007, is the world's most accomplished light flyweight in amateur boxing, a legendary ring master that has had one Olympic gold medal and three world titles under his belt.

Apart from Zou, China's second best, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zhilei Zhang who has been co-handled by American legendary trainer Lou Duva since 2009, fell short of expectations in the newly-concluded boxing tournament, even failing to qualify for the quarter-finals. 

It was the two fresh prospects — heavyweight Xuanxuan Wang and light heavyweight Fanlong Meng that secured the other two of the three Olympic boxing berths for China.

"Our main purpose of this outing is to win as many 'Olympic tickets' as possible," said Chang. "The Chinese team overall has been ranked among the world's elite. Some certain boxers should have done better."

On top of the world at this Worlds is Ukraine, a dark horse that amazingly claimed four out of ten gold medals; Cuba, the traditional boxing superpower, topped two weight categories; China, Russia, Brazil and the host nation Azerbaijan won one gold medal apiece.

As far as the "ticket" number goes, Ukraine is also the biggest winner, clinching six spots at the 2012 London Games; standing side by side, next in line are Cuba, India, Italy and Kazakhstan, all with five.

At the height of its power, prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China managed to grab one gold, four bronzes and seven "Olympic tickets" at the 2007 edition of the premier boxing event.

"There will be another Olympic qualifying tournament in the Asian region. So, we'll still have chances to qualify for more weight classes," Chang asserted.

There are a total of 232 Olympic spots for the entire ten weight categories in men's boxing. As the main Olympic qualifying event, the 2011 Worlds allowed 92 boxers to qualify; the other 140 tickets will be produced by the respective continental Olympic qualifying tournaments.

With the emergence of Shiming Zou, amateur boxing in China has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years.

It reached its climax in 2008 when China, in the Beijing Games, smashed the triopoly of Cuba, Russia and the United States, any of whom had ruled the tally table in boxing at every Olympics since 1942. With two golds, one silver and one bronze, China emerged as the new king in the amateur boxing world.

Three years on, the 2012 London Olympic Games is approaching. Will China's boxing be in a position to renew its old glory on an entire alien land?

As women's boxing punched a spot in next year's London Games and would bring two more boxing gold medals to the table, it adds more weight to the bar for the Asian female boxing powerhouse.

China once dominated the 2009 Women's World Boxing Championships, playing the solo on the brightest medal tally with five golds, two silvers and four bronzes, far exceeding the runner-up Turkey with three golds and four bronzes.

"Speaking of the 2012 London Games, the Chinese national boxing team has set its sight on one gold medal for men’s boxing and another for women’s boxing," confided Chang.

"We have confidence to have a serious crack at the Olympic golds next year."

(This is a reprint from the Global Times of the Oct 14, 2011 edition.)