Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 19

Worl yionships Wednesday, May 7, 1986 Reno Gazette-Journal 3B At a glance The favorites Cuba iIO 1 it's still a powerhouse team complete with I 4- Vv 1 II ('' Vl amateur boxing's biggest names but Cuban coach Alcides Sagarra has blended the new with the old. Three-time Olympic gold medal winner Teofilo Stevenson, whose age is listed at 35 by the Cubans, is almost twice the age of two 18-year-olds, 119-pounder Arnaldo Mesa and 201-pounder Felix Savon. The Cubans have another teen-ager in 19-year-old 156-pounder Angel Espinosa. "I think the mixture (of experience) is excellent," said Sagarra, Cuba's coach since 1964. "Their condition is great.

I expect good results." In addition to winning the Olympics gold medals in 1972, 1976 and 1980, Stevenson won World Championships in 1974 and 1978. Light heavyweight Pablo Romero won a World Championships gold medal at Munich in 1982 and lightweight Adolfo Horta (125 pounds) won World Championships in 1978 and 1982. Romero, who has a 171-18 record, took a 4-1 decision victory over Evander Holy-field, now an undefeated professional cruiserweight title contender, in a 1984 U.S. -Cuba dual match bout in Reno. When: May 8-18 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

SCHEDULE Preliminaries: Thursday, May 8 through Monday, May 12. Sessions will begin each day at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 13 and Wednesday, May 14. Sessions begin at 1 p.m.

and 7 p.m. Semifinals: Friday, May 16. Ses-sions begin at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Finals: Saturday, May 17 and Sun-day, May 18.

Sessions begin at noon. Television: ABC will televise both final sessions (May 17 and 18) live, beginning at noon. The Reno and Lake Tahoe area will be blacked out. Tickets: Tickets for preliminary bouts are $10 (May 8-14) and $15, $25, $35 and $50 for the semifinals and finals. Tickets are available through Bass and Ticketron.

Northern Nevada outlets include the Convention Center box office, Bally's Grand Hotel, John Ascuaga's Nugget, Harrah's, Eldorado Hotel, the Peppermill, Sands-Regent and 7-Eleven stores. Nations: Boxers from 37 nations were listed in the World Championship draw Tuesday. Outstanding boxer award: 1974, at Havana, Vasili Solomin, USSR; 1978, at Belgrad, Stephen Mushoki, Kenya; 1982, at Munich, Mark Breland, USA. The Russell Cup, presented to the outstanding boxer in the World Championships, was named for Lt. Col.

H.R. Russell of England. 1982 Championships: The USA produced three champions Floyd Favors, 119 pounds; Mark Breland, 147; and Tyrell Biggs, 201 -plus. The team standings: Cuba 47 points, USA 38, USSR 35, East Germany 16, Bulgaria 16, Romania 14, Yugoslavia 13, Poland 12, West Germany 11 and Italy 10. 1984 Olympic gold medalist: Shin Joon-Sup, South Korea, defeated Virgil Hill of the United States, in the Olympic finals.

He will compete in Reno. Looking back: Americans Howard Davis, Mark Breland, Pernell Whitaker and Tyrell Biggs vaulted into the limelight and started their international careers at the World Championships. German Democratic Republic GDR boxers have won 13 medals in three 1 iMATEUR CHAMP: Pablo Romero of Cuba, right, fighting Mark CroM Gazette-Journal field of the United States in a USA-Cuba dual match in Reno in February of 1984. Holyfield went on to make a name for himself in professional boxing. in the 178-pound class, won the title in the 1982 World Championships in Munich.

Here, he fights Evander Holy- They fight for glory, not money World Championships, but 12 of the medals have been bronze. But the East Germans are poised for bigger things after winning the 1985 European Championships and then taking two gold medals and two silver medals in the World Cup at Seoul last November. The East Germans won five gold medals in finishing ahead of the Soviets at the European tournament in Budapest. Middleweight Henry Maske finished first at both Budapest and Seoul. Lightweight Torsten Koch also won a World Cup championship.

Flyweight Dieter Berg, light welterweight Siegfried Mehnert won the European Championships and then finished second at Seoul. 5 nations contend for team crown By Steve SneddonGazette-Joumai It was friendly basketball cutting across barriers of language and political philosophy as three-time Olympic boxing gold medal winner Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba played in a three-on-three game with five South Korean boxers. Stevenson and Paik Hyun-Man, who are each competing in the World Boxing Championships' super heavyweight division at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, battled for rebounds in the game at the Truckee Meadows Boys and Girls Club. There were no reports that Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes played basketball before they fought for the professional heavyweight title, but that is only one of the many differences between pro and amateur boxing. A professional fights for himself.

