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WBC Asian champion Neeraj Goyat moved closer to an Olympic berth after he entered the semifinal round of the International Boxing Associations Olympic Qualifying Tournament for professional boxers in Vargas, Venezuela on Monday.The 24-year-old Neeraj (69kg) defeated Greeces Dimitrios Poulikos Tsagkrakos 3-0 and will be up against second-seeded German Arajik Marutjan, a former European Championships silver-medallist in the semifinal round on Thursday.Neeraj will be assured of an Olympic berth if he wins the next bout. In case he loses, he will still have a chance of qualifying for Rio through the box-off between the losing semifinalists.However, the other Indians in the fray, Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg) and Dilbag Singh (81kg) lost their bouts, missing their chance on the Olympics.While Dilbag was beaten 1-2 by Moldovas Petru Ciobanu in the prelims, Gaurav lost to Ukraines Maksym Fatych in the quarterfinal round.The competition has 26 Rio quotas to offer -- three in every weight category except heavyweight (91kg) and super heavyweight (91+kg), from which only the winners will earn an Olympic spot.The tournament features boxers from AIBAs own professional events -- the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) -- besides pro boxers from all over the world.However, none of the big names in the pro circuit have made themselves available for the event, citing reasons ranging from fitness, lack of time for preparation and the threat of sanctions by their promoters and licensing bodies like the WBO and the IBA.So far, three Indian boxers -- Shiva Thapa (56kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (75kg) -- have booked their tickets for the Olympics through qualifiers for amateurs. 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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Christine Barnett didnt mean to upset her son when they spoke on the phone early during his freshman year at the University of Tennessee. Its just that she was so busy with work when he called.Mom, are you coming to my away games? Derek Barnett asked.No, Derek, she replied. Im not going to be able to be running around here.And that might have been the end of that had she stopped there. Shed raised him and his two siblings on her own, without the benefit of child support, working two and three jobs at a time. Every extra shift she could pick up made a difference, and, besides, the cost of traveling was a burden. Barnett knew that.But then she went a step further.And I dont know how much playing time youre going to get, she told him.That pissed him off, she said.Im gonna be playing, he shot back.OK, she said.She would wait and see.***His mother might have been skeptical, but Knoxville was prepared for Barnett to make an immediate impact.In a league built on the line of scrimmage, he was the crown jewel of Butch Jones first full signing class at Tennessee in 2014, a 6-foot-3, 267-pound four-star prospect with the strength and athleticism to become a dominant pass-rusher in the SEC. Plus, he was one of their own, born and raised in Nashville. Along with wideout Josh Malone, safety Todd Kelly Jr. and running back Jalen Hurd, four of the states top five prospects had stayed home that year. After Phillip Fulmers firing, Derek Dooleys undoing and Lane Kiffins abrupt departure, it finally appeared as if Tennessees decade of mediocrity was coming to a close.All Barnett and his fellow freshman had to do was prove that the hype was real.It didnt take long for Barnett to be noticed by the coaching staff, first for his instincts and then for his high motor during practice. He became the first member of the freshman class to have his helmet stripe removed during training camp, symbolizing that he was officially part of the team. Then he received the news hed been waiting for: He had become the first true freshman to start on the defensive line at Tennessee.He would go on to obliterate the school record for tackles for loss and sacks by a freshman. He picked up 10 sacks in the final eight games of the regular season, bypassing the SEC freshman record set by South Carolinas Jadeveon Clowney.Even while he recovered from a shoulder injury during bowl game preparation, he was in the ear of defensive line coach Steve Stripling, telling him, When Im feeling better, I want to play over that left tackle. That left tackle being Iowas Brandon Scherff, the 319-pound senior and No. 5 overall NFL pick.Despite blitzing only four times, Tennessee pressured the quarterback 11 times during a 45-28 win. In the postgame news conference, Jones said Barnett accepted the challenge.Hes extremely tough, Jones said. Ive said it, Ill continue to say it: Hes mature beyond his years. I love him. I love everything about him.Christine loved it, too.She was happy to eat her words, of course, watching him start 10 games that season. She didnt make it to every away game, but she saved the best road trip for last: sunny Jacksonville, Florida, in January.Who would have known he was going to be able to accomplish that? she said.