Olympic Boxing: U.S. Marine Jamel Herring Loses

by Gautham Nagesh

U.S. Marine Sgt. Jamel Herring gave a game effort but was defeated by Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in the first round of the Olympic boxing tournament on Tuesday.

Herring started strong in the matchup of southpaws, showing good form and discipline for an amateur boxer. His activity helped him make some early progress, but the Kazakh began standing his ground and delivering hard punches toward the end of the round. Yeleussinov’s straight left hand started finding home, and helped him build an 8-5 advantage after one round.

Herring’s limitations began apparent in the second, as the Kazakh adjusted to his conventional attack. Yeleussinov began looking to counter and time Herring, who didn’t have much to offer aside from the standard one-two, left hook combination. In contrast, Yeleussinov began landing a variety of shots from both hands, counters and leads. By the end of two rounds, the Kazakh had built a substantial lead.[[MORE]]

Having gotten a late start in the sport, it’s not surprising that Herring’s approach is simplistic. But the 26-year-old has been a model of what an Olympian should be, enduring two tours of Iraq and the death of his infant daughter. His story and personality inspired his teammates to name him captain of the U.S. boxing team, a considerable honor. His leadership was on display Tuesday, as he held his head high despite a final score of 19-9.

Herring probably has less pro potential than most of his teammates, but that shouldn’t detract from his accomplishments to date. Even after losing, he’s done more in the past few years than most will accomplish in a lifetime. Exactly the kind of true amateur that the Olympics was created to celebrate. Semper Fi.