An amateur boxes for his nation and himself. The consensus is that five nations are strong contenders for the team championship Cuba, Soviet Union, United States, German Democratic Republic and South Korea. Cuba has won 15 of the 34 gold medals since the World Championships started in 1974. The Soviet Union has taken eight gold medals and the U.S., which won three at Munich in 1982, has won four. No other nation has won more than one gold medal.

But past medal-winning perfor-mamces for teams or individuals don't matter in the World Championships, South Korea coach Boris Gitman said. "Nobody respects Olympics, (past) World Championships medals. It is the heart (of the boxer) that will make the difference." Boxers from 37 nations will compete in the '86 Championships in Reno, May 8-18. Republic of Korea I Mr? South Koretrn belongs in the top five after winning four I The rest gold medals in the World Cup last November at Seoul and one gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics. Olympic gold medalist middleweight Shin Joon-Sup took time off from boxing and didn't return to the sport until five months ago.

Coach Boris Gitman, a former Soviet assistant coach and now a Canadian citizen, believes it's unlikely that Korea can win the team title. Korea's boxers who won World Cup championships were 106-pounder On Kwang-Soo, 119-pounder Moon Sung-Kill, 139-pounder Kim Ki-Taek and 156-pounder AUSTRALIA: One member of the two-man Aussie team, 156-pounder Rick Finch, boxed in the 1984 Olympics but exited after losing his first bout on a decision. BAHAMAS: The nation has a two-member team, 139-pounder Lester Walker and 156-pounder Jervis Rodgers. BRAZIL: The six-man team is led by 165-pounder Jose DaSilva, who was a 1985 auth American Championships gold pal winner and a 1985 World Cup ze meaaust. Soviet Union ff Any schoolboy in Siberia knows the wounded bear is member team, 139-pounder Stefan Cirok and 156-pounder Michal Franek.

DENMARK: Its two boxers are 147-pounder Johnny DeLima and 201-pounder Claus Borge Nielsen. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Flyweight Laureano Ramirez, who won two bouts at the Los Angeles Olympics, heads an 11-man team. ECUADOR: The nation has a two-man team, 147-pounder Segundo Mercado and 201-pounder Luis Castillo. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (WEST GERMANY): Light heavyweight Markus Bott won a silver medal in the 1985 European Championships. Flyweight Wolfgang Kamm, a radar operator, four-time national champion.

FINLAND: The nation had four medal winners in the 1985 European Championships, but only one, 119-pound bronze medalist Jarmo Eskr-linen, who moves to 125 pounds, is on the five-man team in Reno. FRANCE: The French, who have a nine-man team in Reno, have won two bronze medals in the three World Championships. GREAT BRITAIN: Hard-punching light heavyweight John Beckles, who stopped two foes before he settled for a 1985 European Championships bronze medal, leads a three-man team. HUNGARY: The team coached by three-time Olympic gold medal winner Laszlo Papp, 60, finished fourth in the European Championships at Budapest last year. Super heavyweight Ferenc Somodi, a 30-year-old miner, is returning from elbow surgery in January, but won a gold medal in the European Championships.

Five other European Championships medal winners will compete in Reno. The team trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs for high-elevation work for two weeks before coming to Reno. PUERTO RICO: Jose Rodriguez, who was a silver medal winner at 119 pounds in the World Cup and North American Championships last year, leads a nine-man team. IRELAND: In his first 1985 European Championships bout, 156-pounder Kieran Joyce lost to eventual champion Michael Timm of East Germany on a decision.

ISRAEL: Yehuda Ben Haim, who won one bout in the 1984 Olympics before he was eliminated, is his nation's one-man team. Ben Haim trained for two weeks in San Francisco before coming to Reno. ITALY: Andrea Mannai, a 112-pound silver winner in the European Championships, heads a six-man team. JAPAN: Leading a six-man team is light welterweight Kunihiro Miura, who finished third in the King's Cup in Thailand last year. MOROCCO: Flyweight Mihjoub Mjirih lost a 3-2 decision to Spain's Agapito Gomez in a first-round 1984 Olympics bout.

