Egan has a really weak draw. Be surprised if he doesn't sail through to the semis.
For some reason, they decided not to televise the first two matches. Which is stupid since they are the 1/2 favotires in the middleweights.
Korobev won 18-6 and Artayev won 8-2, setting up their huge clash in the second round.
Estrada looked decent too but is not experienced enough to beat the top two in the quarters.
Teddy Atlas and Papa make a decent announce team. No one more knowledgable about boxing than Teddy. Silence is just fine with me as well (internet broadcast).
For some reason, they decided not to televise the first two matches. Which is stupid since they are the 1/2 favotires in the middleweights.
Korobev won 18-6 and Artayev won 8-2, setting up their huge clash in the second round.
Estrada looked decent too but is not experienced enough to beat the top two in the quarters.
Teddy Atlas and Papa make a decent announce team. No one more knowledgable about boxing than Teddy. Silence is just fine with me as well (internet broadcast).
I watched half, had it taped, then went back and watched the rest of the opening ceremonies.
When I came back all I could hear was them complaining about the scoring, so I take back my compliment.
Korobev-Artayev is set in the middleweights for a huge second round bout.
Rasulov looked good too and he should face Correa in the quarters. Of course, Correa doesn't have a gimme in the Ukranian next.
When I came back all I could hear was them complaining about the scoring, so I take back my compliment.
Korobev-Artayev is set in the middleweights for a huge second round bout.
Rasulov looked good too and he should face Correa in the quarters. Of course, Correa doesn't have a gimme in the Ukranian next.
A closer look at the Welterweights:
The U.S.'s Demetrius Andrade is the current world champ and dominated this weight claass in route to victory. He has a tough second round opponent in Russia's Andrey Balanov and if he gets past that is headed for a showdown with the next best at this weight Kazakhstan's Bakhyt Sarsekbayev.
Thailand's Non Boonjumnong, Cuba's Carlos Banteaux, and Turkey's Adam Kilicci make up a competitive top quarter of the bracket. Hometown boy Silamu Hanati of China got a favorable draw in the second quartile.
The wildcards are Britain's Billy Joe Saunders and Korea's Jung-Joo Kim in a division that is very top heavy.
US outlook:
Andrade is certainly the favorite to win a gold medal and represents perhaps the United States' best chances for a boxing gold in Beijing. Anything other than gold will be a disappointment.
The U.S.'s Demetrius Andrade is the current world champ and dominated this weight claass in route to victory. He has a tough second round opponent in Russia's Andrey Balanov and if he gets past that is headed for a showdown with the next best at this weight Kazakhstan's Bakhyt Sarsekbayev.
Thailand's Non Boonjumnong, Cuba's Carlos Banteaux, and Turkey's Adam Kilicci make up a competitive top quarter of the bracket. Hometown boy Silamu Hanati of China got a favorable draw in the second quartile.
The wildcards are Britain's Billy Joe Saunders and Korea's Jung-Joo Kim in a division that is very top heavy.
US outlook:
Andrade is certainly the favorite to win a gold medal and represents perhaps the United States' best chances for a boxing gold in Beijing. Anything other than gold will be a disappointment.
Betting outlook:
I like Andrade and hope he wins but I can't back him value-wise. I have Sarsakbayev as the clean number two and he should cruise to the semis for his showdown with Andrade. The top half is full of second-tier champs and unproven fighters like the Cuban and the Chinese boxer. Someone will have to shake out to meet either Sarsekbayev or Andrarde in the finals and I'll hope for some long odds to make it there. Boonjumnong and Kilicci look like they have the juiciest odds versus their chances.
Three bets:
Sarsekbayev +1250
Boomjumnong +1000
Killici +5000
I like Andrade and hope he wins but I can't back him value-wise. I have Sarsakbayev as the clean number two and he should cruise to the semis for his showdown with Andrade. The top half is full of second-tier champs and unproven fighters like the Cuban and the Chinese boxer. Someone will have to shake out to meet either Sarsekbayev or Andrarde in the finals and I'll hope for some long odds to make it there. Boonjumnong and Kilicci look like they have the juiciest odds versus their chances.
Three bets:
Sarsekbayev +1250
Boomjumnong +1000
Killici +5000
A closer look at the Light Welterweights:
Again the Olympic boxing blind draw will provide us with early round fireworks. The number one and two boxers should meet up in the second round in the form of Thailand's Manus Boonjumnong (That name sound familiar?) and Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev. Sapiyev is the reigning world champ but Boonjumnong won the Asian Games. A few other contenders in Russia's Gennady Kovalev, Cuba's Roniel Iglesias and Hungary's Gyula Kate make up the rest of the top half of the draw.
