'Focused' Chamizo Steals Gold Against Burroughs at Matteo Pellicone

Sunday, March 7, 2021 - 20:53 By Vinay Siwach

OSTIA (Italy), March 8 --- After a 25-month wait, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) finally met again on the mat.

At the Yasar Dogu in 2019, Chamizo had decided to sit out of the final, giving Burroughs the win. This was five months after the American had scored his third win over Chamizo at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov event in February.

Sure, the pandemic delayed the matchup but Burroughs' loss at the 2019 World Championships semifinal to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) in September deprived the fans of a rematch in NurSultan, Kazakhstan. Chamizo was on the other side of the bracket and reached the final against Sidakov.

But on a blockbuster Sunday at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event in Rome, the two superstars clashed for the sixth time in what is quickly becoming wrestling's prized rivalry in recent years.

For the record, Chamizo closed the gap with Burroughs in head-to-head to 4-2 after winning a tense gold medal bout 3-2 at 74kg. Two of Chamizo's points were step out while one was for Burroughs passivity. Even Burroughs scored his two via step outs.

“I am feeling good. I did not even know he (Jordan) will be here,” Chamizo said. “I thought it would be an easy competition. My training is less but I am focused. That's what it is right now. I'm focused on my goals.”

Both wrestlers got into an intense scramble in the first period of the bout which resulted in Chamizo scoring a step out from a situation that seemed advantageous for Burroughs.

Chamizo explained the situation in the post-final interview. “I think he is a little bit scared when there's a scramble,” he said. “He loses focus and that's when I attack. When there is a scramble, he loses focus. He is like I don't want to be here.”

The bout was once again the most anticipated bout in Rome and like always was a medal bout. The two have wrestled for world medals, Ranking Series medals including the title which shows how dominant the two have been in their weight categories.

While Burroughs had talked about how is focused on winning his second Olympic gold medal after missing it in 2016 at Rio, Chamizo has been particularly expressive about being the top guy at 74kg.

Every tournament before the grand event in August will only be a virtual pit stop for wrestler but Chamizo thinks that the changes he has brought in himself will be enough to propel him to the top when it will matter the most five months from now.

“Before, I had training but I had no focus,” he said. “Now, I am a real 74kg. You see the difference between 2018 and now. Jordan is the best. For me, I always prepare for him. But I am the champion. I don't want to say but I the new man.”

It was evident in the final bout as well as Chamizo controlled the center of the mat instead of chasing Burroughs who has a tendency to pounce on the slightest of openings offered the opponent.

“I am training for this. I want to be in the center against him,” he said. “He has good scrambles and attacks. He is like a train. So I want to stay in the center and see what happens.”

Leading into the finals, Burroughs outscored his opponents 9-1 in the two bouts. 2019 Asian champion and world bronze medalist Daniyar KAISINOV (KAZ) was the first to fall to the American 5-0 before he beat Narsingh YADAV (IND) 4-1 in the semifinal.

On the other side, Chamizo had a roller-coaster especially in the quarter-final against Malik AMINE (SMR). Chamizo was at one point trailing Amine but managed to come back and win 13-8.

In the semifinal, Chamizo closed a 6-0 win over Franklin GOMEZ (PUR) to set up the summit clash against Burroughs.

Bajrang PUNIA (IND)

In other freestyle action, Bajrang PUNIA (IND) defended his title at 65kg with a tense 2-2 win over Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) in the gold medal bout. This was Punia's fifth gold medal at a Ranking Series event, making him the most successful freestyle wrestler at the series.

In a far from ideal bout in the final, Punia was left struggling to find an opening against Ochir. He was put on shot-clock and did not score giving a 1-0 lead to Ochir, who later scored a step out to lead 2-0. With 30 seconds to go, Ochir went for a shot but missed, while Punia capitalized on it to take a takedown with 14 seconds remaining.

“It was a good match with him. I am wrestling after a year off and he is also an Olympic qualified wrestler so it was a tough bout,” Punia said. “Before the Olympics, I want to wrestle every Tokyo qualified wrestler..”

