Flyweight Siler Quickly Makes Up Deficit

ATHENS —  American Ron Siler used his quickness to overcome a slow start and wear down Australia’s Bradley Hore in the third and fourth rounds to win a convincing 32-18 decision in a first-round flyweight fight Tuesday.

The victory kept U.S. boxers undefeated in the Olympics, but to Siler it was only a start.

“My expectations are gold,” said Siler, who failed to make the Olympic team in 2000. “Anything else is not an option.”

Hore managed to land some scoring blows in the first round and was ahead, 8-7, early in the second round before Siler’s speed took over. He landed two big shots to the head near the end of the second round to take a 15-10 lead.

“He was coming in with some wild shots,” said Siler, from Cincinnati. “But I felt he was slower than my sparring partners. I could see his punches after the first round.”

Siler, 24, moves into a second-round bout Saturday against Tulashboy Doniyorov of Uzbekistan. Four American boxers have fought their way into the second round, with two others advancing on byes.

Today, three U.S. boxers fight for the first time, including heavyweight Devin Vargas and super-heavyweight Jason Estrada.

Cuban and Russian boxers are 6-0 in the first round. Today, Cuba’s Odlanier Solis meets Alexander Alekseev in a rematch of the heavyweight final of the 2003 world championships.