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Youngest Cuban Scores Knockout in 23 Seconds

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Associated Press

Guillermo Rigondeaux, at 20 the youngest member of the powerful Cuban team, knocked out Moez Zemzemi of Tunisia only 23 seconds after the opening bell of their 119-pound bout. Rigondeaux scored the first of two knockdowns with the first punch of the fight, a left hand.

The United States’ boxers came up with victories by Clarence Vinson (119 pounds), David Jackson (132) and Dante Craig (147). Vinson outpointed Rachid Bouaita of France, a 1996 Olympian, 9-2. Jackson--who replaced Marshall Martinez of Fontana, Calif., on the team--dominated Naoufel Ben Rabah of Tunisia, 19-7, and Craig stopped Fadel Showban of Egypt in the fourth round.

The victory was poignant for Craig, whose 1-year-old son died of respiratory problems in January. The 22-year-old Craig, whose mother also died in 1998, has a tattoo on his right biceps of a rose and a cross with an inscription that reads, “In memory of Mary and Dante.”

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