Jajaira Gonzalez (Glendale, Calif.) secured Team USA’s first victory yesterday at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, defeating Estelle Mossely, the 2016 gold medalist from France.
“I heard the crowd booing me and it motivated me to go in the ring and have fun,” Jajaira Gonzalez stated after her first Olympic victory.
The California native won the first round 3-2 with a scrappy game plan. Gonzalez went after Mossely and secured the opening-round win over the gold medalist.
“I thought she was going to rush in, and so when I saw she was waiting for me to punch, I realized she must have studied me and so I made the adjustment to attack her,” Gonzalez added.
Gonzalez would keep her foot on the gas and win the final round 5-0, securing her a 4-0 victory. She will now advance to the round of 16 and face Beatriz Iasmin Soares Ferreira out of Brazil. The Brazilian boxer is a two-time world lightweight champion (2019, 2023) and 2022 silver medalist. These two lightweights will face off on Monday, July 29, at 2:32 ET.
Roscoe Hill (Spring, Texas) will represent the stars and stripes on Sunday, July 28. Hill will go up against Omid Ahmadisafa, who represents the Refugee Olympic Team, beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Hill qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the second World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. Hill has won two medals in the last two years, including a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in October.
Team USA is being coached by USA Boxing Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), along with National Resident Coach Timothy Nolan (Rochester, N.Y.), as well as National Development Coach Chad Wigle (Colorado Springs, Colo.), along with assistant coaches Adonis Frazier (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Christine Lopez (Rowlett, Texas).
Saturday, July 27 Results
60 kg: Jajaira Gonzalez, Glendale, Calif./USA dec. over Estelle Mossely/ FRA, 4-1
Sunday, July 28 Schedule
5:00 a.m. ET
51 kg: Roscoe Hill, Spring, Texas/USA vs Omid Ahmadisafa/ EOR
