(MAY 7) A team of teenage female
athletes set a winning tone for their fellow USA Boxing National
Team Members with five international victories and the
Outstanding Boxer award at the Pirkka Tournament on Saturday in
Tampere, Finland. The tournament was the first of four
international competitions in the next few weeks for USA Boxing
with the junior male, elite women and elite men preparing for
their own battles with international foes in Ukraine, Venezuela
and Puerto Rico respectively.
Fifteen-year-old pinweight Caitlin Orosco (Anaheim, Calif.) not
only won a gold medal in her first international event, but also
claimed the Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament award with her
stellar performance in Finland. Orosco won a unanimous decision
over Jasmiina Tuomilaakso of Finland in their pinweight
showdown. Featherweight Jajaira Gonzalez (Glendora, Calif.) won
her gold medal with a first round stoppage victory over
Finland’s Kia Konttinen. In flyweight action, Nysja Barrientes
(Las Vegas, Nev.) gave home nation boxer Pinja Paasimaa of
Finland a standing eight count en route to a unanimous decision
win. Bantamweight Jessica Galvez (Sparks, Nev.) threw nearly 100
punches per round in her contest with Finland’s Dorins Marins to
win the third bout of the tournament for Team USA by a 5-0
margin. Lightweight Iesha Kenney (Alexandria, Va.) took the
final victory of the event for her United States squad, winning
a unanimous decision over Elizabeth Dillion of England. Light
bantamweight Ashley Perez (Sparks, Nev.) suffered the lone loss
for Team USA, dropping a 5-0 decision to England’s Emma Dolan.
Coach Mike Newson, Jr. (Las Vegas, Nev.) led Team USA into
action with Dr. Ted Mills (Glen Cove, N.Y.) serving as the Team
Physician.
All of the athletes representing Team USA in international
action took part in a preparatory training camp at the Olympic
Training Center in Colorado Springs with USA Boxing
International Teaching Coach Pedro Roque prior to competition.
The junior and elite men concluded camp today and the elite
women will remain in Colorado Springs through Sunday.
The junior males will look to duplicate the outstanding results
of their female counterparts at the Victory Tournament, May
9-12, in Uman, Ukraine. The 13-athlete squad of 15 and
16-year-old boxers all earned their spots in the team at the
Junior World Team Open in January.
In the elite division, both the male and female athletes will
remain on this continent for their international competitions.
On Sunday, the elite females will travel to Barcelona, Venezuela
for the Women’s Continental Championships, May 15-20. The squad
will look to duplicate their fantastic results from 2012 when
Team USA claimed six gold medals in the event.
The elite men returned home today following a three-week
training camp at the Olympic Training Center and they will
reconvene in Puerto Rico on May 19 for two competitions. 2012
World Champion Tiara Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.) will join the 10
men in Puerto Rico for the event. The 11-athlete team will
compete in the Cheo Aponte Tournament followed by the Olympic
Cup, May 28-June 6 in their first international competition
after the 2013 USA Boxing National Championships. The elite
men’s and women’s boxers all claimed their berths on the U.S.
National Team at the 2013 USA Boxing National Championships.
The full rosters for each event can be found below and results
will be disseminated following each competition.
Pirkka Tournament Results
101 lbs: Caitlin Orosco, Anaheim, Calif./USA dec. Jasmiina
Tuamilaakso, FIN, 5-0
110 lbs: Nysja Barrientes, Las Vegas, Nev./USA dec. Pinja
Paasimaa, FIN, 5-0
114 lbs: Emma Dolan, ENG, dec. Ashley Perez, Sparks, Nev./USA,
5-0
119 lbs: Jessica Galvez, Sparks, Nev./USA dec. Dorins Marins,
FIN, 5-0
125 lbs: Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif./USA stopped Kia
Konttinen, FIN, RSC-1
132 lbs: Iesha Kenney, Alexandria, Va./USA dec. Elizabeth
Dillion, ENG, 5-0
International Team Rosters
Victory Day Tournament, Junior Boys
101 lbs: Jordan White, Waldorf, Md.
106 lbs: Daniel Gonzalez, Moreno Valley, Calif.
110 lbs: Evan Sanchez, Fresno, Calif.
114 lbs: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J.
119 lbs: Devin Haney, Las Vegas, Nev.
125 lbs: Michael Nelson, Mansfield, Ohio
132 lbs: Keoni Adric, Jr., Haleima, Hawaii
138 lbs: Brandon Trejo, Napa, Calif.)
145 lbs: Javier Estrada, Palmdale, Calif.
154 lbs: Alexis Rocha, Santa Ana, Calif.
165 lbs: Eric Murguia, Mission Hills, Calif.
178 lbs: Suray Mahmutovic, Daly City, Calif.
178+ lbs: Pano Tiatia, St. George, Utah
Coach: Ed Rivas, Abilene, Texas
Coach: Willie Moses, Newark, N.Y.
Coach: Omar Sanchez, Parlier, Calif.
Women’s Continental Championships, Elite Women
106 lbs: Elisha Halstead, Philadelphia, Pa.
112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas
119 lbs; Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y.
125 lbs: Jennifer Hamann, Seattle, Wash.
132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash.
141 lbs: Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y.
152 lbs: Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif.
165 lbs: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md.
178 lbs: Tiffanie Hearn, Oxnard, Calif.
178+ lbs: Denise Rico, Los Angeles, Calif.
Coach: Israel Acosta, Milwaukee, Wis.
Coach: Benny Roman, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Coach: Eugene Hart, Philadelphia, Pa.
Cheo Aponte Tournament/Olympic Cup, Elite Men
106 lbs: Leroy Davila, New Brunswick, N.J.
114 lbs: Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill.
123 lbs: Eduardo Martinez, Aurora, Ill.
132 lbs: Kenneth Sims, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
132 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Fort Myers, Fla.
141 lbs: Jose Alday, Odessa, Texas
152 lbs: Jamontay Clark, Cincinnati, Ohio
165 lbs: Leshawn Rodriquez, Shirley, N.Y.
178 lbs: Geremias Torres, Holyoke, Mass.
201 lbs: Michael Hilton, Trenton, N.J.
201+ lbs: Cam F. Awesome, Kansas City, Kansas
Coach: Pedro Roque, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coach: Kevin Benford, Cincinnati, Ohio
Coach: Steve Rivera, Somerset, N.J.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style
boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the
International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of
the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).