Two Jamaican boxers qualify for PanAm Games
Two Jamaican boxers, Superheavyweight Ricardo Brown and lightweight Shiloh Defreitas, have qualified for the Pan American Games which take place in Lima, Peru, from July 2 to August 11.
They did so at the qualifying tournament that was held in Managua, Nicaragua, recently.
Manager of the four-man team Leroy Brown said the team did well, but he was disappointed that welterweight boxer Joshua Frazer did not make the cut despite an excellent performance. Frazer won his bouts against Abraham Mora from Costa Rica, then won against Carl Hield of The Bahamas.
He lost the third, however, to the eventual silver medal winner Gabriel Maestre from Venezuela. He finished in the number eight position and would normally have qualified, but due to host country Peru having been given a free pick in that division, he was bumped out of the qualification spot.
Lightweight Defreitas, who boxes out of England, won his first bout against Yonathan Contreras from Guatemala but lost to former Colombian professional boxer Jonathan Romero in the next round. He, however, finished in the final eight.
Brown received a bye into the quarter-finals and then lost to American Richard Torrez, who could not participate further in the competition because of cuts. Torrez won the bronze medal and also qualified.
Jamaica’s other boxer Ian Darby lost his first bout against Mexican Rogelio Romero, and did not qualify.