Two U.S. women brought home gold medals from the event and the first was newly-crowned 110-pound national champion Cheryl Houlihan (Nashville, Tenn.) Houlihan, a two-time national champion at 106 pounds, proved she could jump successfully to the flyweight division, following up her national title with a Women’s Continental Championships title. Houlihan opened the tournament with a strong victory over Canada’s Michelle Nelson, winning by a 12-4 margin to advance to the championship round. The win moved Houlihan into the championship round where she joined six of her U.S. teammates in final round competition. Houlihan looked to set the tone for her fellow boxers with a 14-9 victory over Argentina’s Veronica Orechhia in Orechhia’s own backyard.

Middleweight (165 lbs) Allana Huggins (Fort Worth, Texas) joined Houlihan at the top of the medal podium with two impressive victories in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Huggins was one of only three boxers to compete on the second day of competition as she took on Mariane Silveira of  Brazil. Huggins recorded a convincing victory over the Brazilian, 14-3, to move on to the championship round. Huggins finished the tournament strongly, pulling out a 12-12 tiebreaker victory over Esther Vasquez on the 51-41 total punch count. 

Light welterweight (138 lbs) Lena Taylor (Orlando, Fla.) recorded the first win of the tournament for Team USA, defeating Argentina’s Silvia Zacarias, 12-3, to advance to championship round competition. Taylor lost a heartbreaking 18-17 decision to Canada’s Katie Dunn to win a silver medal at the major international competition.

2005 U.S. Championships Outstanding Boxer Ashley Barnett (Cleveland, Ohio) was the next U.S. boxer to record a victory in Buenos Aires. Barnett stopped Lachance Gonzales of Puerto Rico, in the second round of their semifinal contest. Barnett then advanced to the lightweight (132 lbs) championship bout, but fell just short in her final round contest, dropping a 17-12 decision to Brazil’s Adrian Arajuo to win a silver medal in her first international competition.

Light bantamweight (114 lbs) Sacred Downing (Trenton, N.J.) was eliminated in her first bout of the competition, losing an 11-5 decision to Natalie Forget of Canada. Bantamweight (119 lbs) Nicole Silveira (Peabody, Mass.) fell short as well, dropping a 13-5 decision to Puerto Rico’s Pineda Lopez Mejia. Two-time welterweight (145 lbs) champion Elizabeth Quevedo (Commerce, Calif.) failed to advance to the championship round action following a close 11-7 loss to Canada’s Mary Spencer. Newly-crowned national champion Melissa Roberts (Manchester, Conn.) lost a close 5-4 contest to Sandra Bizier of Canada in her first international bout. Three U.S. boxers competed in their first bout in championship round action, but all three boxers suffered final round defeats. Pinweight (101 lbs) Chantel Cordova (Pueblo West, Colo.) lost a 21-12 decision to Nancy Fortin of Canada to take home a silver medal. Light middleweight (154 lbs) Tiffany Junot (New Orleans, La.) was stopped on the 15-point rule in the first round of her championship bout with Canada’s Ariana Fortin. Heavyweight (189 lbs) Tanzee Daniel (Queens, N.Y.) lost a tiebreaker to Jacynthe Maloney of Canada, dropping the 8-8 bout on the 33-29 total punch. Light heavyweight Tyler Lord-Wilder (Perry, Mich.) was unopposed at the competition.

Team USA was led by Head Coach Christy Halbert (Nashville, Tenn.) and assistant coach Ray Velez (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Pamala Hodge (Fairfax, Va.) served as Team Manager.