U.S. boxers win one, lose one in quarterfinals

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By Seth Livingstone, USA TODAY

BEIJING — When it comes to international scoring, U.S. boxers have come to fear the worst.
Unsure of the final tally as his bout ended Sunday night, reigning world welterweight champion Demetrius Andrade said he paused in his corner for just a second and laughed to himself.
"You know what was going through my mind? It was like 'damn, they might pull a Jones on me' — and they did," Andrade said.
Andrade was referring to a highly controversial decision at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when Roy Jones of the U.S. peppered South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun with punches, only to lose a 3-2 decision and the gold medal.
Andrade's worst fears were confirmed when the panel of five judges awarded Jungioo Kim of Korea an 11-9 decision at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium.
That left heavyweight Deontay Wilder as the only U.S boxer left with Olympic medal hopes. And when his bout against Mohammad Arjaoui of Morocco ended 10-10, he too feared how it all might end.
"Truly, I thought (the referee) was going to raise his hand," said Wilder, a 22-year-old out of Tuscaloosa, Ala. "These judges have not been fair in this competition. We've been getting robbed, man."
Turns out Wilder emerged victorious, 23-22, thanks to the convoluted Olympic scoring system of "accepted punches" among the five judges (the high and low counts are thrown out).
Thus U.S. hopes ride solely on Wilder's broad shoulders. He is guaranteed at least a bronze medal and keeps the U.S. team from a dubious first — being shut out in Olympic competition.
"Honestly, this don't make other kids want to come here or do this Olympic thing at all," said Andrade, who thought he'd connected with enough punches in the final period to win his fight. "To come here and know you're going to get treated like that (by judges) — what's the point in even coming?
"The fights that I've seen, Rau'shee (Warren) got robbed, Raynell Williams got robbed."
Andrade didn't even stick around for referee Hassen Boughalmi of Tunisia to raise Kim's hand. "It was just pointless for me to be in there," he said.
U.S. coach Dan Campbell felt Andrade's pain.
"I thought that was totally ridiculous," Campbell said. "He clearly landed more scoring punches. I was talking to the people back in the tape room and they saw the same thing we did. Demetrius should have had at least eight points going into that last round.
Instead, Andrade trailed 8-6 going into the final period.
"I thought I caught up," he said. "I knew I threw two or three nice left hands but I guess I only got one point for it.
"What was the score? 11-9? There was no way he hit me 11 times."
The Moroccan contingent was as upset as the Americans at the way the Wilder fight came down. Trailing 9-8, Wilder was awarded two points when Arjaoui was penalized for illegal ducking in the final minute. Arjaoui tied the score on a punch with 10 seconds left.
"I wasn't 100% Deontay in the ring," Wilder said. "I've been with Dee (Andrade) and my whole teammates for a whole year. We built a great bond together. We're like family. They're like my brothers. And when I saw him come in (to the locker room) crying, immediately I got emotional and broke down. I told him to stop because he was making me cry and lose focus.
"I feel I was a way much better fighter than (Arjaoui). I feel I could have done way better than what I did. It was just a lack of focus."
Wilder will face Clemente Russo of Italy, a 7-4 winner against Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine, on Friday.
Andrade attacked early in the second round, tying the fight 1-1, but the Korean counterpunched his way to a 2-1 advantage. Although Andrade contunied to be the aggressor, Kim led 4-3 after two rounds.


As Demetrius Andrade's quest for gold ends, it seems that the amateur U.S. boxing system has hit rock bottom. Demetrius seemingly fought the wrond fight and went on the inside, allowing the smaller Korean fighter to land punches as Andrade gave up his height and reach advantages. Hopefully, Deontay Wilder will be able to capture that elusive gold medal in order for the United States to salvage some hope for the future.