Strong Start At 2025 World Boxing Championships for USA

Team USA Boxing is enjoying a successful run at the 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, with a strong showing through the first three days of the event.

Seven men and seven women traveled to the UK. Nine athletes remain in contention for titles inside M&S Bank Arena.

All bouts can be watched live online at www.worldboxing.org

Follow Team USA Boxing’s activities in Liverpool and all amateur boxing events on the USA Boxing website.

Naomi Graham throws a jab in her opening round debut at the 2025 World Boxing Championships. Photo: Jacob Hammond, USA Boxing

Naomi Graham successfully started her tournament in the women’s 75-kilogram bracket, while Jajaira Gonzalez of Glendora, California, defeated her opponent in the women’s 60-kilogram division.

Graham dominated in her tournament debut against Dunia Martinez Mas of Spain and won by unanimous decision. The USA’s middleweight competitor found success early and doled out plenty of punishment to the Spaniard. Graham was especially effective with her head movement. Graham’s 5-0 victory advances her into the quarterfinals.

Gonzalez, a 2024 Paris Olympian, fought out of an early deficit to win. Trailing 4-1 after the opening round, Gonzalez intensified her attack over the final six minutes, unleashing a flurry of punches against Slovakia’s Miroslava Jedinakova. Needing to influence the judges after round one, Gonzalez relentlessly pressured her opponent and clinched a 4-0 victory. She now moves to the round of 16.

Heavyweight Kelvin Watts stares down his opponent in his first-round matchup at the 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England. Photo: Jacob Hammond, USA Boxing

Super heavyweight Kelvin Watts of Chesapeake, Virginia, got his first round victory with a 4-1 win over Lithuania’s Algirdas Baniulis.

Watts got off to a strong start, demonstrating his power, outmuscling his opponent to give himself space and control the ring, winning four judges with 10-9 scores after the opening three minutes. Despite suffering a point deduction in round two, he maintained his composure and found his footing again in the third round with 10-9 scores across the board to earn a statement victory in his tournament opener.

Day Four Action Ahead in Liverpool at the 2025 World Boxing Championships

Coming up on day four on Sunday, Team USA will see four athletes in action. Two will make their tournament debuts.

Flyweight Orlando Zamora (55 kilograms) takes on Bulgaria’s 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Javier Ibanez Diaz. Diaz has a colorful resume for Bulgaria and is a 2023 European Games gold medalist. Zamora has momentum heading into the matchup after claiming his first international victory earlier this week.

Lightweight Rene Camacho faces Patris Mughalzai of England in the 65-kilogram division in his second round bout. Camacho earned his first win of the tournament on day one with a 3-2 comeback win over Croatia.

Robby Gonzales will also step into the ring during session one for his tournament opener against Cuba’s Jorge Soto Napoles. Gonzales is a 2021 World Champion and will begin his bid for another world title in the light heavyweight (80-kilogram) division.

Lightweight Isabella Winkler (70 kilograms) makes her international debut against Sema Caliskan of Turkey. Caliskan is a two-time world championships bronze medalist and has earned three medals at the European Games, two silver and one bronze.

Team USA Boxing Competitors Exit Competition After First Round Efforts

Alyssa Mendoza of Caldwell, Idaho and Morelle McCane of Cleveland, Ohio lost their opening bouts.

Jennifer Lozano, Carlos Flowers, and Ramon Ordonez also represented the Stars and Stripes. Despite valiant efforts, each suffered a defeat, ending their tournament runs.

Lozano lost 5-0 to India’s two-time world champion and Paris 2024 Olympian Nikhat Zareen. Flowers fell 5-0 to Jordan’s Zeyad Eashash in the opening session. Ordonez was outboxed by Brazil’s Luiz Gabriel Oliveira, a 2023 Pan American Games bronze medalist and Paris 2024 Olympian.