Anderson, Martinez Medal at U.S. National Boxing Tourney

Boxers from all four armed services fought March 7-15 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Anderson and Martinez -- both 1997 armed forces champions -- were the only military boxers to gain the tournament semifinals.

Anderson captured a silver medal, losing a 5-0 decision to defending national champion Anthony Stewart in the 178-pound finals. Martinez dropped a 3-2 decision to Karoz Norman in the 106-pound semifinals to win a bronze medal.

"My plan was to win the first round, and I didn't do it," said Anderson after his bout. "Once I got behind, it was impossible for me to catch up."

Army Sgt. Byron Moore echoed Anderson's comments. "We knew he [Stewart] was an aggressive fighter, and we wanted to use his aggressiveness as a way to beat him," said Moore. "We stayed back, kept moving around the ring and forced him into lunging at Anderson to get his shots. We wanted Anderson to counterpunch at those lunges to score points.

"We tried to pick it up in the second round, and I told Anderson that we had to stop moving around and take the action to Stewart if we were going to win," said Moore. "But it wasn't until the third round that Anderson felt he could take a punch from Stewart and continue fighting."

By that time, the fight was already out of hand. Moore said Anderson began exchanging blows with Stewart in a knockout attempt, but knew Stewart had enough experience to hold him off.

"You have to respect a fighter, but there are times when you show too much," said Moore. "I think Anderson did just that in the first two rounds, and that cost him the fight."

In getting to the finals, Anderson earned three decisions during the single-elimination tournament. He defeated Benjamin Flores 4-1 in his opening match, sending him to a quarterfinal match with Carl Handy. After defeating Handy 5-0, Anderson easily defeated Limmie Young to earn a spot in the finals.

Martinez said his bout could have gone either way.

"Norman came up to me after the fight and said 'Bradley, they gave me this one,'" said Martinez, a former national champion at 106 pounds. "But whenever you have a 3-2 decision, you know the results are going to be close."

On his way to the bronze medal, Martinez captured two victories. He dominated his opening round match, earning a 5-0 decision from Michael Keopuhiwa. He then moved into the tournament semifinals with a 4-1 decision over Ronald Siders.

Nearly 30 fighters from the four military services competed in Colorado for national titles. The following are the official results: 106 pounds

Sgt. Bradley Martinez (A, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.) decisioned Micahel Keopuhiwa, 5-0; decisioned Ronald Siler, 5-0; lost to Karoz Norman, 3-2, semifinals; captured 3rd place (bronze medal).

Senior Airman Angel Vasquez (AF, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.) lost to Edgar Garcia, referee stops contest, 1:29, 1st round, quarterfinals.

Cpl. Matthew Winters (MC, Camp Lejeune, N.C.) lost to Norman, 4-1, preliminaries.

Cpl. Adam Burton (MC, Camp Lejeune) lost to Siler, 5-0, preliminaries.

112 pounds

Spc. John Medina (A, Fort Huachuca) lost to Marcellino Flores, 4-1, quarterfinals.119 pounds

Sgt. George Cofield (A, Hanau, Germany) lost to Saul Perez 3-2, preliminaries.

Senior Airman Samuel Aponte (AF, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.), lost to Bryan Garcia, RSC, 1:01, 3rd round, quarterfinals.125 pounds

Spc. Aljil Booker (A, Camp Red Cloud, Korea) defeated Amos Sotelo by disqualification; lost to James McClendon, 3-2, quarterfinals.

Seaman Kenny Medina (N, USS George Washington) lost to Frank Durst, 5-0, preliminaries.132 pounds

Pfc. Francisco Santiago (A, Camp Humphrey, Korea) decisioned Jose Simental, 5-0; lost to James Webb, 3-2, quarterfinals.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Bundy (N, Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, Va.) decisioned Elvis Ortiz, 3-2; lost to Jacob Hudson, RSC, 1:18, 1st round, quarterfinals.139 pounds

Sgt. Reginald Smith (A, Fort Hood, Texas) defeated Kenneth Davis by disqualification; lost to Anthony Hanshaw, 4-1, preliminaries.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Perry Hatcher (N, USS Scott) lost to Edwin Luna, 4-1, preliminaries.

Airman Micah Stevens (AF, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska) lost to Keith Kemp, RSC, 2:28, 3rd round, preliminaries.147 pounds

Spc. Mustafa Fahim (A, Fort Huachuca) defeated Michael Gillo, RSC, 2:53, 2nd round; decisioned Henri White, 5-0; lost to Daniel Hernandez, 3-2, quarterfinals.

Sgt. Steven Stokes (MC, Camp Lejeune) decisioned Ernesto Casteneda, 5-0; lost to Lechaunce Shepherd, 5-0, quarterfinals.

Seaman Oscar Vallerodriguez (N, Norfolk Naval Air Station, Va.) lost to Hernandez, RSC, 1:01, 1st round, preliminaries.

Airman Chad Thurgood (AF, Dover Air Force Base, Del.) lost to Luther Smith, 5-0, preliminaries. 156 pounds

Lance Cpl. Henry Markin (MC, Camp Lejeune) defeated Cleveland Corder by walkover; lost to Darnell Wilson, 5-0, preliminaries.

Sgt. Carl Miller (A, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii) lost to Tom Wilt, 5-0, preliminaries.165 pounds

Sgt. Julius Fogle (A, Fort Huachuca) decisioned Daniel Juda, 5-0; lost to Andre Haynes, RSC, 0:25, 3rd round, quarterfinals.

Lance Cpl. Edgar King (MC, Camp Lejeune) decisioned Jesse Gonzales, 3-2; lost to Quintin Smith, RSC, 1:01, 3rd round, preliminaries.178 pounds

Spc. Olanda Anderson (A, Fort Huachuca) decisioned Benjamin Flores, 4-1; decisioned Carl Handy, 5-0; decisioned Limmie Young, 5-0; lost to Anthony Stewart, 5-0, finals; captured 2nd place (silver medal).

1st Lt. Joseph Pastorello (AF, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.) defeated Max Heyman by disqualification; decisioned Cpl. Paul Hayes (MC, Camp Lejeune), 5-0; lost to Donnell Holmes, 4-1, quarterfinals.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Israel Spencer (N, USS Pensacola) lost to Glenn Garibaldi, RSC, 1:40, 1st round, preliminaries.

Cpl. Paul Hayes (MC, Camp Lejeune) decisioned Felix Cora, 3-2; lost to Pastorello, 5-0.20l pounds

Spc. Stanley McClain (A, Schofield Barracks) lost to Terry Smith, 5-0, preliminaries.

Sgt. Jonathan Williams (AF, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.) lost to Carl Gathright, RSC, 2:42, 1st round, preliminaries.+201 pounds

Pvt. Preston Hartzog (A, Fort Bragg, N.C.) decisioned Ronald Guerrero, 4-1, lost to Dominick Guinn, 4-1, quarterfinals.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Mabone (N, Willow Grove Naval Air Station, Pa.) lost to Joseph Mesi, by retirement, 1:16, 1st round, preliminaries.

(Tom Hlavacek of the Army World Class Athlete Program contributed to this article.)