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Ring leader U.S. takes 5 quarterfinal fights at Goodwill Games
Posted: Tuesday July 28, 1998 10:55 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- A 17-year-old ranked No. 2 in the United States kept a very good day for U.S. boxers at the Goodwill Games rolling Tuesday with a decision over a world champion from Cuba. Roberto Benitez, from Marquette, Michigan, outpointed flyweight champ Manuel Mantilla 12-8. It was the fifth quarterfinal victory for U.S. fighters on the second day of boxing, and the third over a Cuban foe. Another Marquette boxer, 20-year-old Teaunce Shepherd, beat Rudinelson Hardy of Cuba 16-3 in the opening featherweight bout at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, before Ricardo Williams Jr., of Cincinnati beat Damian Austin 6-2 at light-welterweight. Also posting victories were flyweight John Medina of Fort Carson, Colorado, who edged world championship bronze medalist Omar Narvaes of Argentina 9-8; and Jermain Taylor of Little Rock, Arkansas, who beat light-middleweight Nurzhin Smanov of Kazahkstan by the same score. "At the beginning of the fight, I felt like I had to establish my jab to get some respect from my opponent, and it worked," Shepherd said. "There's an intimidation factor involved with Cuban boxers, an aura, but I feel like it's coming to an end." "We're proving it to the world," added Williams, another 17-year-old. "We've got a lot of young boxers coming up." The only losses for Americans came in the light-heavyweight division, where Cuba's Isael Alvarez beat Anthony Stewart of Chicago 7-2; and super-heavy, where Paolo Vidoz of Italy beat Keith Govan of Phoenix 8-1. In an unusual early-round meeting of top-name international boxers, world championship silver medalist Paata Gvasaliya of Russia stopped Lukas Koneecny, the bronze medalist, at 1:12 of the fourth round in their light-welterweight fight.
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