Joshua Ofori of Edmonton struck gold over the weekend at the World Boxing Challenge Cup, with a 5-0 decision over Italy’s Rotani Guidi in the men’s 75-kilogram division in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Ofori, a member of the Marshall Boxing Club, helped Canada capture five medals at the new level of competition created by World Boxing.
In the women’s 60 kg division, Marie Al-Ahmedieh of Montreal claimed silver, advancing to the final with strong performances before falling to Brazil’s Rebeca Santos in a 5-0 decision.
Victoria Penney of Toronto’s Sully’s Boxing Gym, also collected silver in the women’s 80 kg division, losing by a narrow 3-2 decision to Mexico’s Citlalli Vanessa Ortiz.
Quebec’s Nickenson Denis of The Corner Boxing Club, reached the final bout in the men’s 80 kg category but came up just short in a 3-2 decision against Hungary’s Pylyp Akhilov, earning the silver medal.
Canada also secured a bronze medal during Friday’s semifinals with Ontario’s McKenzie Wright of Fight Night Boxing Club losing a 3-2 decision to eventual gold medallist Phil Kaivo-Oja of Finland in the women’s 50 kg division.
“The performances of the entire team were solid. There are always things to work on and we go into a training phase before the [June 30-July 6] World Cup in [Astana, Kazakhstan] where we can make some tactical and technical changes,” said Canada head coach Vincent Auclair.
