(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Flyweight Cheryl Houlihan (Norton, Mass.) and light welterweight Elizabeth Quevedo (Southgate, Calif.) both recorded victories in their bouts on Friday at the 2006 Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Houlihan enjoyed success at the 2005 Continental Championships in Argentina and she continued her winning streak on Friday in her contest with Brazil’s Paula D. Santos.. Houlihan grabbed a 13-10 win over Santos in her first bout of the event to move on in Pan Am competition.
Four-time national champion Elizabeth Quevedo (Southgate, Calif.) took immediate control of her bout with Fernando Caiado of Brazil. Quevedo’s skill and experience pushed her to a stoppage in the early in the first round of boxing to give Quevedo the victory and Team USA its fifth win of the tournament.
Featherweight Ronica Jeffery (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took on 2005 World Championships bronze medalist Sandra Bizier of Canada in her first major international bout. Jeffery put forth an outstanding performance, but fell just short, dropping a 9-8 decision in the contest. Welterweight Lisa Kuronya (Portland, Maine) also faced a tough challenge in her first international bout, battling 2005 World Champion Mary Spencer of Canada. Kuronya suffered a second round stoppage loss due her 15-point deficit. Pinweight Colleen Loo (Mililani, Hawaii) also dropped her first bout of the tournament, losing an 18-2 decision of Yazmin Altragracia Pena of the Dominican Republic.
Saturday will be on an off day before four U.S. boxers take the ring on Sunday. Light bantamweight Sacred Downing (Trenton, N.J.) and lightweight Carrie Barry (Nashville, Tenn.) will compete for the first time on Sunday, facing off with Loren Capecce of Brazil and Ana Chuni of Ecuador respectively. Bantamweight Emily Klinefelter (Iowa City, Iowa) and light middleweight Akima Stocks (South Orange, N.J.) will both box for their second victory on Sunday with Klinefelter facing Adawilky Lopez of the Dominican Republic and Stocks challenging 2005 World Championships silver medalist Arian Fortin of Canada.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).