World Olympic Qualifying Event competition concluded on Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan. The United States’ squad qualified two boxers in the event – flyweight Antonio Vargas (Kissimmee, Fla.) and light welterweight Gary Russell (Capitol Heights, Md.). Super heavyweight Marlo Moore (Hayward, Calif.) won a bronze medal in the event but needed a first place finish to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. The United States’ three medal performance put the U.S. squad in third place in the overall standings by country.
Vargas won a silver medal in the international competition at the Sarhadchi Arena and was the only American boxer to take the ring on the final day of action. He fell to Bulgaria’s Daniel Panev Asenov in their flyweight finale and will now focus his preparations on the 2016 Olympic Games. The Pan American Games champion will look to duplicate his gold medal performance from the multi-sport event last summer when he steps in to the ring in Rio.
Moore took on Italy’s Guido Vianello in super heavyweight semifinal competition on Friday in Baku. He dropped a 3-0 decision to his more experienced opponent who went on to win gold in the tournament. As Moore does not have the minimum number of World Series of Boxing bouts to be eligible for the final qualifying tournament, he will not compete in the last event in Venezuela.
Russell did not box in the semifinal round on Friday and will now gear up for the Olympic Games upon his return home to the United States.
Welterweight Paul Kroll (Philadelphia, Pa.), light heavyweight Jonathan Esquivel (Anaheim, Calif.) and heavyweight Cam F. Awesome (Lenexa, Kansas) will all vie for Olympic berths in the final qualifying event in Vargas, Venezuela, July 3-8. The three athletes and members of the USA Boxing coaching and support staff will travel from Baku to Houston and then south to Venezuela for the event.
With the addition of Vargas and Russell, the United States currently has eight boxers qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games. Vargas and Russell join male light flyweight Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas), male bantamweight Shakur Stevenson (Newark, N.J.), female lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.), male lightweight Carlos Balderas (Santa Maria, Calif.), female middleweight Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.), and male middleweight Charles Conwell (Cleveland, Ohio) who previously qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games.
U.S. Results
Saturday’s Finals
114 lbs/52 kg: Daniel Panev Asenov, BUL, dec. Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla./USA, 3-0
Friday’s Semifinals
114 lbs/52 kg: Antonio Vargas, Kissimmee, Fla./USA dec. Enkh-Amar Kharkhuu, MGL, 3-0
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Guido Vianello, ITA,dec. Marlo Moore, Hayward, Calif./USA, 3-0
