Boxe Canada Takes on Italy

By Vincent Morin
Photo credit: Facebook - Boxing Canada

No fewer than 11 representatives from Boxing Canada are competing in the first World Olympic Qualification Tournament, held from March 3 to 11 in Busto Arsizio, Italy. Head coach Vincent Auclair's team faces a tough challenge, as three Canadian boxers were in action from Sunday. Flyweight (51 kg) Justin Parina started the tournament on the right foot with a win over Venezuela's Keymberth Solorzano, while Junior Petanqui (71 kg) followed suit with a victory against Norway's Martin Skogheim.

However, things have since taken a turn for the worse amid stiff competition: no fewer than 602 boxers from 113 nations are currently vying for a spot in the Paris Games.

Here is an overview of the tournament so far:

Men's 51 kg

• Justin Parina (win by 5-0 decision) over Keymberth Solorzano (Venezuela) – Round 1
• Justin Parina vs. Yuberjen Martinez (Colombia) – Round 2

Men's 57 kg

• Victor Tremblay BYE – Round 1
• Victor Tremblay vs. Pedro Manuel Gomes (Angola) – Round 2

Men's 71 kg

• Junior Petanqui (win by 5-0 decision) over Martin Skogheim (Norway) – Preliminary Round
• Junior Petanqui (loss by 3-1 decision) against Aleksandr Trofimciuk (Lithuania) – Round 2

Men's 80 kg

• Keven Beauséjour (loss by 5-0 decision) against Rafayel Hovhannisyan (Armenia) – Round 1
• Cedrick Belony-Dulièpre (Haiti, loss by 5-0 decision) vs. Nurbel Oralbay (Kazakhstan) – Round 1

Men's 92 kg

• Bryan Colwell vs. Soheb Bouafia (France) – Round 1

Men's +92 kg

• Alexis Barrière vs. Davit Chaloyan (Armenia) – Round 2

Women's 50 kg

• Mckenzie Wright vs. Aira Villegas (Philippines) – Round 2

Women's 54 kg

• Scarlett Delgado vs. Anna Svensson (Sweden) – Round 2

Women's 57 kg

• Marie Al-Ahmadieh vs. Olga Papadatou (Greece) – Round 2

Women's 60 kg

• Terris Smith (loss by 4-1 decision) against Lenka Bernadova (Czech Republic) – Round 1

Women's 66 kg

• Sara Kali vs. Kitija Zarberga (Latvia) – Round 2

Two Boxers Already Qualified for Paris

Note that Wyatt Sanford (men's 63.5 kg) and Tammara Thibeault (women's 75 kg) are both already qualified for the Paris Olympic Games, thanks to their respective gold medals at the Pan American Games held from October 19 to 27 in Santiago, Chile.