After a rough opening session to the third day of boxing at the 2023 Gee Bee Tournament, the four remaining men to box stepped up to take a sweep over Canada to join Morelle McCane (Cleveland, Ohio) in tomorrow’s championship bouts.
Emilio Garcia (Laredo, Texas) picked up his third win of the tournament to advance to the gold medal bout against 2021 Elite World Championships bronze medalist Reese Lynch of Scotland. Garcia took all five judges’ cards over Canadian Olympian Wyatt Sanford for the opportunity to box in his first elite gold medal bout.
Light middleweight Omari Jones (Orlando, Fla.) had one of the toughest and closest bouts of the day, taking a 3-2 decision over Junior Petanqui. Jones opened the bout with a 4-1 lead, before taking three out of the five judges’ cards in the second round. The final round saw the Canadian take it 3-2, however, Jones was able to hold off to advance to tomorrow’s bout against Ioan Croft of England.
Rahim Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) continued his impressive win streak to advance to his fourth straight international final with a unanimous decision over Keven Beausejour. The light heavyweight used his quick combinations and body shots to move onto the finals, where he is set to face Ramtin Musah of England.
The final American to box today, Jamar Talley (Camden, N.J.), made his awaited tournament debut in dominating fashion, seeing his opponents corner throw in the towel less than a minute into the ring after Talley landed a clean body shot that resulted Umar Caracamo to crumble to the canvas. Talley will go head-to-head against German Alexander Okafor in the championship bout.
The fifth American in tomorrow’s championship bout, McCane, will face Stefanie von Berge of Germany, who she defeated last year at the 2022 USA Boxing International Invitational.
Four Americans earned bronze medal today, Jahmal Harvey (Oxon Hill, Md.), Jennifer Lozano (Laredo, Texas), Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell, Idaho) and Jewry Rodriguez (Houston, Texas). This marks Mendoza and Rodriguez second bronze medal of the year, and Harvey and Lozano’s first medal of the year.
Semifinals Results
50 kg: Tatiana Kob/UKR dec. over Jennifer Lozano, Laredo, Texas/USA, 5-0 – bronze medal
54 kg: Anastasia Kovalchuk/UKR won by walkover over Jewry Rodriguez, Houston, Texas/USA, WO – bronze medal
57 kg: Frederik Jensen/DEN won by walkover over Jahmal Harvey, Oxon Hill, Md./USA, WO – bronze medal
57 kg: Vilma Viitanen/FIN dec. over Alyssa Mendoza, Caldwell, Idaho/USA, 3-2 – bronze medal
63.5 kg: Emilio Garcia, Laredo, Texas/USA, dec. over Wyatt Sanford/CAN, 5-0
71 kg: Omari Jones, Orlando, Fla./USA, dec. over Junior Petanqui/CAN, 3-2
80 kg: Rahim Gonzales, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, dec. over Keven Beausejour/CAN, 5-0
92 kg: Jamar Talley, Camden, N.J./USA, won by abandonment over Umar Caracamo/CAN, ABD
Finals Schedule
63.5 kg: Emilio Garcia, Laredo, Texas/USA, vs. Reese Lynch/SCO
66 kg: Morelle McCane, Cleveland, Ohio/USA, vs. Stefanie von Berge/GER
71 kg: Omari Jones, Orlando, Fla./USA, vs. Ioan Croft/WAL
80 kg: Rahim Gonzales, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, vs. Ramtin Musah/ENG
92 kg: Jamar Talley, Camden, N.J./USA, vs. Alexander Okafor/GER