Air Force Academy
NYC Invitational
Clell Knight Defeats Nevada's Lopez in New York
12/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Boxing
Dec. 2, 2003
MANHATTAN - Senior Air Force boxer Clell Knight was named the Air Force Boxer of the Week after defeating Nevada's Anthony Lopez in the 165-pound division at the New York Athletic Club on Monday, Nov. 24. Knight was one of three Academy boxers competing against other National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) participants in Manhattan.
Knight was the only Falcon to earn a winning decision, as senior Leif Nordhagen fell to Navy's Amir Shareef from Navy in the 175-pound division and senior Ethan Sabin was defeated by Army's Bobby Greer in the 195-pound bout.
"Knight won all three rounds by controlling the action," Air Force boxing head coach Eddie Weichers said. "He got Lopez with a body shot in round two that left the Nevada boxer just holding on to end the round."
Both of Sabin and Nordhagen's bouts were rematches from last year's Nationals.
Sabin took on a much taller Greer - the boxer that had defeated him in the national semifinals in 2003. Sabin forced the action and landed a lot of hard body shots on Greer, but it was the boxer from Army who took the very close decision.
Nordhagen fought a hard, solid match against Shareef, who earned the decision in the pair's previous bout during the national finals last year. Whenever Nordhagen landed a strong shot, Shareef was right there to fire back. In the end, it was Shareef who earned the hard-fought decision.
The Falcons return to action on Friday, Dec. 5, with Friday Night Fights. The first bout is slated for 4:30 p.m., in the Upper Boxing Room at the Cadet Gym.
Complete Air Force results:
165-lbs. - Clell Knight (Air Force) dec. Anthony Lopez (Nevada)
175-lbs. - Amir Shareef (Navy) dec. Leif Nordhagen (Air Force)
195-lbs. - Bobby Greer (Army) dec. Ethan Sabin (Air Force)
