Camden, New Jersey's Jamar Talley made a statement with his first win at the Second Olympic World Qualification Tournament. Talley went head-to-head with Ali Faithigovashini out of Iran and made it a quick fight, ending the contest in the first round due to a referee stoppage. “I am just thankful for another opportunity to qualify for Paris. All glory to God and I am thankful for my team and coaches and on to the next one,” a determined Talley stated after his debut at the 2024 World Qualification Tournament.

 

Unfortunately, two teammates did not fare as well as Talley. Robby Gonzales of Las Vegas and Naomi Graham of Fayetteville, North Carolina both lost. Graham was the first Team USA boxer to go this morning as she fought hard but fell short 4-1 to Vivlane Pereira from Brazil. As for Gonzales, he started off strong against Weerapon Jongjoho from Thailand and took the first round 4-1. However, Jongjoho, with the home crowd advantage, took the second round 5-0. Gonzales tried to fight back and took the final round 3-2 but just wasn’t enough and lost in a heart-breaker 3-2.

 

Team USA will see Shera Mae Patricio (Waianae, Hawaii) and Emilio Garcia (Laredo, Texas) box next. Patricio will make her debut and represent Team USA in the 119-pound weight division. She will go head-to-head with Ulzhan Sarsenbek from Kazakhstan. As for Garcia, this will be his second appearance and he is three wins away from qualifying.

 

Team USA is represented by eight boxers in Italy who hope to punch their ticket to this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The team is being guided by USA Boxing Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), along with National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.), as well as National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.), along with assistant coaches Adonis Frazier (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).

 

Day 2 Results

 

80 kg: Robby Gonzales, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, dec. over Ahmed Badrani, MAR, 5-0