Bantamweight Gary Russell Jr and light welterweight Javier Molina took steps forward in their quests to qualify for the Beijing Olympics with victories in the preliminary round of the World Boxing Championships on Tuesday.
Russell started things off for the US boxing team when he soundly defeated Slovakia's Rudolf Dydi. Molina defeated Jamaica's Rikardo Smith.
Russell looked cautious during the first two rounds, despite catching Dydi with a solid left hook in the first.
He took control of the bout in the third round, becoming more aggressive and battling Dydi with strong combination punches to the crowd's chants of "USA." He won the match, 13-6.
"Pressure makes diamonds," Russell said. "I'm trying to shine everywhere I go."
Russell has performed under pressure this year, winning a spot on the US boxing team by fighting his way through the challenger's bracket in Houston. He can qualify for a trip to Beijing next year by making the quarter-finals.
Russell was confident that he will go to the Olympics.
"This is my destiny," he said. "This is my calling in life right here."
The crowd roared behind Molina as he jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the first round. Molina kept Smith at bay in the second, then started to run away with the match in the third round, just like his teammate Russell had done earlier in the day. In the fourth round, Smith came after Molina with several straight rights, but Molina bobbed and weaved around them. Molina completely outclassed his opponent, winning 37-16.
After the match, Molina said that people continue to see him as "a little kid with hardly any muscle." The 17-year-old Molina, however, never sees himself as an underdog.
"I've been thinking about the Olympics since I was a little kid," Molina said.
The US team drew several tough opponents in the opening round.
Flyweight Rau'shee Warren, who is attempting to become the first US boxer in more than 20 years to compete in two Olympics, is scheduled to fight Tulashboy Doniyorov of Uzbekistan, who also fought in the Athens Olympics, this morning.
Warren was 17 and the youngest member of the 2004 US Olympic boxing team in Athens. He lost 22-9 in his first match to China's Zou Chiming at 48kg. The last US boxer to compete in two Olympics was Davey Lee Armstrong in 1972 and 1976.
There also will be two continental qualifiers early next year, so the Chicago tournament will not be the last chance to make the Olympics.
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