Lorenzo Patricio and Lavant Brownlee Advance to Gold Medal Round in Bulgaria

Lorenzo Patricio and Lavant Brownlee headlined day six at the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, for the USA Boxing Elite High Performance Team. The two American standouts secured their positions in Sunday’s gold medal bouts, Patricio in the 55-kilogram division and Brownlee in the 70-kilogram division, with their wins on Saturday. There will be one competition session on Sunday, the final day of tournament contention in Bulgaria.

Patricio went head-to-head with Mongolia’s Bilguunsaikhan Kharkhuu on Saturday in the 55-kilogram semifinals and continued his dominant run in his first elite international tournament. After bursting out to another hot start, winning the first round 5-0, the Hawaiian built steam throughout the remaining two rounds. With an arsenal of speed, agility and an unpredictable style, Patricio closed the show with a unanimous decision victory, punching his ticket to the finals bout of the bantamweight division. Patricio will look to secure the gold medal against Ukraine’s Maksym Zymenko on Sunday, beginning at approximately 10 a.m. ET.

As for Brownlee, the American boxer dominated from start to finish, securing his third unanimous decision victory of the week in the 70-kilogram division. Of his four victories in Bulgaria, the Kentucky native has won three by unanimous decision and one by walkover. On Saturday, Brownlee won every judge’s vote in all three rounds, including one 10-8 score in the second round, and two 10-8 scores in the third round after delivering an 8-count to Brazil’s Kaian Oliveira. Brownlee earned three 30-27 scores, one 30-26 score and one 30-25 score in his semifinal victory.

The United States’ men’s 70-kilogram representative will now advance to the finals, where he will face Kazakhstan’s Farukh Tokhtassunov. Brownlee has shown tremendous potential on the international circuit for the USA over the past year and now stands 7-0 in international competition as a youth and elite competitor.

Team USA also earned five bronze medals on Saturday, with Yoseline Perez, Alyssa Mendoza, Simona Winkler, Naomi Graham and Joseph Awinongya concluding their weeks on day six of the tournament. Perez’s bronze medal continues her streak of earning a medal in each international tournament appearance, beginning in 2025.

As for Winkler and Awinongya, their podium finishes in Bulgaria mark the first elite international medals of their Olympic-style boxing careers. Mendoza’s bronze medal marks the first piece of hardware for her since a gold medal at the 2025 Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic. Graham’s bronze medal is her first of the year, beginning a medal streak for the Team USA women’s 75-kilogram representative.

Sunday’s competition at the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament will be broadcast live on the tournament event page, linked HERE.

Tournament information, including daily bout sheets, results, tournament updates, and more, can be found on the USA Boxing website, where followers can find the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament event page.

Saturday, February 28 | Results:

Women’s 54kg: Yoseline Perez vs. Lauren Mackie, England | L 3-2

Women’s 57kg: Alyssa Mendoza vs. Michaela Walsh, Ireland | L 4-1

Women’s 70kg: Simona Winkler vs. Vivian Dos Santos Pereira, Brazil | L 5-0

Women’s 75kg: Naomi Graham vs. Aziza Zokirova, Uzbekistan | L 4-1

Men’s 55kg: Lorenzo Patricio vs. Bilguunsaikhan Kharkhuu, Mongolia | W 5-0

Men’s 70kg: Lavant Brownlee vs. Kaian Oliveira, Brazil | W 5-0

Men’s 90kg: Joseph Awinongya vs. Turabek Khabibullaev, Uzbekistan | L 5-0

Sunday, March 1 | Schedule:

Men’s 55kg: Lorenzo Patricio vs. Maksym Zymenko, Ukraine | ~10:00 a.m. ET

Men’s 70kg: Lavant Brownlee vs. Farukh Tokhtassunov, Kazakhstan | ~10:30 a.m. ET