Boxer Shawn Estrada advances

1:48 AM, August 9, 2008

BEIJING -- Shawn Estrada of East Los Angeles got the U.S. boxing team off to an impressive start Saturday, dominating Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna of Argentina on his way to a 10-2 victory in the fourth bout of the Olympic tournament.

Estrada, 23, led from the outset, scoring his first point in the opening seconds, and he never looked back. He led 7-0 midway through the second round and seemed headed for an early victory before Maderna finally got in a shot to earn his first point.

Estrada was repeatedly warned about holding in the second half of the fight, although it seemed as if Maderna was doing more than his share of holding as well.

The Argentine, trailing by six points, finally came out and boxed in the final two minutes but the counterpunching Estrada was never in trouble, dominating that round as well.

The bout was a rematch; the two fighters first met in April's regional qualifying tournament in Guatemala, with each needing a strong performance to earn a trip to Beijing. Estrada's performance was the strongest, however, and it proved good enough for a 4-1 decision in the tournament final.

With the victory, Estrada advances to fight Britain's James DeGale in the second round next Saturday. The lanky DeGale used his decided reach advantage to beat Olympic veteran Mohamed Hikal of Egypt, 13-4.

In the first bout of the competition, Russian Malvey Korobov, the favorite to win gold in the middleweight division, outclassed Naim Terbunja of Sweden en route to an 18-6 decision.

Estrada was the only American to fight on the first day. Commerce's Javier Molina, a lightwelterweight and, at 18, the youngest member of the U.S. team, competes Sunday, facing reigning Olympic gold medalist Boris Georgiev of Bulgaria. Welterweight Demetrius Andrade of Providence, R.I., a solid medal contender, also makes his Olympic debut Sunday, squaring off against Kakhaber Jvania of Georgia.

-- Kevin Baxter

Photo: Shawn Estrada after defeating Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna of Argentina. Credit: Rick Bowmer / Associated Press