(JULY 18)
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Team
USA is off to a great start at the 2014 Pan American Olympic
Festival with three American boxers claiming opening bout wins
on the first two days of competition in Mexico City. Lightweight
Queen Underwood
(Seattle, Wash.) and super
heavyweight
Cam F. Awesome
(Lenexa, Kansas) each earned
quarterfinal wins on Wednesday while flyweight
Marlen Esparza
(Houston, Texas) took a semifinal
victory on Thursday in Mexico City. 2012 Olympic gold medalist
Claressa Shields
(Flint, Mich.) while compete in
her first bout of the multi-sport event on Friday in a match-up
with Mexico’s
Alma Ibarra.
Underwood kicked off the
tournament in a quarterfinal match-up with an opponent she has
faced several times before – Puerto Rico’s
Kiria Tapia.
Underwood defeated the 2011 Pan American Games champion earlier
this year in the Independence Cup and she repeated the feat in
Wednesday’s quarterfinal action. The 2012 Olympian took a 2-1
decision over Tapia to move on to a semifinal bout with
Argentina’s
Dayana Sanchez
in today’s action.
Awesome drew Cuba’s
Yoandri Ramos
in his quarterfinal bout on
Wednesday, but his opponent from the boxing powerhouse did not
deter the international veteran. He won a unanimous decision
over Ramos in their super heavyweight bout on Wednesday to move
on to today’s semifinal action. He will face off with Ecuador’s
Jorge Quinonez
today in the semifinal round.
Esparza enjoyed an off day on
Wednesday, but she competed in her semifinal round contest on
Thursday in a match-up with Brazil’s
Clelia Costa.
The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
earned a unanimous decision over Costa to set-up a final round
bout with host nation boxer
Sulem Urbina
of Mexico on Saturday.
The Pan American Olympic Festival
is a multi-sport event with approximately 3500 athletes
competing in 23 sports across Mexico.
U.S. Results
112 lbs/female:
Marlen Esparza, Houston,
Texas/USA
dec. Clelia Costa, BRA, 3-0
132 lbs/female:
Queen Underwood, Seattle,
Wash./USA
dec. Kiria Tapia, PUR, 2-1
201+ lbs/male:
Cam F. Awesome, Lenexa,
Kansas/USA
dec. Yoandri Ramos, CUB, 3-0
