Day 3 of the Olympic Boxing Tournament has commenced in the capital of France. Twenty-four bouts are scheduled for today at the North Paris Arena, featuring competitions in the Women’s 60kg, Men’s 51kg, 63.5kg, and +92kg weight classes.
Session 6 of the Olympic Tournament kicked off this morning with a sensational victory for seed #1 Wenlu YANG (CHN), who defeated Thi Linh HA of Vietnam by a decisive 5:0 score. YANG secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s 60kg division, where she will face seed #8 Natalia SHADRINA (SRB). The Serbian boxer, the 2023 European Games silver medallist, defeated Dounia KHELIF (ALG) with a commanding 5:0 unanimous decision.
In the following bout, Maria Jose PALACIOS ESPINOZA (ECU) impressed the judges, winning her bout against Australia’s 2023 Pacific Games gold medallist Tyler MCDONALD by unanimous decision. Next Wednesday, 31 July, she will face Shih Yi WU of Chinese Taipei, who won by walkover in her bout against Cynthia Temitayo OGUNSEMILORE (NGR).
In the Men’s 63.5kg event, seed #1 and Pan American Games gold medallist Wyatt SANFORD (CAN) lived up to expectations, outscoring Radoslav Simeonov ROSENOV of Bulgaria by 5:0, showcasing impressive punches and brilliant tactical skills. Advancing in the tournament, he will meet Ruslan ABDULLAEV (UZB), who dominated his bout against 2023 Pan American Games silver medallist Miguel Angel MARTINEZ RAMIREZ, earning a full scorecard from all judges.
Moments later, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Harry GARSIDE (AUS) faced a challenging bout against Richard KOVACS (HUN). The Australian edged the first round 3:2, but in the following two rounds, the 2023 European Games bronze medallist from Hungary stepped up with sharp and powerful blows, securing the favor of all judges in both rounds.
In the Men’s +92kg event, the crowd at the North Paris Arena enjoyed a thrilling match between Pan American Games gold medallist Joshua EDWARDS (USA) and Diego LENZI from Italy. The Italian started strong, landing heavy punches targeting EDWARDS’ face and earning four 10/9 scores from the judges. The American counterattacked in the second round, advancing 3:2. With both boxers giving their best in the final round, LENZI was declared the winner by 3:1. Advancing to the quarterfinals, the Italian boxer will meet Nelvie Raman TIAFACK (GER), who outclassed Mahammad ABDULLAYEV from Azerbaijan with a 5:0 unanimous decision win.
The action will resume this afternoon at 15:30 (CET) and continue this evening at 20:00 (CET) with two more sessions of exciting boxing.
Find the event schedule and the results here.
