Estrada becomes 9th U.S. Olympic boxing qualifier
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — Shawn Estrada of Los Angeles became the ninth American to qualify for the Beijing Olympics when he beat a Brazilian middleweight in the Americas Qualifier on Tuesday.
Estrada outpointed Yamaguchi Florentine in their semifinal. The bout was close through the first three rounds, with the score tied 1-1 through two rounds. Estrada moved ahead 7-6 in the third round and then piled up the points in the final round for a 12-7 victory.
Estrada will take on Argentina’s Ezequiel Maderna in the championship round Wednesday.
Later Tuesday night, super heavyweight Michael Hunter of Las Vegas lost 10-3 to Venezuela’s Jose Payares and will not make the games. Hunter, who was ill while in Guatemala, fell behind by one point after the opening round. The Venezuelan extended his lead to 5-2 after two rounds of boxing and coasted.
Previously, U.S. qualifiers for Beijing were: light flyweight Luis Yanez, Duncanville, Texas; flyweight Rau’shee Warren, Cincinnati; bantamweight Gary Russell Jr., Capitol Heights, Md.; featherweight Raynell Williams, Cleveland; lightweight Sadam Ali, Brooklyn, N.Y.; light welterweight Javier Molina, Commerce, Calif.; welterweight Demetrius Andrade, Providence, R.I.; and heavyweight Deontay Wilder, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press