Eight Beltway Amateurs Advance in Last Chance Qualifier!

During the first day of competition in the Last Chance Qualifier tournament at the Taft Center in Cincinnati, OH, eight locals advance to the next round while four saw their Olympic dreams go by the wayside.

Six of the 23 Beltway amateurs who are in Cincinnati this week are competing in the 132-pound division and during the evening session tonight, four of those boxers moved into the second round. Antonio Magruder of Suitland, MD won a 20-9 decision over Meduardo Zurita, Jr. of Beaverton, OR. Glen Dezurn of Baltimore won by RSC-2 over Charles Williams of Petersburg, VA. Catonsville, MD's Joshua Davis defeated Edwin White of Riverdale, GA, 29-19 while Kevin Rivers, Jr. of Landover, MD won a 14-11 decision over Tyrome Jones of South Bend, IN.

DC's Jonathan Baxter lost by walkover to Mikal Jones of Cincinnati while Baltimore's Roger Blackburn dropped a 29-9 decision to Lavias Williams of Rochester, NY.

Also during the evening session, Shaborn Ryals of Capitol Heights, MD moved into the second round of the 178-pound bracket with a 24-10 decision over Joseph Merrill of Jacksonville Beach, FL. Hasim Rahman, Jr. of Las Vegas by way of Baltimore, advanced in the 201+ bracket with a 33-21 decision over Danny Calhoun of Cincinnati while Acokeek, MD 165-pounder Jarrett Hurd lost in the first round of the 165-pound bracket via a close 8-7 decision to Austin Omeben of Stuart, FL.

Today's afternoon session saw two of our three 123-pounders get eliminated. Gary Antonio Russell of Capitol Heights lost a close, 24-22 decision to Julian Ramirez of Los Angeles, CA while Shadeed Floyd of DC fell to Julien Wyant of Ellenwood, GA, 19-13. This leaves just Patrick Harris of Maryland in this division. Harris received a bye into the second round and will face Kiun Evans of Little Rock, AK in the second round. Evans won his bout by walkover.

Corry Perkins of Baltimore advanced into the second-round of the 141-pound bracket with a 24-14 decision over George Borges of Newark, NJ.

Also, 2010 National Golden Gloves champion David Grayton of DC won his first-round contest in the 152-pound bracket defeating Cristino Ceballo of Brooklyn, NY, 28-21. Grayton will face Salisbury, MD's Kevin Ottley in the second-round.