On Day 7 of Olympic Boxing at the North Paris Arena, the afternoon session featured four Round-of-16 bouts in the Women’s 57kg division and six quarterfinal matches across the Men’s 51kg, 80kg, and +92kg categories. With two bronze medals awarded in Olympic boxing, all athletes advancing to the semifinals are guaranteed a place on the podium, making these bouts particularly high-stakes.
In the Women’s 57kg division, Yu Ting LIN (TPE) showcased her tactical prowess to secure a 5:0 unanimous decision victory over Uzbekistan’s Sitora TURDIBEKOVA (UZB). LIN’s performance earned her a spot in the quarterfinals, where she will face 2023 European Games silver medallist Svetlana Kamenova STANEVA (BUL). STANEVA, with an aggressive style, left no chance for Ireland’s Michaela WALSH, dominating the bout and winning via a 5:0 unanimous decision.
Tunisia’s Khouloud HLIMI faced a tough challenge against Turkey’s Esra YILDIZ KAHRAMAN, who delivered an excellent performance to claim a 5:0 victory. The Turkish boxer will now advance to the quarterfinals, where she will meet seed #4 Jucielen CERQUEIRA ROMEU (BRA). The 2023 Pan American Games gold medallist from Brazil edged out Alyssa MENDOZA (USA) in a closely contested match, securing a 4:1 split decision victory. CERQUEIRA ROMEU narrowly took the first round, but MENDOZA’s effective counterattacks in the second round shifted the momentum in her favor. However, the Brazilian’s superior skills and well-timed combinations in the third round ultimately sealed her win.
In the Men’s 51kg event, home fans were treated to a thrilling quarterfinal bout between local hero Billal BENNAMA (FRA) and Alejandro CLARO FIZ (CUB). The Cuban fighter started strong, using his dodging abilities and precise counterpunches to earn four 10/9 scores from the judges in the first round. The match tightened in the second round, with BENNAMA, cheered by the roaring crowd at the North Paris Arena, rallying to win the favor of three out of five judges. In the decisive third round, BENNAMA landed cleaner, more effective shots, securing a hard-fought 3:2 split decision victory and guaranteeing himself at least a bronze medal on home soil.
“I can’t quite believe it yet.” BENNAMA said, shedding tears of joy after his victory. “The objective is to go all the way. I know I have the ability. Now I just have to stay focused.” He added, “There were too many emotions, and I just had to release them. I knew I had an excellent third round, and that victory was within reach, so I let everything out.”
Reflecting on his performance at Paris 2024, he said, “(Today), in the second and third rounds, I performed better than what I had done previously (against Roscoe HILL, USA). I feel like I’m starting to box more like myself. That makes me very happy; now it’s up to me to keep going.”
In the semifinals, the 26-year-old from Toulouse will face Yunior ALCANTARA REYES (DOM), the 2023 Pan American Games champion and seed #4 in this tournament. ALCANTARA REYES advanced after a closely contested 3:2 split decision win over Spain’s Rafael LOZANO SERRANO.
Team Dominican Republic had more to celebrate as Cristian Javier PINALES (DOM) secured another Olympic medal for his country by defeating Gabrijel VEOCIC (CRO) in their Men’s 80kg quarterfinal match. PINALES will now face Nurbek ORALBAY (KAZ) in the semifinals, who outclassed Murad ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE) with a commanding 5:0 victory.
Later in the session, the 2023 European Games bronze medallist Nelvie Raman TIAFACK (GER) impressed both the audience and judges with his powerful performance, outscoring Italy’s Diego LENZI by a unanimous 5:0 decision to advance to the semifinals. TIAFACK’s next opponent will be the formidable Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Bakhodir JALOLOV (UZB), who demonstrated his dominance by defeating Teremoana TEREMOANA (AUS) with potent offensive tactics and powerful punches, securing a 5:0 win.
The action at North Paris Arena is set to resume this evening, August 2, at 20:00 (CET), with more thrilling bouts on the schedule.
Find the event schedule and the results here.
