Brijhana Epperson and Christian Paez Highlight Day Two of 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup

USA Boxing’s Youth High Performance Team continued its dominant start to the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, on day two with a pair of stoppages from Brijhana Epperson (women’s 57 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) and Christian Paez (men’s 55 kg | San Antonio, Texas).  The United States has captured wins in four of five bouts to open the tournament, and 16 boxers from Team USA remain in tournament contention.

Epperson kicked it off for the Stars and Stripes on Monday, boxing against Taiwan’s Yu Jun Lin. The Kansas City native came out of the corner hot and took control of the ring, earning five 10-8 scores in the first round. She then ramped up her pace in round two and landed a right hand on Jun Lin at the 1:46 mark in the second round, forcing the ref to stop the contest. Epperson advances to the Round of 16 in the women’s 57-kilogram division, and she will now match up with China’s Mengxue Wu.

Following Epperson, Paez made his international and tournament debut against Jordan’s Motaz Almashale in the Round of 64 in the men’s 55-kilogram division. The Texas native secured his first win of the week and did so in dominant fashion, winning by RSC in the opening round after giving Almashale an 8-count with 1:36 remaining in the opening frame. Sixteen seconds later, he landed an additional flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the contest with 1:10 remaining in the first round. With the win, Paez advances to the Round of 32 and will now face Ecuador’s Erick Aucatoma.

"I feel like it went really well," Paez noted of his international debut on Monday. "I'm shaking off the first-fight jitters, so I'm happy with the performance. I just want to keep going and hopefully bring home the gold for the USA."

Also competing on Monday and making his international debut was David Arrieta (men’s 60 kg | Kansas City, Mo.). The Kansas City native contested three rounds of competitive Olympic-style boxing but lost via unanimous decision to Thailand’s Siwa Chainarong.

Team USA will have five boxers competing on Tuesday, March 10, with three making their international and tournament debuts and two returning for their second bout of the week in Thailand. Ruby Lopez (women’s 51 kg | Napa, Calif.) will get things started for Team USA against South Korea’s Jiwon Hong, followed by Guadalupe Ruiz (women’s 54 kg | Anaheim, Calif.), who will compete against Colombia’s Evelin Trejos. Rounding out Tuesday’s opening session will be Refugio Veloz (men’s 50 kg | Atwater, Calif.), who will look to earn his second win of the event against Botswana’s Lefa Sanzo Dithebe.

In Tuesday’s second session, Ciana Nonhphala (women’s 48 kg | Providence, R.I.) will face the Philippines’ Shairylle Pores, followed by Kaylee Aguilar (women’s 60 kg | Houston, Texas) against Senegal’s Ndèye Fatou Ndao.

The USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team is led by National Development Coach Edward Fonteneaux (Fayetteville, N.C.). Fonteneaux will be assisted throughout the tournament by High Performance Pool coaches, including Holly Gregson (Idaho Falls, Idaho), Jason Hamilton (Spanaway, Wash.), Yessenia Montalvo (Bloomfield, N.J.), and Ronald Wright (Columbus, Ga.).

Additional tournament information for the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup, including daily bout sheets, results, tournament updates, and more, will be uploaded to USA Boxing’s 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup event page.

Monday, March 9 | Results:

Women’s 57kg: Brijhana Epperson vs. Yu Jun Lin, TPE | W RSC (R2)

Men’s 55kg: Christian Paez vs. Motaz Almashale, JOR | W RSC (R1)

Men’s 60kg David Arrieta vs. Siwa Chainarong, THA | L 5-0

Tuesday, March 10 | Schedule:Women’s 51 kg: Ruby Lopez vs. Jiwon Hong, KOR

• Session 1 | Ring B | Blue Corner | Bout 5 | Approximately 1:00 a.m. ET

Women’s 54 kg: Guadalupe Ruiz vs. Evelin Trejos, COL

• Session 1 | Ring A | Red Corner | Bout 12 | Approximately 2:45 a.m. ET

Men’s 50kg: Refugio Veloz vs. Lefa Sanzo Dithebe, BOT

• Session 1 | Ring B | Red Corner | Bout 19 | Approximately 4:30 a.m. ET

Women’s 48 kg Ciana Nonhphala vs. Shairylle Pores, PHI

• Session 2 | Ring A | Red Corner | Bout 8 | Approximately 7:45 a.m. ET

Women’s 60 kg Kaylee Aguilar vs. Ndèye Fatou Ndao, SEN

• Session 2 | Ring A | Blue Corner | Bout 11 | Approximately 8:30 a.m. ET