Sun, Aug 10, 2008 page19

• BOXING: Korobov easily outpoints Swede

  FIRST FIGHT Although the bout between Zhang Xiaoping and Mourad Sahraoui turned into a hugfest, the crowd cheered China’s first Olympic boxer

  • AP
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  Matvey Korobov might be the most talented boxer at the Olympics. The dynamic Russian middleweight capitalized on an early chance to prove it.
  
  

  Korobov began work on his first Olympic medal yesterday, easily outpointing Naim Terbunja of Sweden 18-6 in the tournament’s opening bout.
  
  

  American middleweight Shawn Estrada beat Ezequiel Maderna of Argentina 10-2 to set up a second-round meeting with James Degale of Britain, who easily handled Mohamed Hikal of Egypt.
  
  

  

  Mourad Sahraoui, left, of Tunisia fights with Zhang Xiaoping of China during the light heavyweight boxing preliminaries held in the Workers’ Gymnasium in Beijing yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

  Korobov’s Russian teammate, light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev, wrapped up the afternoon session with a 15-3 win over Kennedy Katende of Sweden. But the large crowd at Workers’ Gymnasium was much more interested in light heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping, the first Chinese competitor of these games in a sport once banned by Mao Zedong.
  
  

  Zhang labored to a 3-1 victory over Tunisia’s Mourad Sahraoui, scoring two points in the final round of a hugging contest disguised as a bout, but his performance still inspired more cheers than every other bout combined.
  
  

  The mostly Chinese fans also showed ample respect to Korobov, a two-time world champion who waited several years for the chance to show that skill for the powerful, deep Russian team.
  
  

  Until 2005, the 25-year-old Korobov was unable to move past veteran Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov, who won a gold medal in Athens to add to his silver from Sydney, where he knocked out American Jeff Lacy.
  
  

  With Gaydarbekov finally out of competition, Korobov has dominated the middleweight class for three years. He won the world amateur title in 2005 and again in Chicago last fall, rolling through almost every match with a blend of impressive athleticism and reflexes.
  
  

  Korobov reportedly plans to turn pro after the Olympics, and his skills seem suited to the pro sport. He kept Terbunja on his heels and moving backward for most of the match, landing big punches in every round.
  
  

  “[Korobov] is a really complete boxer,” Swedish coach Majid Jelili said. “He has no big weaknesses. I think he will win. Anyone can be beaten, but I think he is the best boxer in this category.”
  
  

  Though the US team is still reeling from bantamweight Gary Russell Jr’s failure to make weight, Estrada got the Americans off to a fine start with a victory over an opponent he knows well.
  
  

  Estrada actually received cheers when he entered the arena — a rarity for US fighters in international competition, where they’re usually booed relentlessly. He had little trouble with Maderna, who also lost to Estrada in the final of an Olympic qualifying tournament in Guatemala last spring.
  
  

  “I already knew what he was going to bring, but I kept my composure,” said Estrada, who had nine family members in attendance.
  
  

  Estrada wasn’t joined by his father, Juan, a former Mexican national team fighter who never made the Olympics. Juan Estrada is at home in East Los Angeles with serious liver, heart and kidney problems.
  
  

  Ghana’s Bastie Samir scored the tournament’s first legitimate knockdown in the first round of his light heavyweight bout, flooring Nigeria’s Dauda Izobo with a left hand and thrilling a crowd that hadn’t seen much violence in the opening bouts. Samir knocked down Izobo again in the second round to win.
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