(MAY 26) COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.
- 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) and
American heavyweight Shadasia Green (Newark, N.J.) will compete
for gold at the 2016 Women's World Championships following
semifinal victories on Thursday in Astana, Kazakhstan. Shields
will have the chance to defend her 2014 middleweight title in
Friday's gold medal bout while Green has earned a spot in the
finals in her first-ever World Championships at the Barys Arena.
Light flyweight Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas), bantamweight
Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.), and light heavyweight Franchon
Crews (Baltimore, Md.) fell in semifinal action on Thursday and
will take home bronze medals from the 2016 World Championships.
Shields took on Taipei's Nien Chin Chen in her semifinal contest
on Thursday evening in Astana. The 21-year-old star continued
her international dominance in their middleweight bout, sweeping
every round on the judges' scorecards to clinch her spot in
another gold medal bout. She can win her second straight world
title on Friday when she faces Nouchka Fontijn of the
Netherlands. Shields will box for gold in bout eight of the
final round session at approximately 4:40 p.m. local time (6:40
a.m. ET).
Green entered the World Championships as one of the least
experienced boxers on the U.S. squad but she has rolled through
the tournament. She faced Sennur Demir of Turkey in her
semifinal contest late in Thursday's action. Like her teammate,
Green dominated the match, winning every round of the four round
contest to claim a unanimous decision victory. The win earned
Green a spot in the heavyweight gold medal bout and a chance at
her first world title. She will box in the 10th and final bout
on championship day at approximately 5:20 p.m. local time (7:20
a.m. ET).
Esparza battled China's Yuyan Wang in her semifinal contest in
the opening bout of Thursday's competition. Wang claimed a 3-0
victory over Esparza in their light flyweight bout to advance in
the tournament. Esparza will receive a bronze medal from the
2016 World Championships.
Cruz's semifinal bout featured a match-up with Bulgaria's Stoyka
Petrova in Thursday's afternoon session. Petrova claimed a
unanimous decision win over Cruz in the bantamweight contest.
Cruz wins her second bronze medal in the past three World
Championships with her semifinal finish in the 2016 event.
In the light heavyweight division, Crews challenged China's
Xiaoli Yang for a spot in the gold medal bout. It was Yang
taking the victory in the contest by a 3-0 margin, giving Crews
a bronze medal to add to her World Championships medal
collection.
Shields and Green will each box in championship round action on
Friday afternoon at the Barys Arena in Kazakhstan and the action
can be viewed via livestream at www.aiba.org.
For all of the tournament brackets, competition schedule, bout
sheets and current results, go to: www.aiba.org/aiba-womens-world-boxing-championships-astana-2016.
Coaches Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Israel Acosta
(Milwaukee, Wis.) and Benny Roman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) are leading
the U.S. team in Kazakhstan.
Over 275 boxers from 70 nations are competing in the ninth
edition of the Women's World Championships. The first-ever
Women's World Boxing Championships took place in Scranton, Pa.,
in 2001 and has grown exponentially since that time. The 2016
event is the second world championships since the Olympic debut
of women's boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games. While only three
women's weight divisions are contested in Olympic competition,
all 10 weight classes are showcased in world championships
action.
U.S. Semifinal Results
106 lbs/48 kg: Yuyan Wang, CHN, dec. Marlen Esparza, Houston,
Texas/USA, 3-0
119 lbs/54 kg: Stoyka Petrova, BUL, dec. Christina Cruz, New
York, N.Y./USA, 3-0
165 lbs/75 kg: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA dec. Nien Chin
Chen, TPE, 3-0
178 lbs/81 kg: Xiaoli Yang, CHN, dec. Franchon Crews, Baltimore,
Md./USA, 3-0
178 + lbs/81+ kg: Shadasia Green, Patterson, N.J./USA, dec.
Sennur Demir, TUR, 3-0
