Team USA Steamrolls to Seven Victories on Day One of Brandenburg Cup

The USA Boxing Youth High Performance team dominated on the first day of the 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The Stars and Stripes cashed in on seven wins throughout the day, setting the tone for the remainder of the week. With three days left in the tournament, the United States has 12 boxers still in contention for gold medals.

Joseph Awinongya (men’s 80 kg | Joliet, Ill.) captured the first win of the day for Team USA with a decisive 5-0 victory over Norway’s Vincent Solberg Odland. Awinongya employed a vicious mix of pace and power to outlast his opponent and advance to the quarterfinals of his bracket. The Joliet, Ill., native was in typical form and dictated the tempo of the bout with his sturdy jab and his devastating right hand. He will now face Germany’s Ahmed Nada on Thursday in session one, ring A. He will return to the ring in bout 10 at approximately 9:15 a.m. ET.

Angel Blancarte (men’s 85 kg | Hutchinson, Kan.) hit the gas early on in the bout and steamrolled his way to a 5-0 decision of his own over Hungary’s Gyula Bozai. Blancarte’s length was evident throughout the bout, forcing his foe to fight from his heels. After securing the win in his tournament debut, Blancarte advances to the semifinals of his weight class and will enjoy a day off before competing again on Friday against Germany’s Henry Seiler.

Lavant Brownlee (65 kg | Louisville, Ky.) claimed the third win of the day for the United States and also did so with a unanimous decision. The southpaw from Louisville, Ky., was on a mission from the opening bell and used a consistent flurry of two-punch combinations to score points over Italy’s Alessandro Bramerini. Brownlee moves on to the quarterfinals and will take on Lithuania’s Nojus Samatauskas in Thursday’s opening session. That matchup is slated for Ring A, bout five, and will begin at approximately 8 a.m. ET.

Jose Vasquez (men’s 70 kg | Dallas, Texas) also stamped a 5-0 win in his tournament opener, closing out a contentious bout over Germany’s Jason-Andre Sovva. Vasquez utilized his aggression and his ability to trade shots to claim the win in front of the home crowd. The Dallas, Texas, product will take on Canada’s Jacob Pagaling in the quarterfinals during Thursday’s second session, beginning at 11 a.m. ET.

Anthony Lona (men’s 75 kg | Kyle, Texas) registered a unanimous decision of his own on Wednesday, and did so over Germany’s Sebestien Culcay Keth. Lona delivered his shots with incredible power throughout the bout and advanced to the quarterfinals of his bracket. The Kyle, Texas, native will take on Hungary’s Brendon Berki Thursday in session two, Ring B, bout five, beginning at noon ET.

Salim Ellis-Bey (men’s 60 kg | Philadelphia, Pa.) utilized his size to consistently invade David Gerstenlauer’s (Italy) defense on the way to yet another 5-0 for Team USA. Ellis-Bey’s speed and aggressive style served him well once again and swayed every judge for the clean victory in his tournament opener. He will now take on Australia’s Jay Jones in Thursday’s second session in Ring A, bout four, starting at approximately 11:45 a.m. ET.

Nnajai Wright (men’s 90+ kg | Richmond, Va.) closed out the day for the United States with a lofty 4-1 win over Romania’s Denis Cucu. Wright’s style proved too much for Cucu, who was unable to answer the Richmond, Va., native’s powerful shots. After earning a victory on day one, Wright will now take on Hungary’s Csaba Bodnar in Thursday’s second session. Ring B is where Wright will return to action for bout 10, beginning at approximately 1:15 p.m. ET.

Laila Zakirova also competed for Team USA on day one of the Brandenburg Cup, but suffered a setback against England’s Ruby White via a 5-0 decision.

In addition to the six athletes returning to action on Thursday, the United States will also see five more athletes make their tournament debuts. Lauryn Elmore (women’s 65 kg | Sacramento, Calif.), Joscelyn Olayo-Munoz (women’s 48 kg | Las Cruces, N.M.), Lorenzo Patricio (men’s 50 kg | Waianae, Hawaii), Landon Patricio (men’s 55 kg | Waianae, Hawaii) and Alexis Tangaro (women’s 54 kg | Waianae, Hawaii) will start their weeks on day two of competition.

Lorenzo Patricio will look to certify why he was crowned a 2024 World Boxing U19 gold medalist, while Elmore, Olayo-Munoz, Landon Patricio and Alexis Tangaro will make their international debuts on Thursday.

A complete schedule of Thursday’s action for Team USA can be found below. Each bout of the 2025 Brandenburg Cup will be broadcast live by the German Boxing Federation. The broadcast has been placed behind a paywall for 12.99 (EUR), which grants access to watch the entire week, and can be accessed HERE.

Team USA is led by head coach Edward Fonteneaux (Fayetteville, N.C.), and assisted by Jason Hamilton (Spanaway, Wash.), Ronald Wright (Columbus, Ga.) and Yessenia Montalvo (Bloomfield, N.J.). To keep up with Team USA’s remaining 12 competitors, follow along on the USA Boxing tournament page, linked HERE.

Thursday, July 31 (All Bout Start Times Listed in ET):

Session 1:

W65 kg | Lauryn Elmore, USA vs. Charlie Bell, AUS | Ring A, 7 a.m.

W48 kg | Joscelyn Olayo-Munoz, USA vs. Eliska Ostra, CZE | Ring B, 7:15 a.m.

M50 kg | Lorenzo Patricio, USA vs. Rida Al-Tamimi, DEN | Ring B, 7:45 a.m.

M65 kg | Lavant Brownlee, USA vs. Nojus Samatauskas, LTU | Ring A, 8 a.m.

M80 kg | Joseph Awinongya, USA vs. Ahmed Nada, GER | Ring A, 9:15 a.m.

M55 kg | Landon Patricio, USA vs. Sasha Mencaroni, ITA | Ring B, 9:30 a.m.

Session 2:

W54 kg | Alexis Tangaro, USA vs. Ruby Cuthbertson, ENG | Ring B, 11 a.m.

M60 kg | Salim Ellis-Bey, USA vs. Jay Jones, AUS | Ring A, 11:45 a.m.

M75 kg | Anthony Lona, USA vs. Brendon Berki, HUN | Ring B, 12 p.m.

M70 kg | Jose Vasquez, USA vs. Jacob Pagaling, CAN | Ring A, 1:15 p.m.

M90+ kg | Nnajai Wright, USA vs. Csaba Bodnar, HUN | Ring B, 1:15 p.m.