2 Americans Get to Semifinals in World Amateur Boxing Meet

Eric Griffin of Houston assured himself of a medal today by advancing to the semifinals at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.

Teammate Tonga McClain also advanced to the semis, and another American, Ray Lathon, lost in a slugfest with a Russian.

The 21-year-old Griffin, scoring frequently with sharp counter-punches, scored a 23-10 decision over Petrika Parschiv of Romania in a 106-pound bout.

Griffin will box Kim Dok Nam of North Korea in the semifinals Wednesday night.

Semifinal losers get bronze medals.

The 19-year-old McClain of Racine, Wis., barely made it to the 132-pounds semifinals.

In a bout marked by the absence of action, McClain, 19, outpointed Kamal Marjouane of Morocco. The score was 7-7, and McClain was awarded the victory on the discretion of the judges.

McClain’s semifinal opponent Wednesday night will be Julio Gonzalez of Cuba.

There was plenty of action in Lathon’s 28-15 loss to Andrey Kurnyavka at 165 pounds. Lathon, 22, of St. Louis took three standing 8-counts, and the Soviet took two.

The U.S. team has a 10-5 record. East Germany is 12-2, Cuba 11-2, the Soviet Union 10-1 and North Korea 9-1.