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Three American Boxers Score Victories

Three American boxers earned victories in second round competition at the World Olympic Qualifying Event on Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Flyweight Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.), light welterweight Gary Russell (Capitol Heights, Md.), and super heavyweight Marlo Moore (Hayward, Calif.) all recorded wins at the Sarhadchi Arena. Light heavyweight Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, Calif.) lost a split decision in his second round bout.

THREE AMERICAN BOXERS SCORE VICTORIES IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WORLD OLYMPIC QUALIFYING EVENT

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Antonio Vargas, Gary Russell and Marlo Moore Take Wins

Three American boxers earned victories in second round competition at the World Olympic Qualifying Event on Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Flyweight Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.), light welterweight Gary Russell (Capitol Heights, Md.), and super heavyweight Marlo Moore (Hayward, Calif.) all recorded wins at the Sarhadchi Arena. Light heavyweight Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, Calif.) lost a split decision in his second round bout.

Russell made it a quick afternoon in his bout with against Ethiopia’s Girmachew Bahiru Tedesse on Sunday afternoon. He stopped Tedesse in the final seconds of the opening round of their light welterweight bout to take the TKO victory and his second win of the tournament. He will compete for a spot in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday afternoon against Australia’s David Biddle.

Moore was the final American boxer to compete in the World Olympic Qualifying event. He faced off with Korea’s Dohyeon Kim in super heavyweight preliminary round competition late in Sunday’s afternoon session. Due to an accidental head butt, the bout was stopped at the 2:57 mark of the opening round and went to the scorecards. Moore took a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards to claim a victory in his tournament opener. He will back in action on Tuesday evening in a contest with Bulgaria’s Peter Rumenov Belberov.

Vargas competed in the only American bout of the evening session in a contest with Venezuela’s Yoel Segundo Finol Rivas. He dominated the bout, winning all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards to win a unanimous decision. He will compete for a spot on the quarterfinal round against Guatemala’s Eddie Valenzuela Barillas on Tuesday afternoon. Esquivel dropped a razor-split decision in his light heavyweight bout with Mongolia’s Erdenebayar Sandagsuren. Sandagsuren pulled the decision out by one round on one judges’ scorecards, eliminating Esquivel from the tournament. He will have one more opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games, July 3-8 in Vargas, Venezuela.

Welterweight Paul Kroll (Philadelphia, Pa.) and heavyweight Cam F. Awesome (Lenexa, Kansas) will return to action on Monday in Baku. Kroll will face Hungary’s Imre Balaz Acckai on Monday evening and Awesome will battle Kosovo’s Armend Xhoxhaj on Monday afternoon. For full tournament brackets, schedule, results and news, go to: http://www.aiba.org/2016-world-qualification-event/. To watch the live stream of the event, click here.

Coaches Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Joe Guzman (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Augie Sanchez (Las Vegas, Nev.) are leading the American team in Azerbaijan. Brandon Walker (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Dana Johnston (Colorado Springs, Colo.) are assisting the team as Team Manager and Athletic Trainer.

Male light flyweight Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas), male bantamweight Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.), female lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.), male lightweight Carlos Balderas (Santa Maria, Calif.), and male middleweight Charles Conwell (Cleveland, Ohio) have previously qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games.

U.S. Result 114 lbs/52 kg: Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla./USA dec. Yoel Segundo Finol Rivas, VEN, 3-0 141 lbs/64 kg: Gary Russell, Capitol Heights, Md./USA won on TKO over Girmachew Bahiru Tedesse, ETH, TKO-1 (2:58) 178 lbs/81 kg: Erdenebayar Sandagsuren, MGL, dec. Jonathan Esquivel, Anaheim, Calif./USA, 2-1 201+ lbs/91+ kg: Marlo Moore, Hayward, Calif./USA dec. Dohyeon Kim, KOR, 3-0

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