On the bottom half European Champ Boris Georgiev of Bulgaria and Romania's Ionut Gheorghe should be headed to a semifinal showdown. None of the other fighters on the bottom half merit serious consideration.
U.S. outlook:
Javier Molina faces Georgiev in the opening round. He's a severe underdog and chances are his trip to Beijing will be a quick one.
Again the Olympic boxing blind draw will provide us with early round fireworks. The number one and two boxers should meet up in the second round in the form of Thailand's Manus Boonjumnong (That name sound familiar?) and Kazakhstan's Serik Sapiyev. Sapiyev is the reigning world champ but Boonjumnong won the Asian Games. A few other contenders in Russia's Gennady Kovalev, Cuba's Roniel Iglesias and Hungary's Gyula Kate make up the rest of the top half of the draw.
On the bottom half European Champ Boris Georgiev of Bulgaria and Romania's Ionut Gheorghe should be headed to a semifinal showdown. None of the other fighters on the bottom half merit serious consideration.
U.S. outlook:
Javier Molina faces Georgiev in the opening round. He's a severe underdog and chances are his trip to Beijing will be a quick one.
The first big upset and the first world champ has lost in the tournament.
Light Heavyweights:
Asian Games champ Dzhakhon Kurbanov of Tajikistan beat reigning world champ Abbos Atoev by 11-3 decision.
Remember I said Beterbiev and Atoev were pretty even as 1 and 2. Looks like Kurbanov has stamped his name as a contender in this weight class.
Light Heavyweights:
Asian Games champ Dzhakhon Kurbanov of Tajikistan beat reigning world champ Abbos Atoev by 11-3 decision.
Remember I said Beterbiev and Atoev were pretty even as 1 and 2. Looks like Kurbanov has stamped his name as a contender in this weight class.
Dobes,
When I was a kid, there was no Olympic sport I looked forward to more than boxing. Then the Roy Jones, Jr. scandal in Seoul surfaced and the subsequent "computerized" scoring system was instituted.
Since then, I've tried hard to be objective and tried to determine why points are scored under this system. I don't think it can be done. Hell, today a guy took a standing eight count from a punch the referee saw but the judges failed to give his opponent a point. Giving a boxer points based on the reacton time of 3 judges within a second after the punch is delivered just isn't working. No points are awarded for power punches, blows to the side of the head, standing eight counts or additional blows in a flurry. To me, it's very frustrating to watch let alone bet on. IMHO.
When I was a kid, there was no Olympic sport I looked forward to more than boxing. Then the Roy Jones, Jr. scandal in Seoul surfaced and the subsequent "computerized" scoring system was instituted.
Since then, I've tried hard to be objective and tried to determine why points are scored under this system. I don't think it can be done. Hell, today a guy took a standing eight count from a punch the referee saw but the judges failed to give his opponent a point. Giving a boxer points based on the reacton time of 3 judges within a second after the punch is delivered just isn't working. No points are awarded for power punches, blows to the side of the head, standing eight counts or additional blows in a flurry. To me, it's very frustrating to watch let alone bet on. IMHO.
Wynn,
I'll both agree and disagree with what you stated.
The whole point of the system in place was to get rid of decisions like the Jones one, which in my opinion was one of the biggest ripoffs in sports history. Any time you are dealing with something subjective you will have different points of view and it will never be a perfect system. The good thing is the AIBA is trying to keep it fair and create a better system. I'm sure it will continue to evolve.
Amateur boxing and pro boxing are quite different. There is a scoring zone in amateur boxing both on the opponent and on the gloves used. Without these it is not a scoring blow in amateur boxing despite any damage it may cause. Getting three out of five people to agree on anything, much less something as subjective and quick as a scoring blow is difficult.
The announcers are beating the scoring thing to death. Fact is, neither of them is much of an amateur boxing aficionado and neither attended the World Championships, where scoring was diametrically opposite. While the judging has been conservative, maybe to an extreme, the announcers beating a dead horse is not helping matters.
The good thing is that having watched nearly all of the fights available on television I can say I maybe disagree with one decision out of all the fights. Even that one was arguable either way. So the fact that the boxer who should be given the winning decision is means the system is woking so far.
I'll both agree and disagree with what you stated.
The whole point of the system in place was to get rid of decisions like the Jones one, which in my opinion was one of the biggest ripoffs in sports history. Any time you are dealing with something subjective you will have different points of view and it will never be a perfect system. The good thing is the AIBA is trying to keep it fair and create a better system. I'm sure it will continue to evolve.
