Page 12 Portland Observer, November 24, 1982 Amateur boxing U.S.A The U.S. amateur boxing team faces several problems as it attempts to supercede Cuba and the U.S.S.R. to win the O lym pic Games. Cuba won the 1982 W orld Cham pion­ ships, with the U.S. edging the So­ viet Union fo r second place. But Cuba defeated the U.S. twice this year 11-1 and 8-4 and won the North American championships using its second team. U.S. Coach Pat N appi, who coached the 1976 and the 1980 Olympic teams, predicts that the Cuban team w ill soon begin to de­ scend, giving the U.S.A a shot at the top spot. He said age and accumula­ tive experience are starting to show their effects on the team that had three gold medals in the 1976 Olym­ pics and six in 1980. The U.S. team has been building since the 1976 Olympics in Montreal when it claimed five gold, one silver and one bronze. This performance, the U.S.’ best to date in the Olympic games, triggered new interest in amateur boxing. The 1976 team included now-fa­ mous Sugar Ray Leonard, Howard Davis, Michael and Leon Spinks, Leo Randolph and John Tate. In 1979 a new U .S .A team won seven gold, one silver and one bronze at the W orld Cups in New York City. In 1980 a tragic air crash which killed a 22-member delega­ tion, together with a major defec­ tion to the professional ranks, set the team back again. In the 1982 W orld C ham pion­ ships the U .S .A . did even better, gaining three gold, two silver and two bronze to take second place. Cuba was first with 47, U.S.A. 38, U.S.S.R. 35. One o f the U .S .A .’ s m ajor problems has been identification of boxers and provision o f consistent coaching and tra in in g . A lthough many young boxers come up through Golden Gloves and U.S. Amateur Athletic Association, there is no coordinated, nationwide effort to identify and assist young athletes. FOR SALES Our New Modem BulMIng A look at the current team demon­ strates that fact well: Israel Acosta, the U .S.A.’s oldest team member at 27, is self-coached; Bernard Gray, featherweight, and John Jackson, light middleweight, are coached by their fathers. Others list coaches for the boxing clubs to which they belong. Biggs has re­ ceived some coaching from M ike M o rto n, who has coached many amateurs including Sugar Ray- Leonard. This year’ s team was selected from winners at the U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships in A p ril, follow ed by the Sport Festival in which the fo u r top contenders in each weight class fought. The U.S.A. Amateur Boxing Federation selected the team based on perform­ ance in those two meets and interna­ tional com petition. The team then trained as a u nit in C olorado Springs before final selections were made. The U.S. answer to lack o f oppor­ Tyrell Biggs gives his all in unsuccessful attempt to defeat Teofilo tunités fo r consistent coaching is Stevenson. Biggs was KO'd in the second round. “ Operation G old,” a new grant-in- and board, educational expenses, still the U.S.’ best bet for the Olym­ aid program sponsored by U .S .A ./ medical care and tra in in g w ill be pics. His defection would be a ma­ A .B .F. Young men who appear to p r o v id e d . U . S . A . / A . B . F .. jo r one. be Olympic prospects w ill live and through corporate donations, is train at the U.S. Olympic Training covering expenses. Mark Breland, 19, won the 147- Center in Colorado Springs. Room Operation G old’s purpose is two­ pound title in the 1982 World Box­ fold—to aid in the growth o f young ing Championships and was named fighters and to assist the U.S. in en­ the tournament’ s outstanding box­ suring a top team in the Olympics. er. Breland, one o f four Americans A third factor operating against to win in the C uba-U .S.A. match the U.S.A. team—and perhaps the last week, is 8-0 in in ternational strongest— is the pressure to turn competition. professional. A native o f Bedford-Stuyvcsant, U.S. super-heavyweight T yre ll Breland also hears the call o f the Biggs, who holds the world’s cham­ professional. His current goal is to pionship, said recently that his win the New York Golden Gloves a toughest fig h t is w ith him self. fifth time—the fourth in 1983 and Should he turn pro? Or should he the fifth in 1984. Then he wants to remain an amateur? An O lym pic go to the Olympics and win a gold gold medal has always been his medal. After that he will turn pro. dream, Biggs explained, but turning Breland, who starred in the mo­ pro before 1984 is a possibility. vie, “ Lords o f D iscipline,” looks “ I ’ m not a m illionairre and things forward to an acting career after re­ are getting bad.” I f the price were tiring from boxing at 26 or 27. rig h t, he would be ready fo r the Whether either Biggs or Breland will be with the U.S.A. team in Los pros. Biggs, who lost to Teofilo Ste­ MARK BRELAND Angeles is a big question. venson on a second round KO, is I “ - fN MON SAT 1AM 6?