Today marked another action-packed day of boxing at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olìmpico, as part of the XIX Pan American Games. This event serves as a qualifying event for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The action kicked off at 11:00 local time in Santiago, Chile, marking the start of another exciting day of boxing.
Morning Session:
The day commenced with the Women’s 54kg round of 16 contest, featuring Yoseline PEREZ from the United States of America and Yeni Marcela ARIAS CASTAÑEDA, who had previously clinched the silver medal at the 2022 South American Games and represented Colombia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The young Texan boxer came out with an impressive start, earning four 10/9 scores from the judges in the first round. However, the Colombian talent displayed resilience in the subsequent rounds, mounting a strong comeback. In the end, Arias Castañeda secured a hard-fought victory with a 4:1 split decision, showcasing determination in the ring.
In another thrilling matchup, Angie Paola VALDES PANA, the gold medalist from the 2022 South American Games, represented Team Colombia in the Women’s 60kg category. She dominated her match against Tianna Esha Hadhas-Sah GUY (TTO) with a commanding 5:0 victory, obtaining maximum points in each round. Right after, Jessica Maria MUÑOZ NOESI (DOM) faced a formidable opponent in Victoria Oriana SAPUTO, the first Argentine female Olympic medalist, who dashed the hopes of the Dominican Republic’s boxer with a commanding unanimous decision victory.
Argentina continued its celebration as 19-year-old Luciano Matias AMAYA from Buenos Aires delivered an impressive performance against Joshua TOUSSAINT from Dominica. AMAYA’s powerful punching led to two standing counts, and with just two minutes and 11 seconds remaining in the second round, the referee had to stop the match, advancing AMAYA to the quarterfinals. His next opponent is Wyatt SANFORD of Canada who showcased excellent boxing skills in his match against the three-time Olympic bronze medalist Lázaro Jorge ALVAREZ ESTRADA from Cuba, securing a commanding 5:0 victory, as affirmed by all five judges’ scorecards.
El Salvador celebrated the victory of Samuel George CONTRERAS CABRALES in his R16 of the Men’s 63.5 kg event. He dominated his bout against Tokyo 2020 Olympian Alston RYAN of Antigua & Barbuda with a sharp 5-0 performance. In the quarterfinal match, CONTRERAS CABRALES is set to face off against the 21-year-old Yuri FALCAO DOS REIS (BRA), who proved too strong for Tyshawn Cefeso JONES (GRN), overwhelming him before the referee stopped the contest at 2:38 in round three.
In the Men’s 71kg division, Jhonatan ARBOLEDA CHALA from Colombia left no chances for Jhonny FERNANDEZ of the Dominican Republic. The Colombian athlete delivered plenty of powerful punches that attacked FERNANDEZ’s face, sealing a 5-0 unanimous decision victory. Moments later, a fascinating Cuba vs. Mexico match unfolded as Jorge CUELLAR TERRY (CUB) and Marco Alonso VERDE ALVAREZ (MEX) took to the ring. The 21-year-old Mexican displayed an exceptional performance, earning a unanimous 5:0 decision victory over his Cuban rival. Next up for him is the United States of America’s Omari JONES, who left no chances to the young Angel Gabriel LLANOS PEREZ of Puerto Rico, with the judges declaring JONES the winner by 4:0.
The morning session concluded with an intense match between the 2022 South American Games bronze medalist Christiann Jose PALACIO MEDINA (VEN) and the 19-year-old DARRIUS HOWARD of Haiti. The Venezuelan talent displayed a good tactical performance, earning all five judges’ scorecards in all of the rounds to take the unanimous decision victory.
Afternoon Session:
In the Women’s 54kg division, Tatiana Regina DE JESUS CHAGAS of Brazil, the 2022 South American Games gold medalist, seized her opportunity to advance in the tournament by defeating her opponent Estefany ALMANZAR DE LEON (DOM). Although the Dominican boxer had a strong start in the first round, taking the lead, the Brazilian’s experience and counter-attacks took over in the second and third rounds, resulting in a 3:2 split decision victory for CHAGAS.
Moments later, the crowd at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olìmpico celebrated Denisse Alejandra Arlette Arl BRAVO VILCHES (CHI) as she advanced to the quarterfinals with a resounding 5:0 win on home soil over Nicole Vanessa BARRANTES MATTEY of Costa Rica. In the fierce battle, the Chilean boxer demonstrated her superiority, exhibiting aggressiveness and landing heavy blows to her rival’s face.
In the Women’s 60kg class, Youth Olympic gold medalist Jajaira GONZALEZ (USA) dominated her round of 16 bout against Garinder TAKHAR of Canada, finishing the match in less than 3 minutes, with the referee stopping the contest at 1:59 in round 1. The talent from the United States of America is now only one win away from claiming the Paris 2024 Olympic quota place.
Advancing in the tournament, Beatriz Iasmin SOARES FERREIRA (BRA), the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, and Esmeralda FALCON REYES (MEX), the 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist, took the spotlight. The Brazilian talent dominated her round of 16 bout, leaving no chances for the Mexican, also known as “La Pantera.” FERREIRA earned five 10/9 scores from the judges in each of the three rounds to secure her spot in the next phase of the tournament.
Joel WILLIAMSON (GUY) faced a challenging bout against Tokyo 2020 Olympian Alexy Miguel DE LA CRUZ BAEZ (DOM), who won in style by being more aggressive and throwing plenty of punches, securing a 5:0 victory in the Men’s 63.5kg category. In the quarterfinals, he will meet the professional boxer from the United States of America, Emilio Esteban GARCIA, who outclassed the 2022 South American Games bronze medalist Jesus Nazaret COVA ROMERO from Venezuela in a hard-fought match.
Sanji WILLIAMS of Jamaica was unable to overcome the challenge from Mexico’s Miguel Angel MARTINEZ RAMIREZ, who forced the referee to halt the contest in round one at 2:48, securing a dominant victory. In the upcoming challenge, the Mexican orthodox will face Jose Manuel VIAFARA FORY from Colombia, who claimed another victory with a unanimous 5-0 decision over Panama’s Christopher Allan SIMMONS.
In the Men’s 71kg weight category, Canada’s Junior PEKA PETANQUI outclassed the Tokyo 2020 Olympian Aaron Solomon PRINCE from Trinidad & Tobago via a 5:0 unanimous decision victory. Both athletes displayed incredible skills and determination in the ring. PETANQUI’s impressive performance culminated in a well-deserved 5:0 unanimous decision victory.
Later in the evening, the local favorite Tomas BARROS CHADWICK (CHI) faced a tough knockout defeat by Joel Marcos MAFAUAD of Argentina in round two of his round-of-16. The Argentinian boxer easily advanced in the brackets and will now meet Jose Gabriel RODRIGUEZ TENORIO (ECU). The boxer from Ecuador claimed a 4:1 split decision win over the Tokyo 2020 Olympian Wanderson DE OLIVEIRA from Brazil, booking a spot in the quarterfinals.
The tournament will continue tomorrow, October 24, with a total of eighteen bouts featuring preliminaries in the Women’s 57kg and the first quarterfinal matches in the Men’s 57kg, 80kg, and 92kg categories.
Watch boxing action live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Find additional information on the event on the Santiago 2023 official website.
You can also check our photo galleries, here.
