Lee Upsets Heavily Favored US Boxer
By D. Peter Kim
Contributing Writer
Boxer Lee Ok-sung has emerged as another rising Olympic star, upsetting overwhelming favorite Rau'shee Warren of the United States, 9-8, in their opening flyweight (51 kilograms) bout Tuesday.
In the final 40 seconds of the fight, Warren was trailing by a point but thought he was ahead. As a result, he simply chose to run out the clock.
Despite efforts by Warren's coaches and fans to tell him he was behind, the boxer found out too late with just 10 seconds left in the fourth and final round.
The first American boxer to compete in two straight Olympics in more than 30 years, a dejected Warren buried his hands into face and cried after the match. He also threw his headgear in disgust.
Lee, 27, had beaten Warren, 21, in the 2005 world championships, but one report called the Korean "an inelegant brawler." Nonetheless the mistake cost Warren his second shot at Olympic glory, having lost in the first round in 2004.
"He was the world champion in 2007, and I was the world champion in 2005," Lee said. "I beat him three years ago. I was a little bit worried before the bout, but I think I'm psychologically good. I enjoyed the match, and I won."
In 2005, Lee became the first South Korean since bantamweight Moon Sung-kil in 1986 to win a world amateur boxing championship.
Lee also won the 2005 Asian Boxing Championships in the flyweight division and made the quarterfinals of the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
If he wins the gold, he will be the first Korean flyweight to do so since Kim Kwang-sun in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
South Korea has entered five boxers in the Olympics this year, the fewest in the country's history.