The American Boxing Confederation's 3rd and final qualifiers for the Panamerican Games will start in Panama City on July 1.
The continent's biggest multi-sport event, the 16th Panamerican Games, have been scheduled in October in Guadalajara, Mexico where women's boxing has also been included on the official program for the first time. At the Panamerican Games boxing event only the best athletes of the continent compete for the medals and as a result the AMBC has had to organize three qualification tournaments for the event.
The first qualification event was held in Cumana, Venezuela in March, the second in Quito, Ecuador at the beginning of May and the last chance for the non-qualified athletes to secure their tickets to Guadalajara will now be at the third and final tournament in the capital city of Panama.
A total of 98 male and 21 female athletes from 25 nations will be competing in the huge tournament: Argentina, Antigua, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, host Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent, United States of America, Uruguay and US Virgin Islands.
The virtuoso Cuban and the developing Ecuadorian male boxing team have already secured the maximum ten qualification places for the Panamerican Games so their athletes can miss the event in Panama, but a relatively high number of US male athletes are still looking to secure a place.
Argentina's WSB boxer and AIBA Youth World Championships quarter-finalist 20-year-old Fernando Martinez is a gold medal contender at the Panamerican Games but has been unable to compete in any qualification tournament so far due to his commitments with the Los Angeles Matadors. He now has a great chance to acquire a gold medal in the flyweight class in Panama City.
The only competitor from Brazil will be Erica Matos in the women's flyweight class because the strong boxing nation already has nine qualification places for Guadalajara. The Canadian women team can miss the tournament but their top male boxers such as Joey Laviolette and Jonathan Savard have to fight for the quotas in Panama as well.
Dominican Republic's AIBA Youth World Championships quarter-finalist Wellington Arias and Panamerican Youth Championships silver medalist heavyweight fighter Manuel De Jesus Marinez are still trying to secure their tickets to Guadalajara after most of their extremely young team excelled in the first two events.
Puerto Rico's team is also very young and includes a number of talented youth boxers. Carlos Ortiz and Panamerican Junior Champion Emmanuel De Jesus may well add to the country's quota places in Panama.
Guatemala has two quota places and its developing boxing world may take a step up if Juan Reyes and Joselito Aguirre can perform in Panama. Barbados's experienced boxers heavyweight CAC Games bronze medalist 27-year-old Anderson Emmanuel and super heavyweight WSB athlete Damien Sealy also have a chance of making the final in Panama.
AIBA Road to Milan member Jhon Nelson Corona of El Salvador, Peru's Golden Belt Youth Tournament winner 18-year-old Cesar Diaz, Virgin Islands super heavyweight boxer Clayton Laurent and the host nation's best athletes will also be fighting for the quota places as medal contenders.
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