Boxing: Kiwi scraps to the end

Kiwi super heavyweight Angus Shelford kept plugging away but couldn't get close enough to do any damage to classy Ukrainian Oleksii Mazikin in the Olympic boxing tournament.

Weighing 6kg heavier and with a 16cm height advantage, Mazikin was also deceptive and mobile around the ring. He kept Shelford at bay and scored consistently against his advancing target to win the bout 19-5 on points to advance to the quarterfinals.

Shelford scored three of his points in a purple patch early in the second round, urged on by chants of "Kiwi" from the packed arena.

But by the third round Shelford looked frustrated, as his attempts to trap Mazikin against the ropes and infiltrate his guard came to nothing.

In his corner after the first round, trainer John McKay gave him calm tactical advice, but down 3-13 after the third, McKay pulled out a last-ditch rally cry: "I want the Maori warrior really working."

He came out looking for the big punch that was his only way out of defeat, further fired by a rousing haka from the crowd.

But Mazikin wasn't hanging around to take any punishment.

He just dealt out more.

McKay said afterwards that Shelford's pride was a bit dented by the loss but he had given it his best shot.

"He was still trying at the finish and you can't ask more than that," he said.

"He told me he heard the haka in the last round, it was bloody brilliant wasn't it? It's just a pity we didn't get the haka when he came up the steps. That might have been just the thing Shelford needed.

"But I'm very happy because he was up against an extremely good fighter - very elusive for a big man. He knew that if Angus got him on the ropes or on the corner he was in for a hiding, so he made sure he wasn't caught ...

"As soon as they hit those ropes he was off and gone."

Mazikin will meet British southpaw Audley Harrison in the quarterfinals. Counting Princess Anne among his ringside fans, Harrison sent Russian Alexey Lezin's head into a spin and the referee had to stop the contest in the final round.

But McKay believes Harrison will be in for a royal hiding when he comes up against Mazikin.

Also in the crowd on Saturday night was former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, whose own Olympic campaign was ruined when he was disqualified against New Zealander Kevin Barry at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Earlier in the day, Shelford's most recent sparring partner, Cengiz Koc, of Germany, was knocked out by Cuban Alexis Rubalcaba Polleda in the first round.

- NZPA