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Here is the latest on Demetrius Andrade's loss at the Olympics, via the Providence Journal:
Olympic gold was his dream. Olympic judges were his nightmare.
The dream died Sunday for Providence's Demetrius Andrade, thanks to a nightmare he'll never forget.
"You know what was going through my mind [in the time between the end of the fight and the announcement of the judges' decision]? It was like, 'Damn, they might pull a Jones on me' -- and they did," Andrade said moments after he lost a controversial 11-9 decision to Kim Jungjoo of Korea in the boxing quarterfinals, ending his hopes of earning an Olympic medal. He was referring to a highly controversial decision at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when Roy Jones of the U.S. peppered South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun with punches, only to lose a 3-2 decision and the gold medal.
Andrade was so upset upon hearing he'd lost that he left the ring before the decision was announced, leaving Jungjoo alone with referee Hassen Boughalmi of Tunisia.
"It was no disrespect for [Jungjoo], but it was pointless for me to be in there," said Andrade. "There's no way he hit me 11 times. I blocked him . . . [He] probably scored three or four points, but not more than that."
"I thought that was totally ridiculous," agreed U.S. coach Dan Campbell. "[Andrade] clearly landed more scoring punches. I was talking to the people back in the tape room and they saw the same thing we did. Demetrius should have had at least eight points going into that last round."
But, according to the judges, Andrade never led in the bout, despite throwing more combinations than his opponent. He also appeared to score a knockdown, which was not counted.
"I was landing a lot of punches, but the judges were not giving them to me," he said. "It's tough for the kids back home who want to take up boxing because if they come to the Olympics to be treated like this, there's no point in coming at all."
Andrade's loss leaves the United States with only one boxer remaining in the tournament: Heavyweight Deontay Wilder, who struggled to beat Morocco's Mohammed Arjaoui on countback. Trailing 9-8, Wilder was awarded two points when Arjaoui was penalized for illegal ducking in the final minute. Arjaoui tied the score, 10-10, on a punch with 10 seconds left, but Wilder emerged victorious, 23-22, thanks to the convoluted Olympic scoring system of "accepted punches" among the five judges (the high and low counts are thrown out).
Wilder said the only reason his fight was so close was because of Andrade's defeat.
"I've been with Dee [Andrade] and my whole teammates for a whole year. We built a great bond together. We're like family. They're like my brothers," he said. "And when I saw [Andrade] come in [to the locker room] crying [because of the judges' decision], immediately I got emotional and broke down. I told him to stop because he was making me cry and lose focus.
"I feel I was a way much better fighter than [Arjaoui]. I feel I could have done way better than what I did. It was just a lack of focus."
Wilder, however, lived to fight another day. That's not the case with Andrade or any of the other American boxers, who -- prior to this year -- had never won fewer than two medals in any Olympics.
Andrade controlled the action for much of the fight but, according to the judges, repeatedly failed to land scoring punches against his defensive, counterpunching foe. After the bell, he rested his head on the rope in frustrated exhaustion before looking up to the stands at his father, Paul, who yelled, "That's all right, Boo Boo," as he pounded his chest and held his arms open wide.
"I fought my heart out," said Demetrius Andrade, "but sometimes life is unfair."
Olympic gold was his dream. Olympic judges were his nightmare.
The dream died Sunday for Providence's Demetrius Andrade, thanks to a nightmare he'll never forget.
"You know what was going through my mind [in the time between the end of the fight and the announcement of the judges' decision]? It was like, 'Damn, they might pull a Jones on me' -- and they did," Andrade said moments after he lost a controversial 11-9 decision to Kim Jungjoo of Korea in the boxing quarterfinals, ending his hopes of earning an Olympic medal. He was referring to a highly controversial decision at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when Roy Jones of the U.S. peppered South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun with punches, only to lose a 3-2 decision and the gold medal.
Andrade was so upset upon hearing he'd lost that he left the ring before the decision was announced, leaving Jungjoo alone with referee Hassen Boughalmi of Tunisia.
"It was no disrespect for [Jungjoo], but it was pointless for me to be in there," said Andrade. "There's no way he hit me 11 times. I blocked him . . . [He] probably scored three or four points, but not more than that."
"I thought that was totally ridiculous," agreed U.S. coach Dan Campbell. "[Andrade] clearly landed more scoring punches. I was talking to the people back in the tape room and they saw the same thing we did. Demetrius should have had at least eight points going into that last round."
But, according to the judges, Andrade never led in the bout, despite throwing more combinations than his opponent. He also appeared to score a knockdown, which was not counted.
"I was landing a lot of punches, but the judges were not giving them to me," he said. "It's tough for the kids back home who want to take up boxing because if they come to the Olympics to be treated like this, there's no point in coming at all."
Andrade's loss leaves the United States with only one boxer remaining in the tournament: Heavyweight Deontay Wilder, who struggled to beat Morocco's Mohammed Arjaoui on countback. Trailing 9-8, Wilder was awarded two points when Arjaoui was penalized for illegal ducking in the final minute. Arjaoui tied the score, 10-10, on a punch with 10 seconds left, but Wilder emerged victorious, 23-22, thanks to the convoluted Olympic scoring system of "accepted punches" among the five judges (the high and low counts are thrown out).
Wilder said the only reason his fight was so close was because of Andrade's defeat.
"I've been with Dee [Andrade] and my whole teammates for a whole year. We built a great bond together. We're like family. They're like my brothers," he said. "And when I saw [Andrade] come in [to the locker room] crying [because of the judges' decision], immediately I got emotional and broke down. I told him to stop because he was making me cry and lose focus.
"I feel I was a way much better fighter than [Arjaoui]. I feel I could have done way better than what I did. It was just a lack of focus."
Wilder, however, lived to fight another day. That's not the case with Andrade or any of the other American boxers, who -- prior to this year -- had never won fewer than two medals in any Olympics.
Andrade controlled the action for much of the fight but, according to the judges, repeatedly failed to land scoring punches against his defensive, counterpunching foe. After the bell, he rested his head on the rope in frustrated exhaustion before looking up to the stands at his father, Paul, who yelled, "That's all right, Boo Boo," as he pounded his chest and held his arms open wide.
"I fought my heart out," said Demetrius Andrade, "but sometimes life is unfair."
agreed U.S. coach Dan Campbell. "[Andrade] clearly landed more scoring punches. I was talking to the people back in the tape room and they saw the same thing we did. Demetrius should have had at least eight points going into that last round."
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