Amateur boxing and pro boxing are quite different. There is a scoring zone in amateur boxing both on the opponent and on the gloves used. Without these it is not a scoring blow in amateur boxing despite any damage it may cause. Getting three out of five people to agree on anything, much less something as subjective and quick as a scoring blow is difficult.
The announcers are beating the scoring thing to death. Fact is, neither of them is much of an amateur boxing aficionado and neither attended the World Championships, where scoring was diametrically opposite. While the judging has been conservative, maybe to an extreme, the announcers beating a dead horse is not helping matters.
The good thing is that having watched nearly all of the fights available on television I can say I maybe disagree with one decision out of all the fights. Even that one was arguable either way. So the fact that the boxer who should be given the winning decision is means the system is woking so far.
Watched the early bouts (Beijing afternoon, Sat. night/Sun. morning here) and will wait to comment on the others as I have taped them this afternoon.
In the welterweights, several guys looked good. Britain's Billy Joe Saunders tore up my longshot ticket on Turkey's Kilicci by easily outboxing him. Toureano Johnson of Bahamas showed some potential even though his opponent did not belong in the same ring. The Chinese welterweight Hanati could be dangerous as well. Did not get to see Sarsekbayev but looks like he completely dominated as well.
For the light welterweights, we did not get to see many contenders as the number one and two fighters got bes. Kovalev of Russia is pretty solid and I'm looking forward to Iglesias/Moussaid next round as both took care of their limited opposition while showing superior skills. Iglesias of Cuba may be a wildcard here as even though he is pretty thin he has unmatched speed.
The other bouts have already taken place, including the much anticipated Olympic debut of Demetrius Andrade of the US as well as European Champ Boris Georgiev versus Javier Molina of the US. I will hold off on discussion of those as I intend to watch them via tape-delay this afternoon.
In the welterweights, several guys looked good. Britain's Billy Joe Saunders tore up my longshot ticket on Turkey's Kilicci by easily outboxing him. Toureano Johnson of Bahamas showed some potential even though his opponent did not belong in the same ring. The Chinese welterweight Hanati could be dangerous as well. Did not get to see Sarsekbayev but looks like he completely dominated as well.
For the light welterweights, we did not get to see many contenders as the number one and two fighters got bes. Kovalev of Russia is pretty solid and I'm looking forward to Iglesias/Moussaid next round as both took care of their limited opposition while showing superior skills. Iglesias of Cuba may be a wildcard here as even though he is pretty thin he has unmatched speed.
The other bouts have already taken place, including the much anticipated Olympic debut of Demetrius Andrade of the US as well as European Champ Boris Georgiev versus Javier Molina of the US. I will hold off on discussion of those as I intend to watch them via tape-delay this afternoon.
Finished watching the evening session bouts on tape, a few thoughts:
In the light welterweights, the Romanian Gheorghe and the Bulagarian Georgiev looked impressive in overwhelming their opposition. Georgiev absolutely dominated American Javier Molina 14-1. Britain's Billy Joe Saunders scored an impressive first round TKO with a crunching body shot. Those three (Georgiev, Gheorghe, and Saunders) appear to be the class of the bottom half of the bracket. Hard to tell how strong the top half is with the top two fighters getting byes and then slated to face off. Cuban Iglesias is a definite contender as well.
One of two United States' hopes for a gold medal is welterweight Demetrius Andrade. He was underwhelming in struggling to an 11-9 victory. He faces a decent Russain next while Sarsekbayev looms for a possible semifinal showdown. Uzbekistani Mahmudov was the only other fighter worth mentioning in the bottom half as he looked pretty good.
In the light welterweights, the Romanian Gheorghe and the Bulagarian Georgiev looked impressive in overwhelming their opposition. Georgiev absolutely dominated American Javier Molina 14-1. Britain's Billy Joe Saunders scored an impressive first round TKO with a crunching body shot. Those three (Georgiev, Gheorghe, and Saunders) appear to be the class of the bottom half of the bracket. Hard to tell how strong the top half is with the top two fighters getting byes and then slated to face off. Cuban Iglesias is a definite contender as well.
One of two United States' hopes for a gold medal is welterweight Demetrius Andrade. He was underwhelming in struggling to an 11-9 victory. He faces a decent Russain next while Sarsekbayev looms for a possible semifinal showdown. Uzbekistani Mahmudov was the only other fighter worth mentioning in the bottom half as he looked pretty good.
