Sportsnetwork.com
August 19, 2004

Ward wins Olympic boxing debut; Martirosyan falters

Athens, Greece (Sports Network) – Light heavyweight Andre Ward won his
Olympic debut Thursday, scoring a victory over Italy’s Clemente Russo at
Peristeri Hall. But welterweight Vanes Martirosyan wasn’t as lucky.

Martirosyan, a California native like Ward, dropped his second-round
bout with reigning world champion Lorenzo Aragon Armenteros of Cuba,
becoming the second American boxer in as many days to lose.

“He was the better fighter,” said the 18-year-old Martirosyan, who won
his Olympic opener Sunday, a lopsided 45-20 victory over Algerian
Benamar Meskine. “I hope he gets the gold.”

Martirosyan was never really in the bout, falling behind 8-2 in the
first round on the way to a 20-11 loss. Flyweight Rau’Shee Warren was
the first American to lose here when he dropped a decision to China’s
Zau Shiming on Wednesday.

For Ward, who hasn’t lost a fight since 1998, things went just as
planned. He opened up with a slim 2-1 advantage in the first round
before outpointing Russo 6-4 and 7-3 over the next two frames on the way
to a 17-9 triumph.

“Andre likes to feel his opponents out first,” USA coach Basheer
Abdullah said. “But he was more aggressive over the last rounds.”

Ward moved on to face two-time world champion Evgeny Makarenko of
Russia. He is just the eighth American boxer to win his Olympic debut.

08/19 11:58:42 ET

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