Guyana’s last hope of punching a ticket to the London Olympic Games, lightweight boxer Stefan Gouveia, lost to the rampant 21-year-old Colombian Eduar Marriaga 25-nine when the pair matched gloves in their quarterfinal bout at the Olympic qualifier box off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Wednesday.
Gouveia who had booked a place in the quarterfinals by defeating Teofilo Jeronimo of Honduras 16-seven would have clinched an Olympic berth by defeating Marriaga but the Colombian was too much for the local pugilist.
Gouveia’s defeat comes on the heels of losses by the other two boxers of the three-man team Imran ‘Magic’ Khan (bantamweight) and Bert Braithwaite (junior welterweight). The joint Junior Sportsman-of-the-Year and Bolivarian Alternative Games (ALBA) bronze medalist Khan was overwhelmed by Argentina’s South American Games silver medalist Alberto Melian in his first bout, while Braithwaite lost by referee stops contest (RSC) in round two of his bout with St Lucian Marcellin Lyndel.
Khan, 19, was diagnosed with a virus before his fight which caused him to seek medical attention.
Melian, 22, booked his place in the semifinal and London after he defeated Puerto Rico’s 21-year-old Alberto Machado in the quarter-final bout 17-eight.
Calls to president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) Steve Ninvalle for a comment proved futile.
The boxing competition which is organized by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) is being held from May 4 to 13.
It was the last opportunity for boxers in this region (the Americas) to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The event is taking place at the ‘Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where ten weight categories will offer a total of 38 quota places for the Olympic Games.
The boxers along with manager/coach Terrence Poole will return to Guyana next Tuesday.