«* 288 - 9700 ranked tenth by the WBA, has im ­ pressive victories over M ike Wea­ ver, J e ff Simmons, and Jumbo Cummings. Muhammad is from London, England. The card also includes: lig h t­ weights Irish Randy M cN u rlin (Seattle) and Hattie Jimenez (Sacra­ mento); and light heavyweights Dale G rant (Tacoma) and King David Smith (Los Angeles). • (For tickets contact Double Tee Productions.) W A N N A S T A R T S O M E T H IN ? Then try the U nion A ven u e . . . ® B A TTE R Y X-CHANGE FREE Installation FREE B attery Test FREE E lectrical check High school football hopefuls face quarter-final showdown by Joe White The Oregon Class A A A high school fo o tb a ll p layoffs have reached the c ritic a l point as four unique but different teams will bat­ tle in the semi-finals Friday night. Encounter number one pits the surprise team o f the group. South Salem, against an undefeated Leb­ anon squad in Corvallis. The Sax­ ons o f South Salem entered the playoffs with a 5-4 record but have scratched their way to three straight wins and the semifinals. Two years ago Beaverton won the state cham­ pionship with a 10-4 record, a feat the Saxons hope to equal. Howard University split-end Tracy Singleton is the nation's leading pass receiver in NCAA Division 1 AA football. Single- ton, a senior, recently broke the all-tim e career record of no catches set by Joel Sigler of Portland State University (1977- 19801 Standing in the way though is a powerful and underrated Lebanon W a rrio r team. Lebanon earned a sem ifinal berth last week by stampeding over previously unde­ feated Pendleton 34-20. Running backs Bo Yates and Carl M orris provide the Warriors with a power­ ful running attack that hasn’ t been stopped so far. Yates has scored 32 points in the three p la y o ff games while M orris has rambled for five touchdowns and 30 points. For South Salem to win this con­ test, tney must stop Lebanon’ s run­ ning attack while generating an o f­ fensive attack o f their own. Soren Sorenson leads the Saxsons with five touchdowns during the playoffs. He scored the two touchdowns fo r South Salem in a 15-0 quarterfinal victory over Canby. This game begins at 8 p.m. on Fri­ day in Parker Stadium but w ill be overshadowed by the other semifin­ al game that starts a half-hour later in Portland. The Black Tornado o f Medford w ill invade Portland with the hope of taking one more step on the drive to give re tirin g head coach Fred Spiegelberg a state championship for a retirement gift. Medford is 12- 0 and gunning for victory number 40 in the state playoffs. The team narrowly won its final two regular season games but since then has ex­ ploded to three straight wins. Stand­ ing in the shadows waiting for the Black Tornado is a red hot Gresham fo o tb a ll team. An opening game loss to Sunset has been the only blemish on the Gophers record. The 11-1 Gophers upset number two ranked Lakeridge last weekend, 32- 14. This contest matches up one of the state’ s stingiest defenses against, without a doubt, the state’ s most potent offense. Gresham has given up only 91 points in 12 games, an average of 7.6 points per game. Meanwhile, the Black Tornado scored more than all the Gophers’ opponents in just its first two play­ o ff games. A fter the second round o f the tournam ent, M edford had scored 101 points and added 32 more for a three game total of 133 points. Not only will Gresham be battling the tra d itio n o f M edford p la y o ff success but also an offense that runs up megapoints and a defense that damages like a tornado. Five Medford players have scored at least two touchdowns during the PARTS • REPAIRS for the Thad Spencer promotes boxing Thad Spencer, a local form er heavyweight, has moved into pro­ m oting under the Thad Spencer Productions label. Spencer began his boxing career at 14 at the old Knott Street Com­ munity Center, under the direction o f Clyde Q uiscnberry. A t 15, he fought as an amateur middleweight and the next year was chief sparring partner for Eddie Machen (number two ranked WBA, 1959). He won the the Golden Gloves Championship in the heavyweight division in 1960. SERVICE 3007 N.E. Union Ave. p la yo ffs, a balanced attack that forces opponents to cover all angles o f the Tornado attack. Steve Stan- c lif f has scored 26 points behind four touchdowns and one two-point conversion. Quarterback Jeff Yar­ nell guides the Medford offense and has contributed five touchdown passes during the three p la y o ff games. Gresham also boosts a strong o f­ fensive show as evidenced by a 26 point outburst that shocked unde­ feated Lakeridge last week. Darin Humphrys has four touchdowns to his credit during the post season while Brian Hug and flashy wide rc- ciever Gabe Gomez have scored three touchdowns. Everytime Gomez touches the ball, sparks start to fly and Medford must tame the little fireplug. If not, an upset to make all upsets could be in the offing. Gresham won’t go down easy but whether or not the players will falter under the Black Tornado pressure will be the telling point. Picking Lebanon over South Sa­ lem looks to be a safe bet but the other one could be close. Medford has the power and tra d itio n . Gre­ sham is hot and has a talented team. I f the Gophers can come out strong and gain some early confidence, a victo ry could be in their grasp. Should Medford open up an early lead, the game could be history be­ fore the Gophers know what hi, them. No matter what, the Gresham -Medford matchug looks to be one o f the best this season. E «changa 249-0101 WE'RE HERETO HELP C H EV R O LET YOU! Expert consultation on your transportation needs on both new and used cars. WENDELL BROWN Su/<-\ h r p r r y fili’ ^'i' RON TONKIN C H E V R O LE T-H O N D A CO 122 N.E. 122nd Ave. a