Punia began with a 7-0 win over Selim KOZAN (TUR) but was tested by Joseph McKEENA (USA) in the semifinal. It was a rematch from last year which Punia won 4-2. This time, he improved the score to 6-3.

Ochir, on the other hand, dominated his opponents starting with Hamza ALACA (TUR) who he beat 10-0 before a 4-0 win against ROHIT (IND).

Zahid VALENCIA (IUSA)

In an all-USA final at 86kg, former junior world silver medalist Zahid VALENCIA claimed a stunning 11-0 victory over Mark HALL (USA), himself a two-time junior world champion at 74kg.

Valencia was undoubtedly the top performer of the day as he outscored his opponents 34-2, winning all his bouts via technical superiority.

Another American wrestler who struck gold was Alec PANTALEO (USA) at 70kg. He defeated world silver medalist at 65kg Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) twice in the day to claim the gold medal.

The surprise came at 61kg where U23 World Championships silver medalist Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ) defeated world and European silver medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) 8-3 in the first bout of the day. The Kazak youngster remained unbeaten for the day and claimed the gold medal while Atli settled for silver.

World Championships bronze medalist Nurislam SANAYEV captured the top position at 57kg by defeating Nicholas SUNIARO (USA) twice in the day. In the final, Sanayev beat the US wrestler 4-2 while in the day the score was 3-2.

The 79kg gold medal was captured by veteran Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ). He had to see off a late challenge from David Vincent MC FADDEN (USA) before winning 6-5.

Rio Olympics silver medalist at 86kg Selim YASAR (TUR) won the gold medal at 92kg to close out the competition which was the first Ranking Series event of the year.

RESULTS

Final #WrestleRome MFS team scores

GOLD: USA (190 points)
SILVER: Kazakhstan (178 points)
BRONZE: Turkey (113 points)
FOURTH: India (98 points)
FIFTH: Italy (48 points)

Men's freestyle

57kg
GOLD: Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df. Nicholas Raymond SURIANO (USA) 4-2
BRONZE: Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA) df. Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE) 4-0

61kg
GOLD: Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
SILVER: Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
BRONZE: Tyler Lee GRAFF (USA)

65kg
GOLD: Bajrang PUNIA (IND) df. Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) 2-2
BRONZE: Hamza ALACA (TUR) df. ROHIT (IND) 12-10
BRONZE: Joseph Christopher McKENNA 8-2 Selim KOZAN (TUR)

70kg
GOLD: Alec William PANTALEO (USA) df. Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) 4-0
BRONZE: Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND) df. Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ) 5-1

74kg
GOLD: Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) df. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) 3-2
BRONZE: Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) 8-1
BRONZE: Daniyar KAISANOV df. Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND) 5-0

79kg
GOLD: Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ) df. David Vincent MC FADDEN (USA) 6-5
BRONZE: Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR) df. Ramazan Ishak SARI (TUR) 6-0

86kg
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Mark HALL (USA) 11-0
BRONZE: Myles Najee MARTIN (USA) df. Clayton Steven PYE (CAN) 12-2
BRONZE: Yeskali DAULETKAZY (TUR) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR) via VIN

92kg
GOLD: Selim YASAR (TUR)
SILVER: Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
BRONZE: Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW announces 2024 Hall of Fame inductees

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - 10:07 By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 31) -- In his earlier life, Steeve GUENOT (FRA) was a railwayman. He juggled his day job with his passion, wrestling, which led him to the Olympics.

There, on the biggest stage of all in Beijing 16 years ago, the Frenchman scripted history—winning a gold medal to end his country's 80-plus-year drought of producing an Olympic champion wrestler. That moment changed his life, and Guenot went on to inspire a generation of wrestlers.

For his path-breaking achievements on the mat and his restoration of belief in an entire nation, the French hero was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame days before the Paris Olympics were declared open.

