andrade wins 1st fight

Did you see the fight mate?

The guy he fought Im pretty sure medaled at the 06 European champs.

Andrade looked a little uncomfortable but I thought that scoreline wasnt indicative of his effort.

 

the olypics for boxing is like the door thats gonna open up bigger doors....when you have old ass guys who have been there 3 times, know the system, and fight just to get by, thats pathetic to me.....

that's my opinion, you have yours and i'll have mine....

 

They're fighting to win a medal. For a lot of them, there is no bigger door. that is the big door. Look at countries like Cuba or China or a lot of Eastern European countries where it doesn't pay to turn pro. Why do you think the USA isn't so dominant at amateur boxing? It's because they're taught to fight like pros from the time they're 8 or 9; whereas the Europeans are taught technical boxing in the amateur system, usually (you see it a bit different on the Russian team a lot of the time).

 

Everybody who fights amateur knows the system/game, it's the sport they're playing ffs! Amateur boxing is a completely different sport than pro boxing and some people such as myself prefer it to the pro game. You have better athletes fighting the best guys all the time, it's a faster, more skilled version of boxing. I'm guessing you're not a big fan of the 'not getting hit' part of the sweet science, you can't win a fight without scoring points can you so no top amateur just 'runs'. Guys like Whitaker and Leonard aknowledge their Gold medals as the pinnacles of their careers but those guys probably didn't take enough lumps for your enjoyment did they?

 

This would be a fair point if Amateur boxing only existed as a kind of entry level for professional boxing. But that is not the case. It is a different sport, not pro-boxing with training wheels on.

It is a peculiarity of US boxing culture that the amateur game is neglected or is treated only as a springboard for a pro career. That's unfortunte for the US at the Olympics, as they rarely have competitors with previous Olympic experience under their belts. But that is ultimately a problem for US amateur boxing, not a problem for the Olympics or for other countries' participants. In many parts of the world, the Olympics is the pinnacle of a boxers career, and who are you to insist that they have to copy your country's model?

Just because the Olympics (and amateur boxing as a whole) are treated simply as "a door that opens other doors" in the US, doesn't mean that everybody else should be obliged to treat it that way. Personally I think that US boxing might be in much healthier shape if there was more emphasis on the amateur game, greater grassroots participation and more concentration on technical aspects of the sport.

As it is, the US team boxes at a disadvantage in the Olympics because the fighters who should be competing for a second time are all off padding their professional resumes fighting boxers who aren't in their ability class.

 

what are you talking about, i love watching sweet pea fight....

i'm starting to understand it a bit more, but it's still turning me away....i've never been a fan of the olympics, especially boxing...and that just sucks cause i'm a die hard boxing fan....

but mainly cause of the system...

 

USA just can't win... they need Bob Arum, Don King, Golden Boy to make a name for them.

The few that have made a name for themself in the Olympics, have become great champions

 

One thing that is cool (and I've never seen it before since I don't watch much amateur boxing) is that man-sized petri dish they slide out in the corners and the swing-arm spittoon/stool to minimize spillage in the ring. The pro athletic commissions should be taking notes IMO.

 

Also, maybe I'm the only person who thinks this, but I thought I saw a knockdown that the ref missed as well. His opponent's hand seemed to touch at one point off a punch.

It was also a tough fight to score generally. There were a few times when I thought Andrade landed multiple scoring blows in a flurry, but the judges only registered one point.

 

Good post.

 

So?

 

Andrade really looked uncomfortable in there, maybe it was just because of all the build up to the olympics and he'll calm down now. He reminded me of Tarver in there, he had the same sort of rushing/panic look on his face that Tarver sometimes gets. If Andrade takes his time and relaxes in the ring he will be hard to beat.