By Mike Downey

Chicago Tribune

BEIJING — The poorest performance by a U.S. boxing team since the sport’s Olympic debut in 1896 came to an end Friday when heavyweight Deontay Wilder dropped a 7-1 decision to Italy’s Clemente Russo.

Wilder’s automatic bronze for reaching the semifinals will be the Americans’ only boxing medal of these Games.

Not since the 1948 London Olympics has a U.S. boxing team came away with a single medal. But at least in that one, the medal that welterweight Horace Herring took was silver. It is the first time in 112 years of the modern Olympics that no American boxer has done better than a bronze.

“I’m not a guy for moping or complaining,” said Wilder, 22, a gangly 6 feet 7 inches. “I’ve got other things in my life that mean more than this.”

The native of Alabama began working two jobs and becoming a boxer after his daughter, Naieya, was born with spina bifida in 2005.

A gold medal would have made for a heartwarming story. But the inexperienced Wilder was up against the 2007 world champion in Russo, who prevented the American for all but the final 10 seconds of their four-round fight from landing a punch.

“I’ve got a medal, I’m happy,” Wilder said. “I train with 11 guys and our vision and expectation was for all of them to get a medal. It wasn’t to be.”

The U.S has not had an Olympic heavyweight champion since Ray Mercer in 1988.

Russo, 26, won the world championship in Chicago last summer. He had a height disadvantage of eight inches against Wilder but kept out of reach and was never in any danger.

“I took revenge today,” Russo said, for Italy’s coach, Francesco Damiani, who lost a 1984 super-heavyweight championship bout to the U.S.’s Tyrell Biggs, as well as for Italian heavyweight Angelo Mussone, who lost in those same Los Angeles Olympics to heavyweight gold medalist Henry Tillman.

Russo will face Russian Rakhim Chakhkiev in Sunday’s final.

A two-way bronze medal will put Wilder on the medal stand, but he has no illusions of any professional greatness ahead.

“I’m not Muhammad Ali,” he said.