World Boxing Championships : East German Backup Beats No. 2-Rated Bryant

East Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba and South Korea came out of the blocks the fastest, and the United States was just a step behind Thursday in the opening sessions of the World Championships of amateur boxing.

In the opening afternoon session of the 10-day, 235-man tournament, the United States waa dealt a major setback when Kevin Bryant, the world’s No. 2-ranked light-middleweight, wilted under a relentless assault by an East German substitute, Enrico Richter, and lost a 5-0 decision.

However, the Americans got back on track in the evening session. First, bantamweight Johnny Vasquez of Phoenix registered an easy 5-0 decision over the Dominican Republic’s Alberto Morillo. Four bouts later, light-welterweight Nick Kakouris of St. Louis scored the tournament’s first clean knockout when he flattened Taiwan’s Yung-Li Lee in the first round.

Two Americans will box in today’s sessions--flyweight Arthur Johnson and lightweight Vincent Phillips. But the spotlight will be on the final night-session bout, when Cuba’s 35-year-old Teofilo Stevenson begins his drive for a fourth trip to the Olympic Games. Stevenson drew a tough first-round opponent, East German Ulli Kaden, against whom the Cuban is 2-2.

Kakouris, a tall, rangy boxer-puncher, said he figured out Lee early.

“I’ve trained hard ever since Beaumont (Texas, site of the April U.S. National Championships), so I knew I was in good condition tonight,” he said. “But I had no idea what this guy was like, so I was a little tight early in the round.

“But I saw two things right off that made me pretty confident--he was shorter than me, and I could tell he was a little green. I looked for a spot and took him out.”

Kakouris ended the bout suddenly with an old-fashioned one-two. Lee crashed to the deck on his back and had nearly regained his feet at the 10-count when the referee signaled a knockout.

Vasquez wore out his Dominican foe with a two-fisted body attack, setting the pace all the way to a 5-0 decision.

“I hadn’t done all that much sparring lately, and I felt a little rusty,” Vasquez said. “But I felt confident all the way. I had a big third round, and that helped.”

Vasquez talks a good fight, too. His next opponent will be South Korea’s Moon Sung Kil, ranked No. 1 in the world. You may recall the name: Moon Sung Kil is the rugged fighter who stopped America’s Robert Shannon at the L.A. Olympics in what many thought was the most exciting bout of the Games.

But Vasquez, after watching the South Korean knock out Italy’s Fabrizio Cappai Thursday night, said: “He didn’t show me much. I think I’ll take him. He can’t handle pressure.”

East Germany’s Siegfried Mehnert, the European champion in the 139-pound division and ranked No. 2 in the world, looked nearly invincible in overpowering the Netherlands’ Reino Van Der Hoek on a 5-0 decision. But the question is, is Mehnert invincible enough to stop a stylish Soviet, Vasily Shishov, who was equally impressive in a 5-0 victory over the Dominican Republic’s Pedro Saiz.

Shishov and Mehnert meet in the second round Saturday in one of the tournament’s most anticipated matchups.

U.S. Coach Pat Nappi thought it was bad enough that his No. 2-ranked light-middleweight, Bryant, lost decisively to Richter. But the news was even worse than it looked--Richter, unranked, is East Germany’s backup in the 156-pound division. He was put on the team after European champion Michael Timm was shelved with a back injury.

Bryant had a good first round, jabbing effectively and staying away from the stronger Richter. But when Richter turned up the heat, Bryant, a 28-year-old Army boxer, folded. Richter had superior upper body strength and used it to great effectiveness. At the end of the third and final round, Bryant looked as if he’d gone 10 rounds.

Shishov, two-time Soviet champion in the 139-pound division, showed great footwork and a fine jab in decisioning Saiz.

Cuba’s winners were Arnoldo Mesa, who stopped Puerto Rico’s Jose Rodriguez in the second round in the 119-pound division, and Eduardo Correa, a 5-0 winner over Sweden’s Lars Lundgren in the 139-pound division.

South Korea has two boxers rated No. 1 in the world, and both won Thursday. In the tournament’s first bout, light-flyweight Oh Kwang Soo stopped Hungary’s Robert Isaszegi in the first round. Moon followed in the night session with his win over Cappai.