USA Boxing Nationals: Gary Antuanne Russell Goes Down, Tiara Brown vs Mikaela Mayer

Photo by Sue Jaye Johnson

by Sarah Deming

SPOKANE, Wash.–It was all women and junior men yesterday at the spacious, pizza-scented HUB Center in Spokane. Winners advanced to the semifinals today.

D.C. darling Gary Antaunne Russell was outgunned against rising star Genaro Gamez of San Diego. It’s up to big brother Gary Antonio Russell to keep the family name alive in the tourney. He will fight this morning.

Bantamweight Francisco Martinez of Dallas upset Junior Olympic champion Efren Lopez of Fresno in a macho-man bout that saw great inside work from both young fighters. The bout that followed matched two slick boxers, Detroit’s Jarico O'Quinn and Jayvon Garnett, resplendent in the yellow-and-purple satin of Cincinnati Youth. Both showed tremendous heart; O’Quinn took the split decision with heavier, straighter counters. Who works harder than a bantamweight? [[MORE]]

In his 1952 essay “A Hundred and Eighteen Pounds,” A.J. Liebling wrote, “Small boxers are as nearly extinct as Jewish ones,” and this was before there were growth hormones in milk. Knowing that these adolescent boxers were likely only cruising through bantamweight gave the whole thing a certain piquancy. If only you could keep them from growing, like kittens.

The women’s bouts were disappointing in comparison, nearly all mismatches. Because USA Boxing only offers a stipend to the women’s Olympic weights, all the veteran talent has concentrated in the money divisions.

I was sorry to see featherweight Michelle Cook lose to mobile southpaw Rianna Rios. A member of the Mohawk nation, the twenty-year-old Cook is here with her one-year-old daughter, whom she breastfeeds before matches. The chubby, bright-eyed baby seemed unfazed by the noisy dual rings. Her name, Konwanihara, means “gives words of thanks.”

Defending lightweight champion Queen Underwood of Seattle will meet Melissa Parker of Spring, Texas in the semis this morning. But the bout I’m laying for is DC’s Tiara Brown vs. Cali girl Mikaela Mayer. After both women handily won their quarterfinal matches, I worked up the nerve to ask them to pose in a face-off for the photo above, for Sue Jaye Johnson, the photographer of record for women’s boxing.

The first few times Mikaela and Tiara tried to stare each other down, they broke up laughing. They finally kept a straight face long enough for Sue to get the shot. The height difference tells you all you need to know about this classic puncher vs boxer match.

The magnificent Tiara Brown is better at featherweight but has no incentive to stay there. After she brought home the only gold for team USA from the 2012 Women’s World Championships in China, the silence was deafening.

“I’m broke as hell,” she told me. She is here without a plane ticket home.

If you love strength in women, punishing body shots, the DC boxing legacy, or general soulfulness, consider making an online donation at http://www.takeemdownbrown.com/.

Many of us thought that Mikaela Mayer deserved the lightweight nod at the Women’s Olympic Trials last year. She’s a smart, straight-ahead boxer with the secret weapon of Al Mitchell, perhaps the best corner in amateur boxing.

“We gonna box her,” Al told me. “It’s gonna be another close one.”

The two women have fought three times, and Mikaela has won the last two. Coming down from light welter, Mikaela looks stronger than ever and says she has been incorporating power lifting to increase her athleticism. My gut says it will be tough for Tiara to close the distance, but you can never count out a champion.