ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604220081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AUGUSTA, GA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Super heavyweight Lawrence Clay-Bey, battered to defeat 15 hours earlier, made the Olympic team Saturday with one picture-perfect right hook.
Joe Mesi, who had outpointed Clay-Bey 26-11 on Friday night, threw a lazy left jab and the right-handed Clay-Bey, boxing left-handed, came over it with the hook that caught Mesi flush on the jaw and dropped him face down.
Mesi struggled up, but obviously was hurt. Referee Lyle Aklestad counted eight, then stopped the bout at 1:36 of the first round.
The 30-year-old Clay-Bey was the 10th of 12 Olympic trials champions to make the team for the Atlanta Games. Trials champions had to win once while challengers had to win twice to make the team.
Two challengers, who got to the box-offs by winning in the losers bracket at double-elimination trials earlier this month, made the team. They are Albert Guardado, 106 pounds, and Floyd Mayweather, 125.
Of his loss Friday, Clay-Bey, the oldest Olympic team member, said, ``I just lost. I went back to the hotel, got a nice meal, had a hot shower and went to sleep.
``I already knew my mistakes. I was standing flat footed, standing square in front of him,'' Clay-Bey said. ``All I had to do was come back and correct them.''
Clay-Bey came out circling Saturday and soon switched to a left-handed stance.
``He was frustrated with the movement and was lunging,'' Clay-Bey said.
The defeat was the end of a hard road traveled by Mesi, 22, of Tonawanda, N.Y. When Tom Martin of Miami was picked over Mesi as the at-large super heavyweight for the Olympic trials, Mesi filed a grievance. An arbitrator ruled that Martin and Mesi should box, and on the day before the trials began, Mesi outpointed Martin 35-14. He lost 17-4 to Clay-Bey in the final, but got to the box-off by winning the losers-bracket final.
Guardado, 22, of Topeka, Kan., used solid left jabs and sharp rights to outpoint 18-year-old Jauquin Gallardo 23-11. Guardado, the reigning U.S. champion, outscored Gallardo 8-3 in the third round. On Thursday night, Guardado outpointed Gallardo 15-11.
``I just had to come in here and do my best,'' Guardado said.
Mayweather, 19, of Grand Rapids, Mich., outboxed Augustine Sanchez, 19, of Las Vegas in the first two rounds and outslugged him in the third for a 20-10 victory. Mayweather had outpointed Sanchez 22-8 Friday night. In the trials final, Sanchez had scored with his final punch of the fight for a 12-11 decision over Mayweather.
Mayweather's father, Floyd, was a pro welterweight contender and his uncle, Roger, was a junior lightweight and lightweight champion.
``I knew I could do it,'' Mayweather said. ``My father told me someday I would be on the Olympic team.''
Other members of the 1996 Olympic team are Eric Morel, Madison, Wis., 112; Zahir Raheem, Philadelphia, 119; Terrance Cauthen, Philadelphia, 132; David Diaz, Chicago, 139; Fernando Vargas, Oxnard, Calif., 147; David Reid, Philadelphia, 156; Rhoshii Wells, Philadelphia, 165; Antonio Tarver, Orlando, Fla., 178, and Nate Jones, Chicago, 201.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB