(MAR 20) BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
-The day that Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.) has been
working toward for the past six years finally came on Saturday
at the Americas Qualifier in Buenos Aires. The American
lightweight clinched her berth in the 2016 Olympic Games with a
gold medal victory in Argentina. She was one of four victories
on an undefeated day for the United States. Bantamweight Shakur
Stevenson (Newark, N.J.) and Olympic champion Claressa Shields
(Flint, Mich.) both joined Mayer atop the medal stand with
victories in their gold medal bouts and flyweight Virginia Fuchs
(Kemah, Texas) earned a win in her consolation match.
Mayer entered the Americas
Qualifier with a renewed intensity and focus and it was clear in
all four of her bouts. She had a difficult bracket to navigate
with Pan American Games champion Caroline Veyre of Canada and
former conqueror Kiria Tapia of Puerto Rico standing in the way
of her Olympic dream. Yet Mayer wasn't deterred by any of the
obstacles and she approached the tournament final and qualifying
bout with Mexico's Victoria Torres in the same manner. Mayer
entered the bout with confidence after defeating Torres last
month on a World Series of Boxing card and she came out firing
in the defining bout. She connected with a straight shot in the
opening seconds and everything flowed from there. Mayer
controlled the bout, landing clean punches without allowing
Torres to connect with shots of her own. She racked up rounds
one through three and went out in the final round to lock down
the victory. Torres came out swinging in the final round but
Mayer used her aggression against her, catching her with
straight punches as she came in. At the end of the four rounds,
Mayer heard her name announced as the gold medal champion and
2016 Olympian.
"I just can't believe that after
all these years and steps that this was the final step and now
it's over. I'm going. It's surreal really because there's always
been another step that I have to focus on. Nothing ever really
seemed to end because if you don't focus on the next step, you
miss your opportunity so I had to stay focused on what was next.
Now, next is the Olympics," Mayer said. "It's a crazy feeling. I
knew I had it (going in to the last round) because I was landing
the cleaner shots. Everything I've done has led up to this
moment. I used a little bit of all my knowledge. Everything
built up to this moment. I peaked at the right time. Billy
(Walsh) helped me so much in the last five months, getting
together the punches that I do best and making me confident in
those basic punches. The thing he said going in to this was
'intensify and simplify' and that really stuck with me. The
other thing that he said was 'care so much that you don't care'
and that takes the pressure off and reminds you to just go in
there and do what you do best."
Two boxers accustomed to hearing
the national anthem played in their honor competed following
Mayer's big win. 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields
(Flint, Mich.) took the ring with an additional edge following a
late wardrobe change but she channeled her intensity in the ring
in her bout with Canada's Ariane Fortin-Brochu. She began to
settle in to the bout in the second round, firing off her
prototypical power shots and landing fast combinations. The pace
slowed a bit in the final round but Shields finished out the
tournament with another unanimous decision victory to win gold
in the Americas Qualifier.
"I feel like the stuff that happened before the ring (with her
uniform) kind of affected me in the first round. I didn't start
out the way I wanted to, using my jab. I wanted to go out there
and use my power," Shields said. "I feel good now. I'm glad that
it's done with and I can look forward to the World
Championships. I'll have tougher and taller opponents so I look
forward to that."
As a two-time Olympian, Shields looked to provide guidance and
advice to all of her teammates through the tournament and
preparation. "We don't usually fight with the men. So this
qualifier, I tried to give them as much advice as I could. Keep
it short and sweet. I was able to get other people mentally
together and keep myself mentally together so I will take that
in to the World Championships," Shields said.
Former junior and youth world champion and Youth Olympic Games
gold medalist Stevenson closed the tournament for Team USA and
he made sure to make his Americas Qualifier finale a memorable
one. Stevenson faced host nation boxer Ezequiel Alberto Melian
of Argentina in the bantamweight championship bout as the loud
Argentine crowd attempted to cheer on their boxer. Boxing on
hostile ground is nothing new to the 18-year-old and he went
right to work in the final bout of the early session. Showcasing
his newfound power, Stevenson landed numerous single shots,
snapping Melian's head back with long, straight punches and
unleashing hooks. A cut over Melian's eye opened during the bout
and Stevenson showed no mercy in going after it. The barrage
continued across all three rounds before Stevenson was named the
victor and Americas Qualifier champion by unanimous decision.
The final round victory moved Stevenson's undefeated
international record to 23-0.
"I feel great, I'm happy I got my spot most of all and I like
the way I finished. I didn't have a set game plan for this
fight. My game plan was to have fun because I already qualified
so this fight was almost like sparring, like I'm in the gym,"
Stevenson said. "The increase in power is coming naturally
because I'm getting older I guess. I used to box like a junior,
now I'm starting to get older and I'm starting to pick up on my
strength. I'm starting to actually hurt people when I hit them
so it's great."
Fuchs kicked off the day's action in her consolation bout with
Brazli's Grazieli Jesus De Sousa. Fuchs looked to bounce back
from a difficult loss in her semifinal bout and she accomplished
that mission. Fuchs fired her guns early and often in the four
round match, peppering De Sousa and evading shots fired back
across the bow. She continued her strong boxing throughout all
four rounds and fully lowered anchor in the final two minutes to
win a strong, unanimous decision and conclude the Americas
Qualifier with a victory. While Fuchs did not qualify for the
Olympic Games in Argentina, she can clinch a berth if either of
the two qualified athletes from the Americas in the flyweight
division (Canada's Mandy Bujold and Colombia's Victoria Ingrit
Lorena Valencia) or Fuchs finish in the top four at the World
Championships in May in Kazakhstan.
"It felt good to get my composure back and get back to class.
Class never dies. Technique can kind of fall out then and there
in fights sometimes but class never dies so my world class
talent came back. My mindset was a little different (today). I
was a little calmer and focused on the fight and not the win so
I think that's the main difference," Fuchs said. "Going back to
my jab, I kept throwing it and kept it in her face to keep her
distracted. I got back to my boxing more instead of just coming
forward like I did last fight. I learned how to more control my
mindset going in to big tournaments like this and not focusing
on the future but focusing on the moment in front of me."
The United States team won nine medals at the Americas Qualifier
in Buenos Aires, taking four gold, one silver and four bronze as
well as clinching five Olympic berths. Five American boxers
qualified Olympic berths in Argentina - light flyweight Nico
Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas), bantamweight Shakur Stevenson
(Newark, N.J.), lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.),
and middleweights Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) and Charles
Conwell (Cleveland, Ohio). The non-qualified American men will
have two more opportunities to confirm their Olympic berths at
world events in June.
USA Boxing Women's National Team Head Coach Billy Walsh
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) and coaches Joe Guzman (Colorado
Springs, Colo.), Kay Koroma (Burke, Va.), Benny Roman (Brooklyn,
N.Y.) and Augie Sanchez (Las Vegas, Nev.) led the American team
in Argentina.
U.S. Results
112 lbs/female: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas/USA dec. Grazieli
Jesus De Sousa, BRA, 3-0
123 lbs/male: Shakur Stevenson, Newark, N.J./USA dec. Ezequiel
Alberto Melian, ARG, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif./USA dec.
Victoria Torres, MEX, 3-0
165 lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA dec. Arianne
Fortin-Brochu, CAN, 3-0