Morocco has a seven-boxer team. NETHERLANDS: One of Holland's two boxers, 201-pounder Arnold Van der Lijde, was a bronze medalist in the 1984 Olympics and 1985 European Championships. NIGERIA: It is the only African nation to win medals in all three World Championships. Light welterweight Christopher Ossai, who is moving up in weight after winning two bouts at 132 pounds in the Los Angeles Olympics, leads a nine-member team. NORWAY: Both 156-pounder Simen Auseth and 201-pounder Magne Havnaa boxed in the 1984 Olympics, each losing their first bouts.

POLAND: Two boxers on the eight-man team 125-pounder Tomasz Nowak and super heavyweight Janus Zarenkiewicz were bronze medal winners in the 1985 European Championships. Poland has won six medals in the World Championships. ROMANIA: Featherweight Nicolae Talpos is the only member of the six-man team in Reno who competed in Los Angeles Olympics. He lost his first bout to eventual champion Meldrick Taylor. Romania was the only Soviet bloc nation to compete at Los Angeles.

SWEDEN: Stefan Sjostrand, who won one bout at 139 pounds in the Los Angeles Olympics, will move down to 132 pounds in Reno. TUNISIA: Welterweight Rafai Khemais, his nation's only boxer in the championships, won a bout in the 1984 Olympics before he was eliminated. TURKEY: Flyweight Ayub Can won a bronze medal in the Los Angeles Olympics and leads a six-member team. UGANDA: Lightweight Charles Lubulwa will move up a weight division after winning three 1984 Olympics bouts before losing in the quarterfinals at 125 pounds. VENEZUELA: Light flyweight Jose Marcelino Bolivar and featherweight Omar Catari, who each won bronze medals at Los Angeles, head a 10-man team.

Venezuela has won medals in all three World Championships for a total of five. YUGOSLAVIA: Only Cuba and the Soviet Union have won more World Championships medals. Yugoslavia's 13 equals the totals of each the U.S. and East Germany. Bantamweight Simic Ljubisa, who was third in the 1985 World Cup and first in the European Championships, and light welterweight Mirko Puzovic, who was a bronze medalist in the 1985 European Championships, 1984 Olympics and 1982 World Championships, lead a five-member team.

Middleweight Nusret Rezepi won a bronze medal in the 1983 European Championships. It's a strong boxing nation Hha has won seven World Championships medals. The 12-member team is led by 132-pounder Emil Tchuprenski, a 1985 European Championships gold medalist, but seven other boxers earned medals in the championships. Bulgaria finished behind only the Soviet Union and East Germany in the team standings. Super heavyweight Petar Stoimenov and 156-pounder Mihail Takov were bronze medal winners in the 1982 World Championships.

CANADA: All four of the Canadians' World Cup medalists will compete second place 178-pounder Egerton Marcus and runner-up super heavyweight Lennox Lewis, and bronze winners Dan Sherry at 165 pounds and Dominic D'Amico at 201. Lewis lost to Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs in the quarterfinals. Both Marcus and Sherry will move down one weight category in Reno. Canada won three Olympic medals in 1984, but has never won a World Championships medal. Canada joins Cuba, the U.S., Soviet Union and Korea as the only 12-man teams in the championships.

CHINA-TAIPEI: None of its six boxers competed in the 1984 Olympics. CZECHOSLOVAKIA: It has a two- the most dangerous. The Soviets have been seething for years that they have been relegated to amateur boxing's back seat by the Cubans and Americans. Their coach Artem Lavrov believes he has a team that can win the team championship. Lavrov, the Soviets' head coach, didn't answer the question about whether his job will depend on a victory in the championships.

Before Lavrov became head coach in 1980, the Soviets played musical coaches. The team's strength is in the heavier weights, but the lighter weights, which played a major role in the decline of Soviet boxing in the 1970s, are improved. Two World Cup bronze medal winners failed to make the team and were replaced by Nshan Munchian at 106 pounds and Serik Nurkazov at 125 pounds. The Soviets are headed by 201-pounder Alexander Yagubkin, who won gold medals in the 1982 World Championships, 1985 European Championships and 1985 World Cup. Yagubkin, a classic boxer with an educated left jab, took a 4-1 decision victory over U.S.

heavyweight Michael Bent in the World Cup semifinals. The three other Soviets who won World Cup gold medals are 147-pounder Israel Akopkohian, 178-pounder Nurmagomed Shanavasov and super heavyweight Via-cheslav Yakolev. The United States Boxing Team fc The Americans 106 Brian Lonon, Fort Hood, Texas Bom: April 7, 1964. Occupation: U.S. Army, administrative assistant Years in boxing: 7.

