The No. 1 ranked boxer in the Heavy Weight class, Oleksandr Usyk advanced to the finals of the event at the London 2012 Olympics. He will face Clemente Russo of Italy.
Usyk completed brutalized Bulgaria's Tervel Pulev 21-5. There was no doubt who the winner was, but the only left to wonder is how Pulev lasted so long in the match.
Usyk, of Ukraine found the openings in Pulev's weak defense. He punished the Bulgarian with uppercuts and hooks willingly.
His opponent, Russo, had a little more drama in his match. He lost the first round 3-2 and seemed to run out of steam completely in the second round as his opponent, Teymur Mammadov of Azerbaijan punished the Italian. The referee stopped the fight a couple of times and at one point Russo had taken a knee after receiving a tantalizing body shot from Mammadov.
Russo survived the round, keeping Mammadov off of him with wild punches.
In the third round, down 9-6, the Italian rallied back looking like a different fighter. He punished Mammadov on the ropes and landed hard hooks repeatedly. Mammadov was saved by the referee who noticed the weakened defense of the Azerbaijian. Russo won the round 9-4 and stole the match 15-13.
