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
INFORMATION:
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Twitter: @USABoxing
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Facebook: /USABoxing
ABOUT USA BOXING: The mission of USA Boxing shall be to promote and grow Olympic-style amateur boxing in the United States and to inspire the tireless pursuit of Olympic gold and enable athletes and coaches to achieve sustained competitive excellence. Additionally, USA Boxing endeavors to teach all participants the character, confidence and focus they need to become resilient and diverse champions, both in and out of the ring. USA Boxing is one team, one nation, going for gold!
