USA Boxing saw an improvement on the second day of action at the 2020 Boxam Tournament in Castellon, Spain, finishing the day 2-1 and securing two additional medals to their total.
Andrea Medina (San Diego, Calif.) got Team USA off to a strong start against Spain’s Maria Del Carmen. Medina, who won silver earlier this year at her first international competition, put on a dominating performance that included giving her opponent multiple standing 8-counts to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals against Amina Zidani of France. Today’s victory guarantees Medina’s second international medal.
Flyweight Abraham Perez (Albuquerque, N.M.) continued to impress in his second fight of the tournament. Perez grabbed all five judges/ cards to defeat Joan Manuel Torres Valdez of Spain to move into the medal rounds. The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing champion will face Spain’s Gabriel Escobar Mascunano on Friday.
The final American to take to the ring was Olympic Qualification Team member Anthony Herrera (Los Angeles, Calif.). Herrera’s bout against Salvado Martin Molina of Spain was stopped in the third round due to a cut and went to the score card for the decision, which went 3-2 in favor of Molina to end Herrera’s tournament run.
Tomorrow’s action will also see tournament debuts of Rashida Ellis (Lynn, Mass.), Darius Fulghum (Houston, Texas), Rahim Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Oshae Jones (Toledo, Ohio). All four boxers are guaranteed a medal, marking Gozales and Fulghum’s first international medals.
Competition will begin at 10:00 a.m. EST tomorrow and can be followed by clicking here.
This year’s tournament brought over 60 boxers from 11 different countries to compete in the first major international competition since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. Team USA is being led by National Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and assistant coaches Tim Back (Cincinnati, Ohio), Marc Gargaro (Newton, Mass.), Joe Guzman (Buckeye, Ariz.), Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas) and Jeff Mays (San Antonio, Texas), along with National Strength and Conditioning Coach Jose Polanco (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Day 2 Results
52 kg: Abraham Perez, Albuquerque, N.M./USA, dec. over Joan Manuel Torres Valdez/ESP, 5-0
52 kg: Salvador Martin Molina/ESP dec. over Anthony Herrera, Los Angeles, Calif./USA, 3-2
57 kg: Andrea Medina, San Diego, Calif./USA, dec. over Maria Del Carmen/ESP, 5-0
Day 3 Bouts
57 kg: Andrea Medina, San Diego, Calif./USA, vs. Amina Zidani/FRA
60 kg: Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass./USA, vs. Maiva Hamadouche/FRA
69 kg: Oshae Jones, Toledo, Ohio/USA, vs. Shannon Toure/FRA
81 kg: Rahim Gonzales, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, vs. Jalidov Schamilovic/ESP
91 kg: Darius Fulghum, Houston, Texas/USA, vs. Emmanuel Reyes Pla/ESP