* * *By the time he was 2 years old, Christine knew something was wrong.Derek was quiet, and when he did try to communicate it wasnt always clear. Only she seemed to be able to understand him.He had a speech impediment and doctors informed Christine that he needed speech therapy. One told her hed likely have trouble in school.How could they predict this? she thought.She enrolled him in three different speech programs and eventually, he got better. By the first grade, he was mostly understandable and by third grade he didnt need to see specialists anymore.He did well in school and was a caring son. Even at 5 years old, he thanked his mother for every meal. He was the kid who saw his mothers car pull up and walked outside to help bring in groceries.Derek was 10 when his older brother moved out and his older sister left not much longer after that. So Derek became essentially an only child while his mother was busy working at UPS sorting packages, and also waiting tables on the side.Christine provided. Derek went to the private school Brentwood Academy, and even though there were a few times when the tuition felt as if it were too much to handle, she found a way to make ends meet. Shed get home from work and get in bed at 4:30 a.m. only to wake up at 7 to see him off to school. She was offered a full-time job at UPS when Derek was in high school but declined because it would have required her to work nights and miss her sons games.I still remember one of my co-workers telling me I was stupid for not accepting the full-time job because I was turning down quite a bit of money, she said. I told him, Im doing whats best for me and my family. When it came time to decide on a college, Derek returned the favor. Sure, he wanted to be part of rebuilding Tennessee. But more than anything he wanted to be closee to home so she could visit as much as possible.ddddddddddddIm a mommas boy, he said. No shame in that.The two text daily and talk on the phone about once a week.Otherwise, Dereks life revolves around football, but dont expect him to bring up his own highlights. With his humility and big smile, youd never expect the menace he is on the football field. Youd never know hes one of the hardest-working, most demanding players on the team.When defensive coordinator Bob Shoop got to know Barnett during the recruiting process, he said he always admired his intensity, his focus and his relationship with his mother. If you want to know what drives him, start at the end and work backward.Christine, whose father played for Ohio State in the 1960s, found a way to get to most of Dereks games his freshman and sophomore year, even when her Sunday work shift started at 5 a.m.Shes a grinder, Derek said. She gets stuff done. Me seeing that makes me want to work harder. Thats where I get my motivation from, honestly.Im doing whatever I can to repay her.* * *Shoop stood in front of his new team after signing on as Tennessees defensive coordinator in January, knowing he didnt have much time.Hey, Im looking forward to meeting you guys, Shoop told the room. Were on the road recruiting now, but I look forward to having some one-on-one meetings when I get back.Some players like Cam Sutton had already reached out to Shoop, and he shook a few hands with a few others as he left the team meeting that day.He dipped into his office before heading out. Only Barnett was there waiting for him.We need to take this to the next level, Coach, Barnett said. We cant be soft on these guys. We have to be hard on them.Ill help you do that.That, Shoop said, is when he knew he had the alpha dog of his defense. Everything he saw in the weight room and on the practice field backed it up.Barnett let his play do the talking as a freshman and sophomore, and that was more than fine considering his 141 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss and 20 sacks over that time. But as a junior, with Tennessee eyeing a spot in the playoff, something changed. Barnett had become more than an example. He became an enforcer.Hes the one I can bring in my office and ask, What do you think? and hell tell me exactly what he thinks. Hes not going to tell you what you want to hear, defensive line coach Steve Stripling said.While the rest of the team celebrated a win over Virginia Tech earlier this season, Barnett was subdued, worried about the mistakes hed made. After beating Georgia on a Hail Mary pass a few weeks ago, Barnett spoke in the locker room and barely mentioned what a great win it was. He told the defense the same big plays they gave up to Georgia were the same plays they were giving up in practice.Earlier, with the Vols trailing 24-21 in the fourth quarter, he told a coaching assistant on the sideline, We have to score on defense and get this done. Then he went out, read pass, widened out his stance, pinned back his ears and attacked Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason. Barnett got around a tight end, ducked inside on a chip from the running back and sacked Eason, forcing a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown.It was a critical moment, Barnett said. We had to make something happen.Said Shoop: He wants to be the best. Hes a dog on the field. And what I mean by that is hes angry. ... He goes out there and feels its no place to be for nice guys. He feels hes in a battle.Barnett wont show it, but Shoop says he believes theres a chip on his shoulder. Before facing Texas A&M, Shoop said Barnett told the defense he was tired of hearing how good the Aggies offense was. That left tackle, I want him, he said. And even though the Vols lost in overtime, Barnett was nearly unstoppable. He got in?Trevor Knights face and forced an early interception, had a sack later in the first quarter and even dropped back in pass defense and made a play. Fellow defensive lineman LaTroy Lewis joked, He thinks hes Darrelle Revis now and lives on Barnett Island.Now its on to No. 1-ranked Alabama and its star left tackle?Cam Robinson?on?Saturday in Knoxville. Even though Shoop plans on moving Barnett around on defense to create mismatches, hell be one-on-one with the potential first-round pick often.Since 2014, Barnett is second in the FBS with 25 sacks. With seven more, hell tie Hall of Famer Reggie White for first in school history. Amazingly, he could do it in one fewer season.For his part, Barnett insists hes not chasing records. Hed rather follow Whites path of beating Alabama on his third try. The rest can sort itself out later.But his mom might know differently. If Barnett says, She knows me inside and out, then it carries some weight when she says he not only wants to get to the SEC Championship Game, but to break Whites record.Hes on a mission, she said.She ought to know. In a way, her prodding is what got Barnetts career started in such a hurry. ' ' '