2023 Pan American Games: Beatriz Ferreira, Julio Cesar la Cruz defend titles on boxing finals day
Beatriz Ferreira, Julio Cesar La Cruz, Jahmal Harvey and Arlen Lopez headline winners in Santiago, Chile. You can watch the boxing action live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Boxing
A thrilling day of finals action saw boxing legends Beatriz Ferreira and Julio Cesar la Cruz defend their continental titles in style at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Friday (27 October).
A day after securing a Olympic Games Paris 2024 quota and roared on by a whole corner of fans wearing yellow and green striped uniforms at the Olympic Training Centre, Brazilian two-time world champion Ferreira dominated Colombia's Angie Paola Valdes Pana to secure the women's 60 kg title with a unanimous 5-0 decision.
In the men's 92 kg final, Cuba's La Cruz dazzled a packed arena with his dancing footwork to take the first round against Keno Marley Machado.
The big-hitting Brazilian fought back in the second to even the match, but the two-time Olympic champion found an extra gear in the decider, regularly landing his jab to secure the gold medal.
Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda then clinched Colombia's first title of the day with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tatiana Regina De Jesus Chagas of Brazil in the women’s 54 kg final.
Next up, Jahmal Harvey of the United States continued his meteoric rise in the sport with a unanimous 5-0 win over Cuba's Saidel Ivan Horta Rodriguez Del Rey in the 57 kg division.
A fascinating duel in the men's 71 kg final saw Marco Alonso Verde Alvarez receive a standing-10 count in the first round before bouncing back with some furious combinations to clinch a 5-0 win over Ecuador's Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio.
Another former world champion to see gold was Canada's Tammara Thibeault who used her ringcraft and impressive jab reach to beat Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon of Panama 5-0.
The evening's finals kicked off with an emphatic 5-0 victory to Brazil's Caroline Barbosa de Almeida over Jennifer Lozano of the United States.
De Almeida's compatriot Jucielen Cerqueira Romeu then made it three gold medals for Brazil, courtesy of a 5-0 win over Valeria Arboleda of Colombia.
Wyatt Sanford of Canada picked up where he left off in the semis, putting on another masterclass of power punching to beat Mexico's Miguel Angel Martinez Ramirez 5-0 in the men's 63.5 kg final.
Brazil's gold number four came from Barbara Maria Dos Santos in the women's 66 kg, who had too much power and reach for USA's Morelle McCane to secure a unanimous 5-0 decision win.
Two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba showed why he was the men's 80 kg pre-event favourite, landing combinations on Brazil's Wanderley de Souza Pereira with ease to take the title with a 5-0 victory.
The final gold medal of the tournament went to USA's Joshua Edwards, who took the men's +92 kg without having to fight, as his Brazilian opponent Abner Teixeira was a late injury withdrawal.