The Beijing Games gold medallist, who also won a bronze at London 2012 and a bronze medal in the 2007 World Championship, was among the three wrestlers included in this year's list. The other two were freestyle legend Mavlet BATIROV (RUS) and Canadian trailblazer Tonya VERBEEK (CAN).

Additionally, referee Vassilis PAGONIS (GRE) and legendary Armenian coach Levon JULFALAKYAN (ARM), too, were accorded the prestigious honor this year.

The Hall of Famers are permanently recognized on UWW's website, at the organization's headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, and in the international wing of the USA Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Mavlet BATIROV (RUS) is a two-time Olympic champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

A 66kg category Greco-Roman champion, Guenot was born to a family of wrestlers in 1985. Both his parents were involved in the sport, and his siblings were, too. Like him, Guenot’s brother Christophe is an Olympic medallist. But no one scaled the heights that Guenot did.

France hadn't won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling since the 1936 Games when Emile Poilve finished on top of the podium.

Guenot broke that hoodoo and went on to win a lot more. After a highly successful playing career, he moved to coaching and was involved in grooming young wrestlers at his club in Dijon, something he has done to date.

Joining him on the list of honors is a Russian legend whose name is synonymous with excellence. One of the true greats of the sport, Batirov won admirers all over the world with his gritty wrestling style. He was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the noughts, particularly in the 55kg men's freestyle category, before he moved to 60 kg due to weight class adjustment.

Born in 1983, Batirov’s first big moment came in 2004, when he won the gold medal in the 55 kg category at the Athens Olympics. He went on to win his second Olympic gold medal four years later while competing in the 60 kg category and during that four-year cycle, he won the world title as well as a world championship bronze at 60kg.

These results, combined with multiple European championship medals, sealed his status as one of the finest wrestlers to ever step on the mat. After he retired from the sport, Batirov gave back to it by mentoring and coaching young wrestlers and sharing his deep insights into the game with them.

Tonya VERBEEK (CAN) was the head coach of the Canadian national team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Like Guenot and Batirov, Verbeek too has had an outsized influence on the sport, especially in her country.

After the Ontario native picked the sport as a schoolgirl at age 11, Verbeek reportedly remained undefeated throughout her career as a school-level wrestler. She nearly mirrored that level of success as a senior in international wrestling.

Despite the total dominance of Japanese wrestlers, Verbeek carved out a niche for herself with her fearless style of play. She was the first Canadian woman to win a wrestling medal at the Athens Games, a silver, went on to add a bronze to her collection four years later in Beijing and completed the hattrick of medals by clinching the silver medal at the London Olympics. Apart from these, she has multiple worlds, Pan-Am and Commonwealth Games medals.

After retiring, Veerbek would break more barriers, becoming the head coach of both the men's and women's Canada teams. She currently coaches the women's program at the University of Iowa.

Armenia coach Levon JULFALAKYAN (ARM) inducted into UWW Hall of Fame. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

While all these wrestlers across the three events are legends in their own right, few actually come close to doing what Julfalakyan did.

As a wrestler, he has won it all -- Olympic gold, World Championship gold, and European Championship gold. His Olympic title in 1988 was a great exhibition of his art, as he won all his bouts in a one-sided manner to romp through the field and win the gold.

After he hung his boots, Julfalakyan turned to coaching. The academy where he coached turned into a conveyor belt of talented wrestlers. He has produced an Olympic champion, and multiple Olympic silver bronze medallists, as well as seven world and 14 European champions.

His elder son, Arsen, went on to win a silver medal at the London Olympics. In 2011, Julfalakyan was also feted at home after the country's government released postage stamps in his honor.

Vassolos PAGONIS, referee. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Last but not least, referee Pagonis has also been included in the Hall of Fame. The Greek referee has officiated in five Olympics, 20 World Championships, and 25 European Championships. At the 1996 Olympics, Pagonis was feted with a Golden Whistle award.

'Focused' Chamizo Steals Gold Against Burroughs at Matteo Pellicone

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UWW announces 2024 Hall of Fame inductees