Career highlights: U.S. Army champion, 1984; second in '85 National Golden Gloves; decisioned Ruben United States slavarez in 1986 U.S. Amateur box- Jin: First bout in championships: Jose The niton Rodngues, Brazil. Americans ar going to war and they have Via cnlHiprs for Richter, East Germany. 165 Darin Allen, Columbus, Ohio Bom: Jan.

5, 1965. Years boxing: 11. Career highlights: third in '84 Olympic Trials, first in 85 U.S. Amateur. First bout in championships: Riquirme Berroa, Dominican Republic.

178 Loren Ross, Nashville, Tenn. Bom: Sept. 18, 1964. Years in boxing: 7. Occupation: U.S.

Army. Career highlights: first in '84, '85 and '86 U.S. Amateur. First bout in championships: Markus Bott. West Germany.

201 Michael Bent, Cambria Heights, N.Y. Bom: Sept. 4, 1965. Years in boxing: 6. School: Queensboro Community College, Queens, N.Y.

Career highlights: first in 1984 and '86 U.S. Amateur, first in '85 Sports Festival. First bout in championships: Duke Okoromaye, Nigeria 201 plus Alex Garcia, San Fernando, Calif. Bom: Dec. 2, 1961.

Years in boxing: 1. Career highlights: first in 1986 U.S. Amateur. First bout in champtonships: Paik 132 Vincent Phillips, New York. Bom: July 23, 1963.

Years boxing: 4. Occupation: U.S. Army. Career highlights: first in 1985 and '86 U.S. Amateur, '85 Golden Gloves.

First bout in championships: Daniel Maeran, Romania. 139 Nick Kakouris, St. Louis. Bom: June 23, 1965. Years boxing: 3.

Occupation: contractor. Career highlights: third in 1985 World Cup, first in 1985 U.S. Amateur and "86 U.S. Amateur. First bout in championships: Lee Yung-U, China Taipei.

147 Kenneth Gould, Rockford, ill. Bom: May 11, 1967. Years boxing: 10. School: Auburn High, Rockford, III. Career highlights: first in 1983 Junior Olympics, third in '85 Junior World Championships, first in '86 U.S.

Amateur. First bout in championships: Kunihiro Muira, Japan. 156 Kevin Bryant, New York. Bom: April 21, 1959. Years boxing: 8.

Occupation: U.S. Army. Career highlights: Army champion, 1982-84 and 1986, third in '84 Otympic Trials, first in '84 U.S. Amateur, third in "86 U.S. Amateur.

First bout in championships: Enrico Gazette-Journa 112 Arthur Johnson, SL Louis. Bom: Feb. 16, 1966. School: University of lllinois-Edwardsville, majoring in child development. Years in boxing: 8.

Career highlights: 1984 Olympic Trials, lost on points to Michael Black in quarterfinals of 106-pound division; first in '85 Golden Gloves; first in 1986 U.S. Amateur. First bout in championships: Eyub Can, Turkey. 119 Johnny Vasquez, Phoenix, Ariz. Bom: March 16, 1966.

Years in boxing: 6. Career highlights: third in '85 Golden Gloves; 1986 World Championships Box-off, dec. Bernard Price. First bout in championships: Albert Morillo, Dominican Republic. 125 Kelcie Banks, Chicago.

Bom: May 8, 1965. Years jij boxing: the combat. Four members of the U.S. Army team provide the nucleus of the American squad and assistant coach Ken Adams says they have helped improve spirit as well. "That complete Army camaraderie has led these other guys," said Adams, who is the All-Army coach.

"The thing that has happened is it has been motivation thing. Everybody has gotten along well together." The U.S. team captain is 178-pounder Loren Ross of Fort Hood, Texas, a three-time U.S. Amateur champion. Other soldiers on the team are 106-pounder Brian Lonon, 132-pounder Vincent Phillips and 156-pounder Kevin Bryant.

Bryant, who won the U.S. Amateur in 1984 and 1985 but f.ic-uA fViii-H rfhic voar is the tpam's Kevin Bryant Light middleweight 10. Career highlights: first in 1985 National Sports Festival and Golden Gloves, third in North American Championships, second in 1985 World Cup; first 1986 U.S. Amateur. First bout tfiamptonsnips: Mehmet Kilic.

Turkey. Hyun-Man, South Korea. "1 ftaui oldest boxer at 27 years old..