Olympic fights and professional rematches

Cotto lost to Abdullaev in the olympics and then destroyed him 5 years later. haha great win for Cotto.

 

Amateur boxing is very different from the professional version, but those unpaid matches can resonate long into a fighter's pro career.

That is the case of Miguel Cotto vs. Muhammad Abdullaev, who will fight for Cotto's junior welterweight title Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET/PT) at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Also on the card: "Kid Diamond" Almazbek Raiymkulov (20-0, 12 KOs), originally from Kyrgyzstan but now based in Las Vegas, takes a huge step up in competition against slick former junior lightweight champ Joel Casamayor (31-3, 19 KOs) in a title elimination bout.

Five years have passed since Cotto, representing Puerto Rico, and Abdullaev, from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, arrived at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, each with his eyes on a gold medal.




They drew each other in the first round of the tournament, and Abdullaev – older, more experienced and more physically mature – routed Cotto by a score of 17-7. Abdullaev went on to win the coveted gold medal.

"The Olympic chapter is over. It's time for a new chapter to start. That will come when I fight him," said Cotto, who claimed he has watched a tape of his Olympic match only once, about six weeks after the loss.

"I beat him then, I will do it again," Abdullaev said. "I have his movements in my brain just like information or data on a computer disk. He can't change it, even after some years as a pro."

For Cotto (23-0, 19 KOs), that Olympic match was his last defeat, setting up the obvious revenge theme for the professional showdown between the two.

"The mountain will come down on Muhammad," Cotto said. "This isn't just about defending my title, it's about revenge. I'm going to remind him who really won our fight at the 2000 Olympics. He is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he is fighting the same 19-year-old kid he fought in Australia five years ago."

Despite the lopsided score, Cotto thought he won the match. Had it been a pro fight rather than one that relied on the quirky amateur scoring system, perhaps he would have won.

"I remember being in a fight that I won and that I did enough to win the fight," he said. "Outside of the result, I couldn't tell you what happened. But I remember doing my job and not getting the decision.

"I remember I connected some great punches that were never counted. I am not here to cry about it. That was a long time ago. It will be a big difference when we fight [again]. You'll see how we've progressed since then."

Said Abdullaev, "The amateur fight is a long time ago. It's history, and what happened in the amateurs is in the past. I am well prepared for this fight, and that is my focus now."

In the pro ranks, Cotto, 24, has developed much more quickly than Abdullaev, and he won a vacant title in September. He did it by knocking out another amateur nemesis, Kelson Pinto.

Abdullaev's pro career was moving along smoothly until he ran into Emmanuel Clottey in June 2003. Abdullaev was winning easily until he was stopped in the 10th round in a major upset.

"I usually wouldn't have lost a fight like that," he said. "I only had a short time to prepare and so I didn't really see it as a true loss. It didn't ruin my spirits. I didn't lose my head over it nor lose my confidence in my abilities. I kept training, and now I have this chance. It's a big opportunity for me."





REUTERS/Teddy B. Blackburn Roberto Duran (center) is flanked by (from left) "Kid Diamond" Almazbek Raiymkulov, Cotto, Abdullaev and Joel Casamayor. Raiymkulov and Casamayor also square off on Saturday.

It took Abdullaev (15-1, 12 KOs) some time to get back on track, but he has won his four fights since then to set up the pro rematch with Cotto. Abdullaev, 31, now based in Germany after beginning his pro career in the United States, said he would repeat his amateur victory.

"My 2000 Olympic victory over Cotto was more than a step toward winning the gold medal," he said, "it is also a blueprint for winning the world title and spoiling his Madison Square Garden debut."

The fight – which will take place on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade – indeed marks Cotto's debut at the Garden, an arena looking for another star to fill the void left by Felix Trinidad. Trinidad was a virtual Garden house fighter who was extremely popular with New York's large Puerto Rican fan base. Cotto has often been compared to Trinidad.

