Posted at 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Both Hawaii boxers lose in semis of U.S. Championship
Advertiser Staff
The final two Hawaii boxers in the U.S. Championships were beaten Wednesday in semifinal bouts at Colorado Springs, Colo.Daniel Lazano of Bowling Green, Fla., defeated Wailuku, Maui's Keola McKee, 35-11, in a 106-pound bout.
Olympic flyweight Rau'shee Warren of Cincinnati, Ohio, defeated Waimanalo's Bruno Escalante when the bout was stopped in the third round of their 112-pound fight.
Warren's ring minutes at the U.S. boxing championships have been brief, but oh so brilliant.
The defending champion at 112 pounds and the tournament's marquee attraction, Warren had to wait an extra day just to get into the ring.
When he did, he made quick work of Escalante, whose coach called things off early in the third round with his outclassed fighter trailing 20-3.
Warren, a 21-year-old known for his amazing quickness, wasn't bothered by the early end to his first bout of these championships.
"It made me feel like I put in a better performance and I worked hard," Warren said.
Warren had to wait an extra day to fight because Escalante was forced to re-box Vincent Montoya on Tuesday after officials granted Montoya's appeal of his loss Monday night.
With his bracket pushed back a day, Warren will also have to fight Thursday, which was supposed to be a day of rest before Friday night's title fights.
"It doesn't bother me. The results are going to be the same, I'm going to win," declared Warren, who is trying to become the first American boxer to fight at two Olympic Games since Davey Lee Armstrong in 1972 and '76.
All four 112-pound semifinalists will fight Thursday in a two-card session while the finalists in the other 10 weight classes take the day off.
Warren faces Timothy Ibarra of Brighton, Colo. The other match pits Aaron Alafa of Visalia, Calif., and John Franklin of Fort Carson, Colo.
At 17, Warren was the youngest American athlete at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he lost his initial fight. Instead of turning pro afterward, he decided to make a run at Beijing in 2008. U.S. national coaching director Dan Campbell credits Warren's decision with helping keep more young boxers in the amateur ranks longer.
The Olympic trials are in August at a site yet to be determined.
The top eight boxers in each of 11 weight classes here have qualified for those trials.
