Tarver, a left-handed light heavyweight from Orlando, Fla., soaks all of this in and smiles broadly. Beads of fresh perspiration dot his smooth scalp as he leans in to share something with a visitor. Maybe he shouldn't say this, but he can't help himself. What's the point of working this hard if you can't talk a little junk now and then?

``We have a team,'' Tarver says, fixing you with his stare, ``that can potentially do what that U.S. team did in '84.''

No. Wait a second. He can't be serious.

Didn't that 1984 U.S. Olympic boxing team sweep nine gold medals in Los Angeles? Didn't that team include future champions like Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Stevie McCrory and Mark Breland? Wasn't that a once-in-a-lifetime collection of amateur boxers?

Yes, of course. But Tarver, 27, isn't backing down.

``What they did was amazing and I'm not predicting that,'' he says. ``But I say potentially. And if we do it, we're going to do it with the Russians and the Cubans participating. That '84 team didn't have to deal with those guys.

``We've come a long way. What we don't have in experience, we definitely make up in raw talent. I feel this will be the Cinderella team out of the whole 1996 Olympics.''

Al Mitchell shudders when he hears such talk. Actually, he doesn't hear it very often - at least not from outsiders. Instead the U.S. Olympic boxing coach has heard experts from far and wide weigh in with dire predictions for his team.

Look at the world rankings, they say. Only Clay-Bey and Tarver rank in the top three in their weight class. That leaves 10 more U.S. boxers projected to go home empty-handed.

Look at the collective youth of the U.S. team, they say. A third of the team is still in its teens. Three more boxers are 20. That means seven of the 12 U.S. boxers aren't even old enough to toast their victories (or drown their sorrows) at the corner pub.

``This is the youngest boxing team,'' Mitchell says, ``in the history of the sport.''

The Associated Press recently compiled a sport-by-sport list of medal predictions for the upcoming Games. The wire service gave the golden nod to Tarver and Clay-Bey. Fernando Vargas (147 pounds) was tabbed for a silver medal. Bronze calls went to Zahir Raheem (119), Terrance Cauthen (132) and David Reid (156).

If those picks pan out, this year's Olympic boxers would approach the performance of the 1988 team (three golds) and outstrip the disappointing showing of the 1992 team that managed just three medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) in Barcelona.

Vargas says not to worry. His group, fuzzy cheeks and all, will render that '92 failure a distant memory.

``Even without trying we're going to do more than that,'' the 18-year-old welterweight says. ``It's a young team but it's a young man's sport. What we lack in years we have in experience and talent.''

It helps, Vargas says, to get so little respect from the experts. That means less pressure and less pressure means loose fighters.

``We're not going to disappoint because a lot of people are expecting us to do nothing,'' Vargas says. ``They had a good team in '92 and they showed only one gold medal. I know we're going to top one gold medal. We're coming out of here with a lot of medals. We're in our back yard. They're going to have to come in and take it from us, because we're ready.''

Clay-Bey, who packs 245 pounds on his 6-foot frame, agrees.

``A lot of people have pretty much written us off before we even have the opportunity to prove ourselves,'' says the 30-year-old corrections officer from Hartford, Conn. ``This team has a lot of character and a lot of people who want to prove everyone wrong. I think there's going to be a lot of surprises. A lot of people are going to sit back and say, `I can't believe what this team has done.'°''

Even if the American boxers don't trigger a gold rush - highly unlikely considering the strength of the Cubans and Germans - their coach won't hold it against them. Mitchell says he's already proud of his guys, who have worked so hard to get to this point.

``In our society and our system the way it is these days, success is only how much money you make or how many medals you get,'' Mitchell says. ``It's a shame people can't go where I do. They can't see how the team gets along together, the different ethnic groups, how much class they've shown in the last two months.

``Things they didn't do before they do now. They talk to kids. They help kids. I've seen them do HBO specials and all of them talked like scholars. They're carrying themselves like role models.''

Mitchell pauses here and swallows hard. He's going to miss this group once then Olympics end.

``I'm proud of them,'' he says. ``You talk about success, well, that's success. No matter how many medals we get, I already consider them a success.''