"I think he can be bigger than Trinidad, and this is in no way a reflection on Trinidad. Tito was Tito," said Bob Arum, who promotes Cotto. "But Cotto is very bright, and much more intelligent – he goes to college – and that's very appealing. I think his personality is endearing and people really like that about him."

Cotto has brushed off the comparisons time and again.

"I don't want to step into anyone's shoes. I wear my own," he said. "Tito had a great career, but I have my own. I've been promoted very well by Top Rank, and the company has made me my own fighter. I am not fighting to be the substitute for anyone. I am trying to be my own man. I am not replacing anyone."

Cotto then added, "If they decide I am the next star of Puerto Rico, I will be humbled by it. It is up to the fans."

Cotto clearly is beginning to make an impression on those fans, in part because of Top Rank's substantial promotional effort. Cotto's face adorns subway posters throughout New York. More than 100,000 fliers advertising the fight have been distributed in the last month, and more than 5,000 posters have been put up around the city.

A public workout last weekend in a Puerto Rican area of the Bronx drew thousands and the fight is expected to draw more than 12,000.

"I have always heard about these great Puerto Rican festivals at the Garden, and I really wanted to see it for myself," Cotto said. "I was just amazed at all the people. That's where my people are, and I am glad I finally got to see it for myself. It makes me extremely proud to be Puerto Rican, and the love and cheers the people showed me touched me deeply."

Out of sight, not out of mind: Most of the national boxing media is in Washington to cover Saturday night's Mike Tyson-Kevin McBride fight. That means Cotto-Abdullaev – a far superior card to the Tyson show and one that is available without the additional cost of pay-per-view – hasn't gotten as much attention as Arum would like.

However, Top Rank understands that Tyson is Tyson and showed its sense of humor this week when it shipped media members a black duffel bag embroidered with the words "Cotto Care Package."

Put together by a boxing public relations dream team – Top Rank's Lee Samuels, Ricardo Jimenez and Bill Caplan and ace contractors Fred Sternburg and Kelly Swanson – and overseen by Top Rank president Todd duBoef, the bag contains a number of humorous items that poked fun at the circus nature of Tyson-McBride.

In the enclosed letter to the media, the dream team wrote, "You should be in New York covering the Miguel Cotto and Muhammad Abdullaev June 11 world title fight at Madison Square Garden as a member of the sports media. … So to make your trip a little better, we are giving you a Cotto Care Package to help you survive the journey."

Among the contents:

• A small one-shot plastic bottle of authentic Puerto Rican rum "to help numb the pain caused by missing the real June 11 fight."


• A bottle of mouthwash "to remove the inevitable bad taste you will have."


• A bar of soap because "you'll need a strong shower after this one."


• A baggie of saltines because they work "great to stop the nausea."


• A barf bag "in case the saltines don't work."


• A Cotto-Abdullaev media credential because "we will always welcome you back."




http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=2081087

 

Juergen Braehmer beat Froch in the Am's if i remember correctly . . . . . REMATCH! :hey

 

Alfredo Angulo lost a dec. to Andy Lee in the lympics

 

as someone else said, it was abdulleav (sp) who beat Cotto in the Olympics, pinto was however 2-0 against Cotto in the amateurs

Wlad beat some guy in the 1996 finals (forgot his name) and beat him again as a pro.

 

Groves beat degale in ams and in the pros

Oops didn't read got revenge...

Or olympics.atsch

 

henry tillman beat tyson 2 times in the olympic boxing trials, and lasted 90 seconds of the first round.

tyrell biggs beat lewis in the 1984 olympics only to be destroyed in 1990 or 91 by Lewis

 

People underestimate amateur wins and losses then fighting in the pros.

Oscar lost to Ruelas (265-4)

creamed him in the Pros.

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Wait Buster Mathis Sr and Fraizer met in an Olympic qualifier with Mathis winning iirc, Fraizer won the rematch in the pros.

 

Khan won the rematch over the bloke who beat him in the Olympic final. Was still in the AM's and was Khan's last fight. **** knows who he fought though.

 

The great Mario Kindelan