(MARCH 8) BUSTO ARSIZIO,
Italy – Team USA won four more bouts during the fifth day of
boxing at the 2024 Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament at
the E-Work Arena in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
Shera Mae Patricio (Waianae, Hawaii) kicked off the day for the
Americans as she went head-to-head with Angel Yris Lopez of
Puerto Rico. Patricio came out of the gates firing, as she was
eager to get her opportunity to step into the ring after
receiving an opening-round bye. She used numerous combinations
and bodywork to overwhelm her opponent and take all five judges’
cards at the end of the round.
The Hawaiian never let up and kept attacking through the
remaining two rounds, resulting in a 3-2 second round in her
favor before a 5-0 final round to take the bout unanimously.
Patricio will return to action on March 9 to face Argentina’s
Sofia Micaela Robles.
“I feel so good as I got my first fight out of the way,”
Patricio stated after picking up her second-round win. “I was so
eager to fight since day one, but I have two more to go, and the
job is not finished.”
The second session saw 57 kg boxer Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell,
Idaho) step into the ring for her second fight, hoping to pick
up Team USA’s ninth win. Facing Satsuki Yoshizawa from Japan,
Mendoza opened the first round by hitting multiple counter
punches on Yoshiza, causing a light nosebleed. However, the
judges still scored it 3-2 in favor of Yoshiza.
Mendoza was told she was down after the round, making her dig
deep, as she did not want her tournament run to end and feel the
pain she felt from her loss at the Santiago 2023 Pan American
Games.
“I picked it up after Coach (Billy Walsh) told me I was down
after the first round,” Mendoza stated. “I knew her nose was
bleeding and kept attacking that area.”
The featherweight landed multiple punches early in the second
round, causing the Japanese boxer’s nose to continue to bleed as
the referee walked her to the ringside doctor. The fight was
stopped, and Mendoza did enough in the opening minute to earn
the deciding judges' vote to take the 3-2 split decision. She
will return to the ring tomorrow for her matchup with Morocco’s
Nisrine Amine, the 2023 African Continental Championships bronze
medalist.
Team USA picked up their third win of the day, with Omari Jones
(Orlando, Fla.) winning by unanimous decision over Mohamed
Rachem of Belgium.
Jones controlled the fight throughout all three rounds, using
his strong jab to cruise to victory and advance to the next
round of competition against Iran’s Moslem Maghsoudi Mal
Amiri.“All glory to God for another victory,” said Jones after
his decision. “I am just taking it day by day, and you will see
me next time I fight.”
The day concluded with heavyweight Jamar Talley (Camden, N.J.)
taking to the ring for the first time of the tournament, and he
did not disappoint.
Talley dominated from the start of the bout against Morocco’s
Ayoub Maanni, even giving his opponent a standing eight count in
the first minute of the opening round to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
His dominance continued, and he overpowered his opponent to win
unanimously and advance to face Narek Manasyan of Armenia on
Saturday.
“I got the first one underway, and it was a good win to start
the tournament,” stated Talley. “I am just going to get better
and sharper as the tournament continues.”
Robby “Rahim” Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) will join Mendoza
during tomorrow's sessions. The 2021 World Champion will face
Andrej Csernez of Slovakia, the 2019 European Games bronze
medalist.
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