Talley falls short in opening bout of 2023 Santiago Pan American Games
by Brian Taylor, USA Boxing
American heavyweight Jamar Talley (Camden, N.J.) fell short in his opening bout of the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games against the two-time Olympic Champion, Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olimpico in Santiago, Chile.
Talley began the first round strong, going to La Cruz’s body to take the 3-2 lead over the six-time World Champion, however, the Cubans experience and impressive defense took over in the second and third rounds to take all five judges’ cards in those rounds to take the unanimous decision victory.
The third day of boxing will see three members of Team USA take to the ring. 2021 Elite World Championship silver medalist and 2022 AMBC Elite Championship champion Roscoe Hill (Spring, Texas) will box in the first session of the day, set to start at 10:00 a.m. ET. He will take on Cuba’s Alejandro Claro Fiz in bout seven.
Flyweight Jennifer Lozano (Laredo, Texas) will begin her Pan American Games in the second session of the day, which begins at 4:00 p.m. ET. Lozano, who won gold at last year’s AMBC Elite Championships, will box Susan Meylin Aguas Chala of Ecuador.
2021 World Champion Robby Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) will close out the day for the Americans. The light heavyweight will have a rematch from last year’s AMBC Elite Championships semifinal bout with Christian Javier Pinales of Dominican Republic. Gonzales took the 4-1 decision last year in Ecuador and will look to take the win tomorrow to advance to the next round of competition in Santiago.
USA Boxing Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is leading Team USA in Santiago, along with National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.), National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and assistant coach Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).
This year’s Pan American Games marks the 19th edition, which includes 174 boxers from 27 different countries taking to the ring in the first qualifier for the Americas to next summers Olympic Games in Paris.
Click here to follow Team USA’s progress in Santiago on USA Boxing’s 2023 Santiago Pan American Games event page, which includes daily schedules, results, livestream updates and more.
Day 2 Results
92 kg: Julio Cesar La Cruz/CUB dec. over Jamar Talley, Camden, N.J./USA, 5-0
Day 3 Schedule
10:00 a.m. ET Session
51 kg: Roscoe Hill, Spring, Texas/USA, vs. Alejandro Claro Fiz/CUB – Bout 7
4:00 p.m. ET Session
50 kg: Jennifer Lozano, Laredo, Texas/USA, vs. Susan Meylin Aguas Chala/ECU – Bout 3
80 kg: Robby Gonzales, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, vs. Christian Javier Pinales/DOM – Bout 8