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Meet the eight Team USA boxers fighting for gold at the 2024 Olympic Games

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The U.S. Olympic boxing team will face the same daunting task it has failed to accomplish at the last four Olympics: winning the men’s gold medal.

Andre Ward is the last American to win Olympic gold, having done so at the 2004 Athens Games. Ward has continued his Hall of Fame career in the pros.

Jahmal Harvey is widely considered the best hope for ending a 20-year Olympic gold medal drought. The 21-year-old featherweight — along with the other four members of the men’s and women’s boxing teams — is in Paris for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday.

“It’s really crucial to me to get the morale back in the U.S.,” Harvey told ESPN. “We haven’t won a gold medal in 20 years, so just to do this and bring all that excitement, bring some attention back to U.S. boxing and just get the teenage kids to see you do it and just work harder and believe in themselves that they can do it.”

“And it’s bigger than me, really. Even if I don’t do it, I’m joyful that I’m part of a team where my other teammates can do it and that I was on that path to push them.”

Before the team left for Paris, undisputed two-division champion Claressa Shields visited the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and gave a motivational speech. Shields knows what to expect: She is the only American boxer to win a gold medal since Ward, and she did it twice (2012 and 2016).

“The best advice I gave them was to get rid of all doubt and believe in yourself 110 percent,” Shields, who competes with Vanessa Joanisse for the heavyweight title in Detroit on Saturday, told ESPN on Wednesday. She also previewed her upcoming biopic, “The Fire Inside,” for the team.

“Believe in your training, believe in your challenging work, believe in your dedication and go out there every fight and put it all on the line,” Shields said. “Fight every fight like it’s a gold medal game. That’s how you win a gold medal.”

Here are eight boxers who will be looking to bring gold to the United States:

Men:

Jahmal Harvey – Featherweight (125 lbs)

Harvey is the first American since 2007 to win gold at the world amateur championships.

His first Olympic match will be July 31 against Brazilian Luiz Gabriel Oliveria. Harvey got into boxing after playing in the same 7-on-7 football league with this year’s No. 1 NFL draft pick Caleb Williams in Maryland. Their youth football coach, Darrell Davis, opened a boxing gym, which led to Harvey trading in his shoulder pads for boxing gloves.

Like three-division champion Terence Crawford, Harvey is an ambidextrous fighter who can box in both the orthodox and left-handed stances.


Joshua Edwards – Super Heavyweight (over 203 pounds)

Edwards, 24, is the first super heavyweight Olympian from Houston since George Foreman, who won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Edwards will often be the smaller man in the middle of the ropes in Paris. In March 2023, he lost a decision to 2020 gold medalist, Uzbek professional boxer Bakhodir Jalolov (one of several professional boxers competing in the Paris Olympics). Edwards rebounded two months later with a decision win over Englishman Delicious Orie, one of the gold-medal favorites.

Edwards won the gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games. His first Olympic match will be on July 29 against Italian Diego Lenzi. Tyrell Biggs is the last American super heavyweight to win an Olympic gold medal (1984).


Omari Jones – welterweight (156 lbs)

Jones, 21, of Orlando, Fla., is an avid golfer who took up boxing at age 8 after switching from karate. He is also currently enrolled in the business program at Valencia College.

Jones won gold at the 2023 Gee Bee International Tournament and the 2023 Czech Grand Prix. Team USA coach Billy Walsh calls Jones “a very polished and classy boxer.”


Roscoe Hill – Flyweight (112 lbs)

Hill, 29, the oldest member of the eight-man team, began boxing at Foreman’s gym in Houston. Hill’s father was a boxer who trained with Foreman under Hall of Famer Archie Moore.

“I saw these things [Foreman] what he was doing around us in the gym and how he was helping the younger children, Hill told the official website of the Olympic Games“And I thought, ‘I want to do what George Foreman does.’”

Hill won a silver medal at the 2021 AIBA World Championships.


Women:

Jennifer Lozano – Flyweight (110 lbs)

“La Traviesa” is the first female Olympic boxer from Laredo, Texas. She started boxing to develop self-defense against bullying. Lozano, 21, split her formative years between Texas and Mexico.

Walsh called Lozano “a fighter … who has a lot of heart and strength.” She qualified for the Olympics after finishing second at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.


Morelle McCane – Welterweight (146 lbs)

McCane, 29, is the first female Olympic boxer from Cleveland. She was an alternate at the 2021 Olympics.

After her first amateur boxing match, McCane’s brother died, causing her to take a break from the ring. She has two National Golden Gloves gold medals.


Jajaira Gonzalez – Lightweight (132 lbs)

After finishing second in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers, Gonzalez, 27, of Montclair, California, took a three-year break from boxing to focus on her mental health. She returned in 2021 and qualified for the Olympics after finishing third in the 2023 Pan American Games.

Gonzalez is the younger sister of professional featherweight boxer Joet Gonzalez, who has fought for the world title three times, most recently in September against Luis Alberto Lopez.

Walsh called Gonzalez “the engine of the team.”


Alyssa Mendoza – Featherweight (125 lbs)

Mendoza, 20, of Caldwell, Idaho, is the youngest member of Team USA. Trained by her father, JR, who runs a boxing gym in Idaho, Mendoza began training at age 12 and has a goal of putting Idaho on the boxing map.

Mendoza is left-handed and has the nickname “The Wrecking Machine.” She has 38 wins in 49 recorded amateur fights.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Boxing

Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Boxing

Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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