Controversy knocks out Hart
JESSE HART'S dreams of making the U.S. Olympic boxing team have likely ended. Hart, from Philadelphia, lost to Terrell Gausha, of Cleveland, on the second tiebreaker in a sloppy, holding-filled middleweight championship bout Saturday at the USA Boxing National Championships in Fort Carson, Colo.
JESSE HART'S dreams of making the U.S. Olympic boxing team have likely ended.
Hart, from Philadelphia, lost to Terrell Gausha, of Cleveland, on the second tiebreaker in a sloppy, holding-filled middleweight championship bout Saturday at the USA Boxing National Championships in Fort Carson, Colo.
Hart held a one-point lead as the seconds ticked off in the final round, but Gausha landed a scoring punch just before the final bell to even the bout, 10-10. The first tiebreaker - total punch count - was tied at 34. The second tiebreaker is judges' poll, with three of the five saying Gausha won the bout and the other two selecting Hart.
The two fighters have some history as Gausha won their weight class at the 2009 national championships when Hart was docked four penalty points and disqualified in the third round. Gausha has largely been inactive on the USA Boxing scene since then.
Hart, 22, the defending champion, is the son of legendary Philly boxer Eugene "Cyclone" Hart.
He nearly had an Olympic berth locked up until he lost a controversial bout in the Round of 16 to Danabek Suzhanov, of Kazakhstan, 17-15, at the AIBA World Championships in October in Baku, Azerbaijan.