By Peter Lerner: In the next part of our experts’ review of 2011 we take a look at the amateur game. 2011 was of course a busy year with the start of Olympic qualification, the European Championships in Ankara and the Worlds in Baku. We spoke to amateur expert Santiago Nieva for his take on 2011. Acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on the amateur game, Santiago himself was a top amaetur in the 1990s, winning multiple national titles in Sweden and Argentina. Since then he has worked as a coach for the Argentine national team and is currently the coach of the Swedish team.
Who do you think were the outstanding amateurs in 2011? Julio Cesar De La Cruz (Cuba); Evhen Khytrov and Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
“I was very impressed with Cuban light heavy Julio Cesar De La Cruz – he showed a lot of class at the Worlds and the Pan American Games. He isn´t always very entertaining to watch but with his speed and slippery defence he is very hard to beat. Also Ukrainians Evhen Khytrov and Oleksandr Usyk were both very dominant at the Worlds.”
De La Cruz had a great 2011, winning both the AIBA World Championships in Baku and the Pan Americans. In Baku he also claimed the scalp of the fearsome Egor Mekhontsev, who up at heavyweight was a two-time European champion and winner of the 2009 Worlds in Milan. Uysk, a heavyweight, has impressed for the last four year or so and this year finally got that elusive major tournament gold when he won in Baku. Khytrov picked up gold in Baku at 75kgs, beating exciting Japanese slugger Ryota Murata.
Which fighters surprised you in 2011?
“When I saw Anthony Joshua in Sweden at a Dual Meet in January I´d never guess he would have got to the final of the World Championships let alone beat Roberto Cammarelle. His progress has been tremendous and now he might even be the favourite for super heavy gold in London.”
Joshua of course came within a whisker of picking up the gold medal in Baku and in Cammarelle he beat not only the defending champion but also the reigning Olympic champion.
“The development of Denis Berinchik since he’s gone up from 60kg has been amazing. He seems much stronger and with much better conditioning. Cuban Lazaro Alvarez had a great year and after winning the Worlds and he handled Mexican hero Oscar Valdez at the Pan Ams in Guadalajara. Hard-hitting Japanese middleweight Ryota Murata was fun to watch at the Worlds.”
Berinchik got to the final in Baku, losing a close fight to Brazilian Everton Lopes. In the semis he had beaten England’s Tom Stalker. Berinchik was part of the impressive Ukrainian squad that picked up four golds and one silver in Baku. Alvarez’s path to the final was about as difficult as could be: Denis Makarov (2010 European champion), experienced Italian Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello (150 fights), talented American Joesph Diaz, useful Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan, and 2008 European champion Luke Campbell in the final.
“The Brazilian boxers had a great year and Robson Conceicao scored the greatest upset in amateur boxing in many years when he beat Vasyl Lomachenko. It was a great injustice that they took away the victory from him. You can argue about the scoring but no other boxer would have been able to get the result overturned.”
Lomachenko had won the previous Worlds and the 2008 Olympics at 57kg, had just moved up to 60kg and was the favourite in Baku. In a bout marked by questionable points deductions on both sides, underdog Conceicao just pipped Lomachenko by one point – only for the result to be overturned.
Nieva, who was at the games as coach of the Swedish squad, goes on, “After the first round Lomachenko was 1 point down so I was surprised. Lomachenko had already had problems with the American in the bout before: he boxed like he didn’t have to put in a big effort to win and only fought in spurts. Against Conceicao he only seemed to wake up in the last round, which he won but he lost the fight on one point after having points taken off for hitting on the break. Lomachenko probably should have been given more points during the fight but it wasn’t terrible or controversial. What was controversial was that they overturned the decision – it’s not in the rules. There were about 20 fights in which you could argue about the scoring or points deductions but only overturned that one. It’s bad for sport.”
Incidentally the American who gave Lomachenko a tough time was Jose Ramirez, whom I was very impressed with a year-and-a-half ago when he almost beat Domenico Valentino (who had just been voted AIBA Boxer of the Year) in Rome. Watching from ringside, I thought Ramirez was very impressive: a little raw but determined as hell, a good puncher and completely fearless.
Who do you think are the most promising young amateurs? Robeisy Ramirez and Yosvany Veita (Cuba); Vikas Krishnan (India); Joe Ward (Ieland); Teymur Mammadov (Azerbaijan); Alexandr Agafonov (Russia); Asror Vokhidov (Tajikistan)
“There are a couple of 18-19 year old boxers that can go all the way in London. Cubans Robeisy Ramirez and Yosvany Veita are very promising.”
Ramirez and Vetia both did well at the World Juniors in 2010, Ramirez getting a gold at 54kg, Vetia a bronze at 48. In Baku they both put in good performances considering their young age and lack of senior experience. Vetia reached the quarter finals while Ramirez went out in the last sixteen, losing 11-15 to eventual winner Misha Aloyan.
“Indian Vikas Krishan who jumped two weight divisions and managed a bronze at the Worlds shows potential. He was a star among youth boxers last year. I saw him in Cuba earlier this year and wasn’t too impressed, he seemed too small, but at the Worlds he really surprised me. He’s smart and very quick, he moved well and has good combinations. You can see he is a special fighter.”
Other fighters who have been impressing at youth level whom Nieva mentioned are Alexandr Agafonov and Asror Vokhidov. Two of the heavier young fighters who have made an impression are Joe Ward and Teymur Mammadov.
“Though he hasn’t qualified for the Olympics yet, Joe Ward had a terrific run at the Europeans and showed no respect for his more experienced opponents. Teymur Mammadov won the Europeans and took home a silver at the Worlds in the heavyweight division at only 18.”
Who do you think will make a big impression at London 2012?
“I think we´ll see a better version of Vasyl Lomachenko. Although he won the tournament, I thought in Baku his attitude wasn’t the greatest. He fought his best fight in the final, against the Cuban, Yasniel Toledo. Toledo was capable of beating Lomachenko, he was his toughest opponent in the tournament – and Lomachenko was tremendous, it was his best performance.
“Rosniel Iglesias will be hungry for revenge and if he isn´t weakened by making weight he should beat Berinchik.”
