Youth and Elite Field Dwindling Down; Pee-Wee and Bantam Finals Tomorrow

by USA Boxing

It was another exciting day of boxing at the Shreveport Convention Center, as day six of the 2020 USA Boxing National Championships continued USA Boxing’s return to national competition for the first time since December 2019.


The day began with junior boxers looking to punch their ticket to tomorrow’s quarterfinal bouts and get one step closer to a national title, while boxers in the pee-week and bantam divisions left it all in the ring, as today’s winners advanced to tomorrow’s championship bouts. 



The evening session saw youth and elite male boxers clinch their place in their respective semifinal bouts on Friday, setting up what could be some of the most exciting bouts of the tournament. 



Bouts to watch on Friday from tonight’s winners include both youth 141 pounds semifinal bouts which will see three-time USA Boxing High Performance Team Member Joel Iriarte (Bakersfield, Calif.) versus 2019 National Junior Olympics Champion Joseph Almajdi (Arlington, Texas) in the top half of the bracket, while the bottom half of the bracket has reached the highly anticipated showdown between two 2019 National Junior Open Champions, 



Other youth matchups to look towards to on Friday are 2019 National Junior Open Champion and first seed in the 123-pound division Tyshawn Denson (Akron, Ohio) against fifth-seed Julius Ballo (Santee, Calfi.), as well as , one seeded 132-pounder Emilio Garcia (Laredo, Texas) vs. fifth-seed Leonardo Rubalcava (Jurupa Valley, Calif.).



Anticipated elite semifinal bouts confirmed tonight include two-seed and 2019 Youth National Champion (114 lbs.) Adrian Rodriquez (Glendale, Ariz.) against three-seed Aaron Williams (Phoenix, Ariz.); 2020 Olympic Qualification Team Alternate (178 lbs.) Orville Crooks (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and former USA Boxing National Champion and first time elite boxer Daniel Blancas (Milwaukee, Wis.); Ralph Clemente (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) versus Obed Bartee-El (Harvest, Ala.) in the middleweight division, as well as the bantamweight matchup of Jahmal Harvey (Oxon Hill, Maryland) against Kevin Montano (Sacramento, Calif.) to name a few. 



Boxing will continue tomorrow with another two sessions, beginning at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Watch all the action on our livestream by
clicking here