A Qualification Tournament Without a Ticket to Paris

By Vincent Morin

A total of 11 representatives from Boxing Canada, along with two international boxers based in Quebec, competed in the first World Olympic Qualification Tournament from March 3 to 11 in Busto Arsizio, Italy. Unfortunately, with 602 pugilists vying for a ticket to Paris, the competition was fierce, and no Canadian athletes managed to secure their qualification in Italy.

However, two fighters came very close to earning that coveted qualification.

In the men's +92 kg category, Quebec's Alexis Barrière first defeated the towering Armenian David Chaloyan (decision 4-1), a silver medalist at the 2021 World Championship, before triumphing over the skilled Ecuadorian Gerlon Congo (decision 5-0). Just one fight away from qualification, he was ultimately defeated by the French southpaw Djamili Aboudou Moindze (decision 4-1).

In the women's 54 kg category, Ontario's Scarlett Delgado started the tournament strong with a victory over the experienced Swede Anna Svensson (decision 4-1), followed by a win against Kazakh Zeynab Rahimova (decision 5-0). In her final bout, she narrowly missed her ticket to Paris, losing in extremis to Serbia's Sara Cirkovic (decision 3-2).

Here are the complete results of this first World Qualification Tournament.

Men's 51 kg

• Justin Parina (victory by decision 5-0) over Keymberth Solorzano (Venezuela) – Round 1
• Justin Parina (defeat by decision 5-0) against Yuberjen Martinez (Colombia) – Round 2

Men's 57 kg

• Victor Tremblay (defeat by decision 3-2) against Pedro Manuel Gomes (Angola) – Round 2

Men's 71 kg

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

Men's 80 kg

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

Men's 92 kg

• Bryan Colwell (defeat by decision 5-0) against Soheb Bouafia (France) – Round 1
• Ayoub Maanni – Morocco (defeat by decision 5-0) against Jamar Talley (United States) – Round 2

Men's +92 kg

• Alexis Barrière (victory by decision 4-1) against Davit Chaloyan (Armenia) – Round 2
• Alexis Barrière (victory by decision 5-0) against Gerlon Congo (Ecuador) – Round 3
• Alexis Barrière (defeat by decision 4-1) against Djamili Aboudou Moindze (France) – Quota Fight (final)

Women's 50 kg

• Mckenzie Wright (defeat by decision 3-2) against Aira Villegas (Philippines) – Round 2

Women's 54 kg

• Scarlett Delgado (victory by decision 4-1) against Anna Svensson (Sweden) – Round 2
• Scarlett Delgado (victory by decision 5-0) against Zeynab Rahimova (Kazakhstan) – Round 3
• Scarlett Delgado (defeat by decision 3-2) against Sara Cirkovic (Serbia) – Quota Fight (final)

Women's 57 kg

• Marie Al-Ahmadieh (victory by decision 3-2) against Olga Papadatou (Greece) – Round 2
• Marie Al-Ahmadieh (defeat by decision 5-0) against Jin Hye-Jeung (South Korea) – Round 3

Women's 60 kg

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

Women's 66 kg

• Sara Kali (victory by decision 5-0) against Kitija Zarberga (Latvia) – Round 2
• Sara Kali (defeat by decision 5-0) against Angela Carini (Italy) – Round 3

Two Boxers Already Qualified for Paris

Notably, two athletes from Boxing Canada, Wyatt Sanford (men's 63.5 kg) and Tammara Thibeault (women's 75 kg), have already qualified for the Paris Olympics thanks to their respective gold medals at the Pan American Games, held from October 19 to 27 in Santiago, Chile.

The last-chance tournament for Olympic qualification will take place from May 23 to June 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.