Team USA Advances 5 Boxers to the Victory Cup Finals
Five U.S. boxers will compete for gold in final round action at the Victory Day Tournament in Uman, Ukraine. Nine members of Team USA competed in today’s semifinal action in the junior tournament featuring elite 15 and 16-year-old boxers. The five finalists from the United States are: pinweight Jordan White (Waldorf, Md.), light flyweight Daniel Gonzalez (Moreno Valley, Calif.), light bantamweight Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.), lightweight Keoni Adric (Haleima, Hawaii) and super heavyweight Pano Tiatia (St. George, Utah).
For the second straight day, the United States squad opened the competition with unanimous decision victories. White and Gonzalez both recorded their second straight victories over Ukrainian opponents. White defeated Vladislav Zarachnij to move on to the pinweight finale, and Gonzalez claimed the second spot in the championship round with a win over Nikolaj Bojko.
Stevenson won his second bout of the event as well, taking a 3-0 decision over Ukraine’s Jaroslav Pishek in light bantamweight action to advance to the tournament finals. Adric faced a Polish foe in his semifinal round contest and he punched his ticket for the championship bout with a 3-0 victory over Eric Jermak of Poland.
Tiatia was the final U.S. boxer to take the ring in Ukraine and he certainly left an impression. He stopped home nation boxer Vladimir Komornij in the second round with a body shot to claim the final spot in the finals for his U.S. squad.
Flyweight Evan Sanchez (Fresno, Calif.) dropped a split decision to Ukraine’s Djachenko with bantamweight Devin Haney (Las Vegas, Nev.) losing a 3-0 bout to Andrej Levnichij of Ukraine. After victories in their tournament openers, welterweight Javier Estrada (Palmdale, Calif.) and light middleweight Alexis Rocha (Santa Ana, Calif.) each suffered semifinal losses to Ukraine. Estrada fell to Bogdan Prokopenko with Rocha being defeated by Andrej Masimenko. In middleweight action, Eric Murgia (Mission Hills, Calif.) lost his first bout of the event by a 3-0 margin to Jaroslay Dauko in their semifinal showdown.
Coaches Ed Rivas (Abilene, Texas), Willie Moses (Newark, N.J.) and Omar Sanchez (Parlier, Calif.) are guiding the U.S. squad in Ukraine.
Saturday’s Semifinal Results
101 lbs: Jordan White, Waldorf, Md./USA dec. Vladislav Zarachnij, UKR, 3-0
106 lbs: Daniel Gonzalez, Moreno Valley, Calif./USA dec. Nikolaj Bojko, UKR, 3-0
110 lbs: Djachenko, UKR, dec Evan Sanchez, Fresno, Calif./USA, 2-1
114 lbs: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J./USA dec Jaroslav Pishek, UKR, 3-0
119 lbs: Andrej Levnichij, UKR dec. Devin Haney, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, 3-0
132 lbs: Keoni Adric, Haleima, Hawaii/USA dec. Eric Jermak, POL, 3-0
145 lbs: Bogdan Prokopenko, UKR, dec. Javier Estrada, Palmdale, Calif./USA, 3-0
154 lbs: Andrej Maksimenko, UKR dec. Alexis Rocha, Santa Ana, Calif./USA, 3-0
165 lbs: Jaroslay Dauko, UKR dec. Eric Murgia, Mission Hills, Calif./USA, 3-0
178+ lbs: Pano Tiatia, St. George, Utah/USA stopped Vladimir Komornij, UKR, RSC-2