Box: The other Pittman is pick of the Aussies in ring

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2004
Box: The other Pittman is pick of the Aussies in ring

By Glenn Cullen

ATHENS, Aug 13 AAP - He's definitely the lesser known Pittman on the Australian team
but middleweight boxer Jamie Pittman could empathise with Jana Pittman's Olympic injury
frustration.

Pittman - no relation to Jana - will be the first Australian boxer to step into the
ring when he fights on Saturday, and he may also be the best hope of a medal.

The 23-year-old Newcastle-based pugilist heads an Australian team light on international
experience but if he gets a friendly draw he feels the last eight and beyond beckons.

"I would like to make the quarterfinals and set a goal from there - get two wins and
pick what colour medal I can get," Pittman said.

"The draw is the main thing - the best bloke in the world could be on the other side
of the draw and even if you get through that it can still catch up to you at the end of
the competition."

Pittman's road to the Olympics hasn't been the smoothest but the Australian Institute
of Sport boxer has always shown he can deal with the battles in his mind as well as the
ones in the ring.

A 2000 Games prospect at 18 years of age, Pittman had his hopes crushed when at the
Oceania qualifying championships he was ruled out after having his eye split open in a
quarterfinal.

He then knuckled down to become the best amateur in the 71kg division in Australia,
losing to the eventual Commonwealth Games champion at the quarterfinal stage in Manchester.

Then at the Australian Championships this year he ran into another roadblock in the
shape of two-time Olympian Richard Rowles who beat him on points in an early round.

"For three and a half years I dominated boxing in my division then Richard beat me
and it was like deja vu - I was thinking, 'God this can't be happening again'."

"So I put my head down and bum up even harder and it paid off in the end."

Pittman went to the final stage of Olympic qualifying, the Oceania Championships, as
Australia's No.2 but he left Tonga as the region's No.1 after downing Rowles in the final
and booking a spot to Athens.

His lead up since has been modest in terms of results but Pittman has contested close
bouts with the three top boxers in his division over the last two months giving him the
belief that he can match it with most boxers at the Games.

AAP gc/nh

KEYWORD: OLY BOX AUST

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