Cuba’s Savon Impressive in Victory

Cuban heavyweight Felix Savon warmed up slowly Tuesday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, then stormed into the semifinals, looking every bit the gold-medal winner he has been predicted to be.

Savon, the defending gold medalist, started off cautiously against tall, defensive-minded Giorgi Kandelaki of the Republic of Georgia, and after the first round only led, 3-0.

Early in the second, after a surge by the Georgian, Savon led only, 4-3.

But Savon broke loose midway through the second round, ripping right hands at Kandelaki’s face at will. After the round was over, Savon had an 11-3 lead. After almost stopping Kandelaki with one minute elapsed in the third, Savon won, 20-4.

In the semifinals on Thursday, Savon faces German Luan Krasniqi, who beat Bulgarian Serguei Dychkov, 10-5.