Saturday, April 1, 2000 |
 |
Two more Americans qualify for Olympics
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A heavyweight who took up boxing while serving time for armed robbery and a super heavyweight who is a banker won finals Saturday and became the eighth and ninth U.S. boxers to qualify for the Olympics.
Michael Bennett of Chicago won the 201-pound final by stopping Richard Nazario of Puerto Rico in the second round. Super heavyweight Calvin Brock of Charlotte, N.C., earned a trip to Sydney in September by stopping Artur Binkowski of Canada in the fourth round.
Only competitors in the two top weight classes had to win finals to qualify in the Americas qualifying tournament.
The finalists in the other 10 weight classes, from 106 to 178 pounds, had qualified for the Olympics by winning semifinal bouts Thursday night.
"I just wanted to work hard," said the 29-year-old Bennett, who was released from prison July 28, 1998.
Work hard he did, from the opening bell, pounding Nazario, who lives in New York, with hard shots to the head and body. Bennett was leading 16-3 when the match was stopped with one second left in the second round.
Bennett's progress in open competition since being released from prison has been remarkable.
"I just had it in my mind to see what happened," the new Olympian said.
The 25-year-old Brock hit Binkowski with sharp jabs and quick right hands and was leading 20-2 when the fight was stopped at 1:26 of the fourth round.
"My coaches told me that if you don't go out there and throw more punches you'll have to go to Mexico (the site of the next Americas qualifying tournament)," Brock said.
Brock has a degree in finance from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and is enrolled in a management training program with the Bank of America.
Binkowski, who claimed he hurt his right shoulder in the second round, had told people what he was going to do to Brock.
"He was talking trash, and that let me know, he was worried about me," Brock said.
Five of the seven U.S. boxers who qualified for the Olympics by winning their semifinals, also won finals Saturday.
The winners were Clarence Vinson, 119, of Washington, D.C.; Ricardo Juarez, 125, of Houston; Ricardo Williams Jr., 139, of Cincinnati; Jermaine Taylor, 156, of Little Rock, Ark.; and Jeff Lacy, 165, of St. Petersburg, Fla. Lacy won on a walkover.
Jose Navarro, 112, of Los Angeles, and Marshall Martinez, 132, of Fontana, Calif., lost their final bouts. Martinez's 16-10 loss to Cristian Cejara of Mexico was roundly booed by the crowd.
The three Americans who failed to qualify here were Brian Viloria, 106, of Waipahu, Hawaii; Dante Craig, 147, of Cincinnati; and Michael Simms Jr., 178, of Sacramento, Calif. They can qualify at tournaments April 17-22 at Tijuana, Mexico, or May 23-28 at Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Mexican tournament originally was scheduled for Mexico City.
Two Canadian Olympians were unable to compete in the finals because of injuries. They were Donald Orr, 165, who broke his right thumb in the semifinals, and Troy Amos-Ross, 178, who sustained a cut under the right eye in his semifinal.
 |
|
|
|
