BARCELONA '92 OLYMPICS / DAY 14 : Cuba Wins Four More Bouts; Austin Loses : Boxing: American says that he let up during the first round because of an eye injury. Referee stops fight.

By EARL GUSTKEY

Aug. 8, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

BADALONA, Spain — The Cuban boxing team has the strongest, deepest boxing tournament since 1976 by the throat.

And this morning, Cuba will start squeezing.

When the world’s amateur boxing powerhouses began gathering here more than two weeks ago, everyone knew the Cubans could easily dominate the medal rounds.

But no one was prepared for this.

They won four more bouts Friday, boosting their record for the Games to 39-3. They could win nine of the 12 gold medals today and Sunday, tying the mark set by U.S. boxers on the 1984 Olympic team, which were boycotted by Cuba and the Eastern Bloc.

Only two Americans advanced, lightweight Oscar De La Hoya of East Los Angeles, and middleweight Chris Byrd of Flint, Mich.

Tim Austin, the Cincinnati flyweight, bowed out meekly during the first round of his bout with Cuban Raul Gonzalez on Friday, but still earned a bronze medal.

De La Hoya, the 19-year-old Garfield High graduate who vowed two years ago to win an Olympic gold medal for his dying mother, won’t have to box a Cuban to fulfill his pledge. Instead, he will meet a German technician who defeated him in the last World Championships, Marco Rudolph. Byrd, however, will fight possibly the most impressive Cuban of all--Ariel Hernandez, a fleet, superbly conditioned athlete who can hit you like a heavyweight or roll up points against you with textbook boxing.

How can Cuba, a nation of 10.4 million, dominate a world-class tournament as it has this Olympic competition?

“They have a machine down there,” said Jim Fox, executive director of USA Boxing. “They put pieces in one end, and boxers come out the other. And a lot of people forget one thing--when Cuba comes to an Olympics like they did here, with a bunch of new faces, that doesn’t mean they’re rookies they’ve just found someplace.

“All of these kids have had 150 to 200 bouts, and have been trying to make their national team for years.”

Cuba has dominated international amateur boxing for about 20 years. This is nothing new. In the last two World Championships, at Sydney and Moscow, Cuba won four gold medals each time. At Reno in 1986, they won seven of 12 gold medals.

Raul Villanueva, chief of the Cuban Boxing Federation, was asked after Friday’s last semifinal bout if this was the greatest Cuban team ever.

“Yes, we think so,” he said, smiling and giving a thumbs-up sign. “But ask us after it is over.”

Some are giving Byrd, the son of U.S. Coach Joe Byrd, a good chance of defeating Hernandez today. Byrd has sailed through this tournament without so much as a close call. By laying back on the ropes and successfully countering with short, chopping, shoulder-high punches, Byrd has won by scores of 21-3, 16-7, 21-2 and 17-3.

Hernandez has stopped one opponent and won by 6-0, 13-2 and 14-6.

Austin’s quick loss Friday was a surprise. He seemed to quit at the first sign of trouble against an aggressive Cuban who charged across the ring toward him at the opening bell.

Austin took two steps out of his corner and, seeing Gonzalez coming, stopped.

First mistake.

Gonzalez began pounding away, Austin covered up and tried to counter from a crouch. Somewhere in the first exchanges, Austin said later, one of Gonzalez’s punches scraped Austin’s left eye.

During an exchange at center ring, Austin suddenly turned his back on the Cuban and began nonchalantly walking away.

Second mistake.

The Indian referee, Kirshen Narsi, was as surprised as Gonzalez. Narsi did nothing, but Gonzalez rushed in and punched Austin on the back of his head.

A half-minute later, Austin nearly went down from a right, and Narsi administered a standing-eight. The referee stopped the bout with 1:56 to go in the round.

When Joe Byrd asked Austin what had happened, Austin pointed to his left eye.

In the interview room, he held an ice bag to the eye and kept it closed.

“He thumbed me when he uppercut me, right at the start of the bout,” he said. “I had double vision. I thought the referee saw the thumbing, and I thought he made a move (when Austin walked away) like he was going to caution (Gonzalez), but he didn’t.”

Austin was asked if he’d ever turned his back on a boxer before.

“No, but I’ve never been thumbed that bad, either,” he said.

“The referee made a good decision, my vision was bad. And he could see me squinting. I could have continued . . . I’m still happy with my performance in the Olympics.”

Gold-Medal Bouts

TODAY

106 pounds--Rogelio Marcelo (Cuba) vs. Daniel Bojinov (Bulgaria)

119--Joel Casamayor (Cuba) vs. Wayne McCullough (Ireland)

132--Oscar De La Hoya (United States) vs. Marco Rudolph (Germany)

147--Juan Hernandez (Cuba) vs. Michael Carruth (Ireland)

165--Chris Byrd (United States) vs. Ariel Hernandez (Cuba)

201--Felix Savon (Cuba) vs. David Izonritei (Nigeria)

SUNDAY

112 pounds--Raul Gonzalez (Cuba) vs. Su Choi Choum (North Korea)

125--Faustino Reyes (Spain) vs. Andreas Tews (Germany)

139--Hecto Vinent (Cuba) vs. Mark Leduc (Canada)