Saturday, September 30, 2000
Holyfield praises U.S. finalists
Only two of 12 Amerians still standing
Enquirer news services
SYDNEY, Australia — Evander Holyfield has high praise for Cincinnati's Ricardo Williams Jr. and Houston's Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez, the only U.S. boxers still standing going into today's gold-medal round.
“Great fighters,” said the former champion and U.S. Olympian, who has been a prominent ringside cheerleader for the team during the Olympics. “There's no doubt that between Juarez and Ricardo, you're looking at warriors.”
Holyfield say Williams reminds him Julio Cesar Chavez “when Chavez was still young. He's going to get you some kind of way.”
Williams will face a familiar foe in the 139-pound finals. He lost to Mahamadkadyz Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in a previous competition.
“The only way I'll lose this fight,” Williams said, “is to go out on my back.”
Juarez will fight Bekzat Sattarkhanov of Kazakhstan for the 125-pound title.
“You either win the gold or everything is for nothing,“ Juarez said.
U.S. coach Tom Mustin was proud of both of his finalists, especially Williams for finding a way to win his semifinal once the original strategy of outboxing Cuba's Diogenes Luna failed. Williams had to outslug Luna 42-41 in the most exciting and punishing fight of the Games.
“I expected Ricardo to throw shot and then get away,” Mustin said. “He did follow our strategy at the start, but it became a war. This was the hardest fight I've seen, back and forth. The best fight here.”
Mustin insisted he wasn't disappointed to have only two of his 12 fighters still standing.
"No, I'm ecstatic to have two, the way things went earlier this week,” he said, referring to two losses by gold-medal favorites in the second round. Another Cincinnati boxer, Dante Craig, also lost in the second round.
The two Americans among the two dozen finalists will be outnumbered by five Russians, four Cubans, and three each from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
“I don't want to be the first U.S. boxing coach to come home without at least one gold medalist ... since 1948,” Mustin said.
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