MIDDLEWEIGHT – James DeGale vs. Emilio Correa-Bayeaux
British middleweight James DeGale built up an early 6-1 lead in the first round over his Cuban opponent Emilio Correa-Bayeaux and then held onto the lead to eventually win 15-12. However, DeGale got sloppy-looking by the end of the 2nd round, and tried to run out the clock in both the third and fourth rounds, making the fight dull to watch. His skills were far from impressive, as he looked badly fatigued and sloppy, ready for the taking by his Cuban opponent. Of all the Olympic fighters, DeGale probably looked by far the worst of the lot, and nothing like a potential professional champion. He got caught on the ropes over and over again in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and took a lot of punishment. The running, however, in the 3rd and 4th rounds by DeGale made him look really bad and it wasn’t an Olympic style performance by far.
Results: DeGale wins by 15-12.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – Kenny Egan vs. Xiaoping Zhang
Ireland’s Kenny Egan was another case of a fighter expected to win the gold medal and falling well short. In this case, he was never in the fight as the 6’2″ Xiaoping Zhang from China, had far too much size, speed and boxing ability for the slower Egan to deal with. By watching the fight early on, one could tell that Egan simply had no chance of winning the fight, for Zhang was simply too big, too accurate with his punches, too elusive and a much better overall fighter period. Though Egan kept it close in the 1st three rounds, trailing 5-3 in the second, 7-5 in the third, he still ended up losing the fight 11-7 as he was unable to make up the difference in the final round. Zhang, a fighter that would do well in the pros, seemed to turn it on and off and will and whenever Egan would edge closer, Zhang would land several left hands and pull away again. In the end, Zhang just looked much better than the limited Egan.
Results: Zhang wins 11-7
HEAVYWEIGHT – Rakhim Chakhkiev vs. Clemente Russo
Russian heavyweight Rakhim Chakhkiev used power punching to win a close 4-2 victory over Italian Clemente Russo. Charging forward often, the faster Chakhkiev landed often with short power shots. However, the judges failed to give him credit for numerous shots that he landed against his Italian opponent. I had Chakhkiev winning by at least 10-2, but it seems as if the judges were canceling one another out in the scoring of this fight.
Results: Chakhkiev wins 4-2
SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT -Zhilei Zhang vs. Roberto Cammarelle
Italian Roberto Cammarelle totally dominated his Chinese opponent 6’5″ Zhilei Zhang, piling up a big 14-4 lead, and then knocking him down with a big left hand in the 4th round. Following the knockdown, the fight was stopped by the referee giving Cammarelle to the gold medal. Though only 6’2″, Cammarelle, 28, showed excellent speed and power, and gave Zhang all kinds of problems. After the 1st round, the southpaw Cammarelle already had a 6-1 lead, courtesy of his big left hands he was landing to the head of Zhang. For his part, Zhang looked good, showing more boxing ability than the vast majority of the top 15 heavyweights in the professional ranks, but he couldn’t handle the speed and power of Cammarelle.
In the second round, Cammarelle build on his lead, hitting Zhang with a lot of big lefts that snapped his head back. By the end of the round, Cammarelle had increased his lead to 11-3. Zhang came out looking much more aggressive in the 3rd round, moving well, jabbing and landing right hands. However, he only succeeded in adding one point to his score, as the round ended with Cammarelle leading 13-4. In the 4th round, Zhang landed a couple of right hands but was immediately put down by a big left hand by Cammarelle. The fight was then stopped with Cammarelle ahead 14-4.
Result: Cammarelle wins on stoppage in 4th round
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