Soviet Boxers Avenge Loss to United States, Win Seven of Nine Bouts to Tie Series, 1-1

Middleweight Sergei Kobozev beat two-time U.S. champion Anthony Hembrick and welterweight Alexander Ostrovsky stopped Tony Robinson Friday night to lead the Soviet Union to a 7-2 victory over the United States in amateur boxing.

Soviet boxers won four of the first five matches on the nine-bout card in the Jacksonville Coliseum and also took the last three to avenge last Saturday’s 5-4 loss to a different team of Americans at Lake Tahoe, Nev.

The U.S. winners were James Crisp of Army at 156 pounds and Miami’s Phillip Jackson, who stopped Renay Trishnev’s three-match winning streak against the United States with a 3-2 decision in their light-heavyweight match.

The exhibition was the second of two between the nations, who are using the series to prepare this summer’s Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The Soviets have won 47 of 59 dual meets against the United States since 1969.

Kobozev used an unorthodox style to beat Hembrick, 3-2, and finish the Soviet tour of the U.S. with a 2-0 record.

Jackson beat Trishnev, 3-2, in their 178-pound match and declared it the best performance of his career.

“This is a big step,” he said. “It gives me a chance to make the Olympic Trials.”