From USA Boxing:
Team USA Winning Streak Ends on Day Four of Women’s World Championships
May 21, 2016, 5:20 p.m. (ET)
Two United States boxers fell on day four of Women’s World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Flyweight Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, Texas) and lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.) each dropped their second round bouts in hard-fought contests at the Barys Arena.
Fuchs battled Azerbaijan’s Anna Alimardanova in her second bout of the World Championships in Astana. The four round contest was closely contested throughout with the match resulting in a tiebreaker on one of the judges scorecards. Yet Alimardanova pulled out the bout by one round on the other two scorecards to win a 2-0 decision over Fuchs. Although she is eliminated from the tournament, Fuchs can still clinch a berth in the Olympics Games if Canada’s Mandy Bujold advances to the semifinal round. Bujold won gold at the recent Americas Qualifier and due to to Fuchs third round finish at the Americas Qualifier, the American could still earn a spot in Rio with a top four placement by Bujold.
Mayer competed against fellow 2016 Olympian Junhua Yin of China in the evening session. The two boxers met previously in lightweight action with each boxer owning previous victories. Although Mayer defeated Yin twice in earlier bouts, she wasn’t able to add another win in the 2016 World Championships. Yin claimed a lightweight victory over Mayer in Saturday’s action, eliminating her from the World Championships. Mayer will look to avenge the loss should the two meet in this summer’s Olympic Games. The American lightweight clinched her Olympic spot at the Americas Qualifier in March and today’s bout will not impact her qualification.
Four American boxers will look to turn the tide in Sunday’s action at the World Championships in Astana. Two former world championships medalists will compete for the first time in the 2016 event on Sunday afternoon. Bantamweight Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) and light heavyweight Franchon Crews will both make their tournament debuts, facing Belarus’ Helina Bruyevich and Italy’s Flavia Severin respectively. Cruz will compete in the fourth bout of the early session at approximately 2:40 p.m. local time (4:40 a.m. ET) and Crews will take the ring for the 11th bout at approximately 4:20 p.m. local time (6:20 a.m. ET).
Featherweight Stalacia Leggett (Quartz Hill, Calif.) and Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) will both compete in their second bouts of the event in Sunday’s evening action. Leggett will compete in the first bout of the 7 p.m. session against Italy’s Alessia Mesiano and Shields will challenge Uzbekistan’s Nafisakhon Askarova in bout five at approximately 8 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).
The competition is being livestreamed on the AIBA website at www.aiba.org. For all of the tournament brackets, competition schedule, bout sheets and current results, go to: www.aiba.org/aiba-womens-world-boxing-championships-astana-2016.
Coaches Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Israel Acosta (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Benny Roman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) are leading the U.S. team in Kazakhstan.
Over 275 boxers from 70 nations are competing in the ninth edition of the Women’s World Championships. The first-ever Women’s World Boxing Championships took place in Scranton, Pa., in 2001 and has grown exponentially since that time. The 2016 event is the second world championships since the Olympic debut of women’s boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games. While only three women’s weight divisions are contested in Olympic competition, all 10 weight classes are showcased in world championships action.
U.S. Results
112 lbs/51 kg: Anna Alimardanova, AZE, dec. Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas/USA, 2-0
132 lbs/60 kg: Junhua Yin, CHN, dec. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif./USA, 3-0
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