Thursday, September 21, 2000
Craig first U.S. boxer to lose
By PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SYDNEY - Dante Craig's pleasantly surprising road to the Olympics ended Thursday
night. Bulent Ulusoy, a seasoned Turk, outpointed Craig, 9-4 in a
second-round welterweight fight.
Craig was the first American boxer to lose in the
Games.
The Woodward High graduate said Ulusoy's style -- clinching, scoring while
backing away and, most importantly, left-handed -- kept him from repeating
his impressive performance in Round 1.
""I couldn't get started,'' said Craig. ""I was lunging into my
punches.''
The score was 1-1 after the first round. With 1:03 left in the second,
Ulusoy landed a left to the ribs that knocked Craig off balance, then caught
Craig with a right to the head, knocking him down. Craig took a
standing-eight count and finished the round behind, 5-3.
He never challenged Ulusoy, the reigning European welterweight champ,
after that.
"Lots of tricks,'' U.S. coach Tom Mustin said of Ulusoy. "A guy that
slick I knew would give Dante problems.''
Craig overcame a fractured hand to make the team, but his lack of
international experience caught up to him against Ulusoy. But, as Mustin
said, "I know he's feeling bad, but I think he's feeling proud of himself
for getting as far as he did.''
"I came out of nowhere to get here,'' Craig said. "I just hope I
didn't let us down.''
Fellow Cincinnatian Ricardo Williams fights his second-round bout Sept.
24.
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