(MARCH 10) BUSTO ARSIZIO,
Italy -- Three more members of Team USA advanced to the
quota placement bouts in Busto Arsizio, Italy, during the eighth
day of boxing at the 2024 Olympic Games World Qualifying
Tournament. With the three victories tonight, boxers will
compete on tomorrow’s final day of action, where a victory will
punch their ticket to Paris this summer.
Roscoe Hill (Spring, Texas), 2021 Elite Men’s World
Championships silver medalist, unanimously secured the team’s
first win of the day against Jordan’s Hutaifa Eshish. Hill, who
was boxing for the third time this tournament, continued to use
his unique style and strong defensive skills to command the
bout.
The American flyweight took four of the five judges’ cards in
the first two rounds before closing out the final round with a
5-0 decision for a unanimous victory. He will look to secure his
place in Paris with a win tomorrow over Nijat Huseynov of
Azerbaijan, a two-time European Champion.
“I am feeling really good,” stated Hill following his bout. “He
came out strong but slowed down and couldn’t keep up the pace. I
feel like I should run track because I am about to run this
tournament.”
In her fourth fight of the tournament, Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell,
Idaho) finally boxed a complete three rounds after only boxing
for four rounds between her first three fights. The American
faced Korea’s Hyejeon Jin during tonight’s matchup and proved to
be too much for her opponent to take the bout unanimously.
The featherweight took four of the five judges' cards in all
three rounds, while the fifth judge scored it in favor of the
Korean for one round to advance to tomorrow's bout against Julia
Szeremeta of Poland.
“I am feeling pretty good. We got one more to go tomorrow,” said
Mendoza. “I got to go a full three rounds. It felt great. I
could have done a little better, but tomorrow will be my best
for sure.”
The third and final victory of the day came from an impressive
performance by Omari Jones (Orlando, Fla.), who won unanimously
over Iran’s Maghsoudi Mal Amiri Moslem.
Jones, the 2021 Elite World Championships silver medalist, had
complete control of all three rounds. He used his jab and
combinations to frustrate his opponent throughout the bout.
The 71 kg boxer will look for one more victory tomorrow over
2023 World Championships bronze medalist Nishant Dev of India to
secure a place at this summer’s Olympic Games.
“Another one. Again, all glory to God,” began Jones after his
unanimous decision victory. “We are one step closer to my dream
and goal that I told everyone about years ago. One more to go,
and we are an Olympian.”
Joining today’s three winners tomorrow will be Shera Mae
Patricio (Waianae, Hawaii) and Jamar Talley (Camden, N.J.). All
five boxers will look to join the five boxers who qualified for
Paris at the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games to bring Team
USA’s total to 10 qualified boxers, with one qualifying
tournament remaining in May.
Eight boxers arrived in Italy representing Team USA, hoping to
punch their ticket to this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games
under USA Boxing National Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado
Springs, Colo.). Joining Walsh on the coaching staff are
National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.),
National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.),
and assistant coaches Adonis Frazier (Minneapolis, Minn.) and
Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).
The tournament is one of the largest Olympic qualifiers in
boxing history. Over 600 boxers from 113 nations are competing
at the E-Work Arena, hoping to grab one of the 49 quota places
available for this summer’s Games.
Click here to stay updated on Team USA’s journey in Busto
Arsizio, which includes athlete stories, daily schedules, live
streams, and more.
Day 8 Results
51 kg: Roscoe Hill, Spring, Texas/USA, dec. over Huthaifa Eshish/JOR,
5-0
57 kg: Alyssa Mendoza, Caldwell, Idaho/USA, dec. over Hyejeon
Jin/KOR, 5-0
71 kg: Omari Jones, Orlando, Fla./USA, dec. over Maghsoudi Mal
Amiri Moslem/IRI, 5-0
Day 9 Schedule
51 kg: Roscoe Hill, Spring, Texas/USA, vs. Nijat Huseynov/AZE
54 kg: Shera Mae Patricio, Waianae, Hawaii/USA, vs. Jutamas
Jitpong/THA
57 kg: Alyssa Mendoza, Caldwell, Idaho/USA, vs. Julia Szeremeta/POL
71 kg: Omari Jones, Orlando, Fla./USA, vs. Nishant Dev/IND
92 kg: Jamar Talley, Camden, N.J./USA, vs. Aibek Oralbay/KAZ
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