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Tuesday, September 19
Taylor, Navarro make U.S. 8-for-8
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Being an auto mechanic, Jermain Taylor
knows that if it's not broken, don't fix it.
The 22-year-old Taylor found out early in his 156-pound bout
against Dimitriy Usagin of Bulgaria on Tuesday that his right was
working perfectly.
|  | | U.S.'s Jose Navarro, in red, pounds on Indonesia's Hermensen Ballo. |
"I thought, let me try that again," said Taylor, who scored
his first point with a right to the head.
So he did, landing three more rights before a final crushing
right dropped the Bulgarian. He got up, staggered a couple of
steps, fell into a ring post, and the fight was over with 10
seconds remaining in the first round.
"It was a good lick," Taylor said. "It caught him right on
the button."
Taylor's second-round opponent will be Scott MacIntosh of
Canada.
Jose Navarro of Los Angeles advanced at 112 pounds by
outpointing Hermensen Ballo of Indonesia 16-10. Watching and
shouting instruction was Navarro's older brother, Carlos, who
failed to make the 1996 Olympic team, but who is 22-1 as a pro
featherweight.
Four more Americans are still to fight first-round bouts -- Ricardo Williams Jr. of Cincinnati boxes Henry Collins of
Australia at 139 pounds Wednesday; heavyweight
Michael Bennett of Chicago boxes Wojciech Bartnik of Poland
Thursday; super heavyweight Calvin Brock of
Charlotte, N.C., meets Paolo Vidoz of Italy on Saturday, and Olanda
Anderson of the Army fights Rudolf Kraj of Czech Republic on Sunday.
The first seven Cubans to box also have won. The last two both
won easily: Juan Hernandez, an Olympic silver medalist in 1992-96
and a four-time world champion at 147 pounds, boxing at 156, and
Manuel Mantilla at 112.
The great heavyweight Felix Savon, who could box Bennett in the
quarterfinals, also fights Thursday afternoon.
While the 19-year-old Navarro, the youngest of 12 children,
needs to win more bouts to get a gold medal, he already has
achieved one goal.
"When my brother didn't make it, it was the last
chance in my family, and I wasn't going to let them down," he said
upon qualifying for the Olympics.
Navarro said he could hear his brother during the bout.
"I could hear him telling me to throw the 1-2, and I did
that," Navarro said. "He knows what he's talking about."
The left-handed Navarro led only 7-6 after two rounds.
"I felt a little tense at the beginning of the fight," he
said. "I picked it up in the third round. These are the Olympics.
I have no choice but to pick it up or you go home."
Navarro found the range with his right in the third round and
outscored Ballo 6-1 to make the scored 13-7.
Navarro's second-round opponent will be Hickem Mesbahi of
Morocco.
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