Saturday, Oct 21st.- One of the sports generating the most excitement among the Chilean audience attending the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 is boxing, taking place at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico de Ñuñoa (CEO).

In an exciting atmosphere on Saturday, one of the most anticipated fights was the one featuring local boxer Kim-berly Sandoval, who made her continental debut against the Venezuelan Tayonis Cedeño in the 50-kilogram category.

The Caribbean boxer capitalized on her greater experience and easily defeated the local fighter. Despite the fervent support of the fans, judges didn't hesitate to award her a clear 5-0 victory.

After her performance, Sandoval stated: “These are my first Pan American Games, and I feel blessed, I feel fortunate to have all these people here supporting me. I felt all the love from the people of Chile."

Kim-berly Sandoval wasn't the only host country representative to enter the ring at the CEO because it was then Héctor Tapia Cerda's turn, who also couldn't celebrate with the Chilean fans as he lost to the Argentinian Nicanor Quiroga with a score of 5-0.

The fight was consistently in favor of the Argentinian representative, who dominated from start to finish and used the final round to launch stronger attacks when the Chilean went all out in search of a knockout that never came.

"I'm representing all the Chilean people; I tried to raise the name of my country high. Perhaps the result wasn't very good, but I gave it my all. I knew I wasn't doing well on the scorecards, so I went all out in the final round, seeking the knockout," Tapia explained after his elimination.

Chile is starting to lose its representatives in boxing, as Julio Álamos, one of the home team's top prospects, had already been eliminated earlier.

Boxing is one of the sports that provides spots for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Carlos Silva Rojas - Leslie Castillo; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport
Photo: Andres Pina / Santiago 2023 villa Photosport