U.S. boxers get clobbered by British team

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/content_objectid=13599874_method=full_siteid=50061_headline=-US-mauled-by-English-lions-name_page.html ^

[Tacos]

Ouch...first the U.S. gets eliminated from baseball in the 2004 Olympics and now we are getting embarrassed at amateur boxing. Looks like we didn't send our best amateurs to England (just 1 champion) and I wonder if we did in the baseball event. We got clobbered in the ring for our efforts. Got to do better.

Here is the report from the Liverpool press:

US mauled by English lions

Nov 7 2003

By David Randles Ringside at Everton Park Sports Centre

For so long now the Americans have been seen as a superpower in virtually every premise of life, with boxing as no exception.

But on Thursday night they were brought to their knees by a select England team that featured four of Liverpool's finest at Everton Park Sports Centre.

Winning performances by Stephen Smith, Nick MacDonald, Dave Mulholland and David Price helped the nation to a staggering 9-0 victory over their US counterparts - a result that will ensure the visitors remember Liverpool for far more than just the Beatles as they return to the States.

As the US team arrived on Merseyside reeling from the 6-4 defeat they suffered at London's York Hall on Monday night, they had a score to settle. But as the English lions devoured all before them it was the visitors who were sent back across the Atlantic licking their wounds.

For those who had the misfortune to be absent last night, you missed history in the making, as this was the first time a US team has been so comprehensively beaten on these shores for over two decades.

That it should happen on the banks of the Mersey is simply apt given that Liverpool is now recognised as the strongest city in the country when it comes amateur boxing.

In boasting four international number ones in their respective weight and age divisions, the Scouse quartet had a packed house in raptures as they whitewashed last year's 4-4 draw at St Georges' Hall in what was then, the inaugural UK pairing between these two countries outside of London.

Indeed, so emphatic was the success of the England team, the Americans may want to reconsider before they return to these parts again.

For bantamweight Stephen Smith (pictured above) it was a dream come true as he made his senior bow on one of the grandest stages of them all. At 17, the Rotunda ABC starlet is still officially a junior but, despite being thrown in at the deep end, he repaid the faith shown in him by the English ABA with a stunning 26-16 win over Rafael Valezuela who was the sole US number one on the bill.

"I'm absolutely made up, especially as Valezuela is a senior and US number one," said Smith afterwards.

"I'll keep my feet on the ground, though, and stay in the juniors for another year before stepping up to this level again, but it was great to get a feel of things to come."

It was a case of de-ja-vu at the other end of the scales for city super-heavyweight David Price who repeated his third round stoppage of Travis Kauffman on the outclassed rule with a thunderous display in the final bout of the night.

Just as in Bethnal Green on Monday, Price (above) inflicted the sort of punishment that has got people the length and breadth of the country talking about him as he walked away with the Boxer of the Night award.

Price's skill behind his jab was simply too much for Kauffman from the outset, and as the rounds ticked away he stepped it up with some devastating combinations that defy his massive 6ft 7in frame.

"It was great to put in a performance like that in front of my home fans," said the Salisbury ABC prospect, who along with Smith was honoured as the Boxing Writers and British Boxing Board of Control's boxer of the year last month.

"They haven't really seen me since my first year in the ABAs and, although I had some good wins then, I've got more skill now. I've come back from being a boy to a man so hopefully the will see more of me.

"I never had any doubt I'd beat Kauffman again but I'm happier with the 9-0 result. It's an incredible achievement and it looks good, not only on us but all the coaches who have put a lot of hard work into this match."

Price's clubmate, David Mulholland fought through the pain barrier after a recent operation to have some excess calcium shaved from his left elbow to reverse the defeat he suffered to fellow Jose Perez Jr three days earlier.

The two times ABA champion (above) came through a tactical battle with an accomplished display that saw him evade the tricky advances of Perez's awkward southpaw style.

By showing good footwork to move in and out, Mulholland timed his shots well, most notably with his straight right down the channel, before coming out an 11-8 winner to seal victory for his country in the fifth bout of the night.

Despite giving away a 13-year age gap, Vauxhall Motor's Nick MacDonald came through his bantamweight contest with the industrious Kevin Hudgins, as he also marked time on his return from a back injury.

Although the 19-year-old from Moreton seemed displeased with his performance afterwards, he did enough to demonstrate why he is the current ABA champion at this weight with an intelligent display as he registered a 17-11 score against the American.

FULL RESULTS: (England first)

48kg: Stewart Langley beat James Lester Jnr 15 - 9

51kg: Don Broadhurst beat Charles Huerta 16 - 14

54kg: Stephen Smith beat Rafael Valezuela 26 - 16

54kg: Nick MacDonald beat Kevin Hudgins 17 - 11

57kg: David Mulholland beat Jose Perez Jr 11 - 8

75kg: Ricardo Samms beat Don Yil Livingston 26 - 14

75kg: Gary Barr beat Joe Greene 9 - 8

91kg: David Dolan beat Matthew Godfrey 12 - 10

91kg+: David Price beat Travis Kauffman rsf 3rd Rd - outclassed

[Semper Paratus]

Track team didn't do all that great this summer. Makes you wonder about the upcoming Olympics.

[USNBandit]

Depends on whether this is the top U.S. team or not. The sports like basketball and hockey are constantly set up for defeats like this in non Olympic years when their ranks are made up with college players and not America's best. If the U.S. Boxing Association sent some of their up and comers to gain some international experience then it's no big deal.

I was sent to a couple shooting world cup matches when I was in high school and had little chance of winning. The national team was giving me well needed international experience that I would need in the future.

[Tacos]

That's true. I just get bothered when other countries send their best or upper tier amateur boxers, we don't, and then we get embarrassed. It is good experience I suppose.
This applies to all sports, just seems to happen more often in boxing.

[Tacos]

Well, I did see that we at least beat the French boxing team the other day (different squad). Still, losing 9-0 to England in amateur boxing is an outright embarrassment (or to anyone by a shutout).

[Tacos]

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