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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Shakur Stevenson started throwing punches shortly after he could walk. His grandfather began teaching him how to box at age 5, and he has barely lost since he won his first fight at 8.He dreams of world title belts and enough money to move his mother and eight younger siblings out of his beloved Newark, New Jersey. But first, Stevenson is in Rio de Janeiro to fulfill a dream that has consumed him since he went online and looked up the early history of his favorite boxer, Andre Ward.Most people say they want to become a world champion, but hes actually been obsessed and wanting to win a gold medal his entire boxing career, said his grandfather, Wali Moses. And now that hes reached the epitome of his career and a gold medal is right here, I think hes starting to roll toward it. The climb has been hard, but he wants it.Stevenson doesnt flinch from the weight on his shoulders heading into the Olympics as the brightest candidate to win the first mens gold medal in 12 years from once-proud USA Boxing.Ward was the last American man to claim the top prize with his brilliant performance in Athens, and the London mens team failed to win any medals at all for the nation that still leads the world in Olympic golds and total medals.With his speed, skill and unbeaten record in international competition, Stevenson has all the makings of an Olympic champion. A lucrative professional career awaits him in the fall, but the 19-year-old has spent his entire youth focused on the Olympic 123-pound tournament, which begins Aug. 10.I dont feel Ive really proved myself yet, Stevenson said. Id rather go to Rio first and win a gold medal, and then everybody can talk about me. When it comes down to it, it doesnt matter what anybody else thinks. I dont focus on everybody hyping me up. Its just me getting in that ring and fighting.Stevensons mother, Malikah, named him after Tupac Shakur, the rapper and social activist who died nine months before her first son was born. Stevenson mostly avoided trouble on Newarks tough streets, and his grandfathers steady influence kept him devoted to his sport.Moses vividly remembers the first time he saw his 2-year-old grandson throwing hands.We were watching Tuesday night fights, and he just started punching, Moses said with a laugh. Every time I took him to a tournament, even before he was old enough to fight, he would always say, `Pop-Pop, Im never going to lose. Hes always had that attitude. Hes just totally dedicated himself to the sport of boxing. Ever since then, each achievement, I knew something special was going on.Stevenson soon developed a compulsive habit of shadowboxing at every spare moment, although he acknowledges that it can be unnerving to the other people waiting in lines at cafeterias or airports.Stevenson has been capable of boxing 12 hard rounds since he was 10 years old, and he grew into a powerhouse under the tutelage of Moses and Kay Koroma, now the associate coach of the Olympic team. He even attracted the attention of Virgil Hill, the 1984 U.S. Olympian who became a light heavyweight world champion.Virg told him that hes the closest thing hes seen to Pernell Whitaker, Moses said of the 1984 gold medal-winning lightweight. That really gave him a boost, a vote of confidence. Since then, hes been winning everything. Hes put himself in position to be one of the top boxers in the world.Promoters know it, too. Stevenson has been surrounded by attention from people hoping to guide his career to stardom -- and some wouldnt have minded if he skipped the Olympics entirely.He couldnt stop when hes so close to his dream, although hes looking forward to ending the world travels necessary to compete for the International Boxing Association (AIBA).It makes me appreciate more of what Ive got, Stevenson said of his trips to Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Ukraine and other out-of-the-way locales typically chosen for AIBA tournaments. I came from nothing, but I still had something still, because theres a lot of people out in the world that really got nothing. To be honest, I hate traveling, though. I wish we could just teleport to certain places.Stevenson realizes he fights in a brutal division of the Olympic-style sport. The bantamweight field in Rio includes Irish world champion Michael Conlan, London flyweight gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba and a lengthy list of tested international fighters.He realizes thats much the same situation faced 12 years ago by Ward, another serious American talent who charged through an Olympic field to win gold.I want to start my career how (Ward) started, Stevenson said. The main thing Im looking forward to after Rio is getting off the plane and going to Newark. Seeing all the people and how they feel about me coming back with a gold medal, I cant wait for that moment.Adidas Outlet Canada . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Adidas Shoes Canada Online . 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With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season.COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolinas athletic department reported 23 violations of NCAA or Southeastern Conference rules in the past year, nine involving the football team.All but one of the infractions were classified as Level III and outlined by the NCAA as violations isolated or limited in nature; provide no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage; and do not include more than a minimal impermissible benefit.South Carolina released its infractions report this week from an open records request by The Associated Press. The time period is from August 2015 through July.Six of the nine violations involving football came since Will Muschamp took over in December. One, though, occurred when ex-coach Steve Spurrier told reporters that the daughter of a former NFL player was visiting campus.The names of athletes or coaches involved were not included in the documents.Most violations are far from those that bring splashy headlines and put schools on probation.The violation of SEC guidelines was when a football quality control coordinator used a headset while in the press box to talk with coaches on the field. The school suspended the quality control coach for one game and the SEC took no additional action, according to the schools documents.In February, a restaurateur classified as a Gamecocks booster was handed a phone by a prospects uncle to leave a voicemail for the prospects father. The next month, a former South Carolina player posed for pictures with two prospects on unofficial visits.In both cases, the school provided those involved with additional education and the NCAA accepted those remedies without taking any additional action.There are two ffootball violations pending, one in May where a football player was found to have gotten impermissible transportation for three-and-a-half months and another in June where prospects got impermissible lodging on an unofficial visit.dddddddddddd.In the first, South Carolina declared the player ineligible and made to pay restitution to charity. In the other, the school provided those staffers involved with addition rules education and requested relief from NCAA penalties.Three infractions were not classified to the football program yet involved the sport.In October, a chapter of the Gamecock Club booster group posted an internet link to a story detailing a prospects verbal commitment to South Carolina. In February, a football manager worked with the team while not enrolled as a full-time student. Also that month, an ex-Gamecocks player wrongly re-Tweeted a prospects post before he had signed a letter of intent.All the schools corrective actions were accepted by the NCAA.Among other sports, the three-time SEC womens basketball champions reported four infractions. One involved a player getting transportation, meals and lodging while not eligible to play. The school declared the player ineligible and made to donate costs of the impermissible benefit to charity.The NCAA imposed additional penalties for one womens basketball violation after an assistant coach texted a 2019 prospect with the same first name as a current player they intended to text. The NCAA banned South Carolina from electronically corresponding with that prospect for two weeks. ' ' '