Roscoe Hill (Spring, Texas) picked up his second win in Busto Arsizio, Italy, during the boxing at the 2024 Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament to leave Team USA’s record 6-1 after four days of boxing.
Hill, who faced Trofimus Johannes of Namibia, overcame Johannes’s length and height by using his jab and jabs to the body in the opening round, resulting in a 5-0 lead at the end of the bell.
The American flyweight continued to use his quick movement and right hand in the second round to pick up four of the five judges’ cards and extend his lead. Hill closed out the third round by continuing to use his jab and defensive skills for another 5-0 round and secured the unanimous decision victory.
Hill is now in the Sweet 16, where he will fight Jordan’s Huthaifa Eshish on Sunday.
The other American to compete today, Naomi Graham (Fayetteville, N.C.), fell short to Cindy Ngamba of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Team. The battle of these two 75 kg boxers resulted in a unanimous decision win favoring Ngamba.
Tomorrow will be a busy day for Team USA. Five boxers will take to the ring, including Shera Mae Patricio (Waianae, Hawaii) and Jamar Talley (Camden, N.J.), who will make their tournament debuts. Patricio will face Angel Yris Lopez of Puerto Rico, while Talley will face Ayoub Maanni of Morocco.
Joining Patricio and Talley will be Emilio Garcia (Laredo, Texas), Omari Jones (Orlando, Fla.) and Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell, Idaho), all returning to the ring for their second bouts of the tournament after impressive opening performances.
Eight boxers arrived in Italy representing Team USA, hoping to punch their ticket to this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games under USA Boxing National Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Joining Walsh on the coaching staff are National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.), National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and assistant coaches Adonis Frazier (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).
The tournament is one of the largest Olympic qualifiers in boxing history, with over 600 boxers from 113 nations competing at the E-Work Arena, hoping to grab one of the 49 quota places available for this summer’s Games.
