Team USA went undefeated on the opening day of the Olympic World Qualifier in Busto Arsizio, Italy. Roscoe Hill (Spring, Texas) and Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell, Idaho) set the tone early for the stars and stripes as they both move on and are one step closer to their Olympic dreams.
Hill’s quickness and power were too much for Daniyar Rozmetov of Turkmenistan, as he was given a 10-8 score by four of the five judges throughout the bout and won unanimously. Hill’s bob and weaving and his unique boxing style helped him avoid the majority of Rozmetov’s punches, allowing him to dominate all three rounds as he secured three 30-26 scores and a 30-24 as well, implying that the judge scored every round a 10-8 in favor of the American. Hill will now face Trofimus Johannes from Namibia on Wednesday.
Later in the evening, Team USA featherweight Mendoza defeated Mexico’s 2018 Youth Olympic Games silver medalist, Jennifer Carrillo. Mendoza went on to win on an RSC in round one after giving Carrillo three 8-counts in the first round. The 20-year-old American came out of the corner confident and made sure to not leave it up to the judges. She landed multiple powerful right hooks on the Mexican, including one in the first minute, leading to her first 8-count. Mendoza will now advance and face Japan’s Satsuki Yoshizawa on Thursday.
“Today’s performances by Roscoe and Alyssa were top class,” stated USA Boxing Head Coach Billy Walsh. “This was a true testament to them and all of their teammates’ preparation for these qualifiers.”
Day two for Team USA will consist of only one boxer as 2021 World Champion Robby Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) will look to grab USA’s third consecutive victory of the tournament against the 2020 Olympian, Eldric Sella, from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Team. He will be the last bout of the first session, which begins at 5:00 a.m. ET, as he looks to continue the American’s early domination in this Olympic World Qualifier.
Team USA is being represented by eight boxers in Italy, with hopes of punching their ticket to this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The team is being guided by Walsh, along with National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.), as well as National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.) along with assistant coaches Adonis Frazier (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).
Over 600 boxers from 113 different nations are competing in the tournament with hopes of grabbing one of the 49 quota places available for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
