Wednesday, October 25, 2023.- Beatriz Soares lived up to her status as the favorite and advanced to the semifinals of the Pan American boxing in the 60 kg category. She achieved this by defeating Costa Rican boxer Pamela Sánchez by the referee's decision just 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the first round of the featured bout of the morning at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico.

"I am very happy with this victory and for securing my spot in Paris, where I will go for a medal. I also want to win here. It's teamwork and perseverance," said the athlete from São Paulo.

The day started with a victory for Colombian boxer Angie Valdez over Venezuelan Krisandy Ríos. The Colombian fighter was the first in the lightweight category to secure an Olympic spot.

Ecuadorian María José Palacios also qualified for the Olympic event by defeating the other favorite in the category, Argentine Victoria Saputo, who was the youth Olympic champion in 2018.

The last Olympic spot in the female's category went to American boxer Jajaira González, who defeated Uruguay's Camilia Piñeiro.

In the male's 71 kg weight class, the results in the quarterfinals were as follows: Eduardo Beckford of Panama defeated Jonathan Arboleda of Colombia, Marco Verde of Mexico surpassed Omari Jones of the United States, Junior Peka of Canada won against Christian Palacio of Venezuela, and Juan Gabriel Tenorio of Ecuador eliminated Marcos Mafaud of Argentina.

Written by Esteban Gómez y Nicolás Olea; translated by Pía Barriga / Photosport
Photo: Diego Alvujar / Santiago 2023 via Photosport