Guyana’s Desmond Amsterdam will have the opportunity to clinch gold for Guyana, while his countryman Keevin Allicock has had to settle for silver at the ongoing American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Youth, Junior Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships being hosted in Cali, Colombia.
The Guyanese duo of Amsterdam and Allicock began their campaigns in the Round of 16 of the Light Heavyweight class (75-80kg) and Quarterfinals of the Featherweight class (54-57kg) respectively over the weekend. On Saturday, Keevin Allicock got his first win against Juan Reyes Donis of Guatemala to advance to the semifinals, while Amsterdam defeated Eliezer Omar Brito Caraballo of Puerto Rico in his Round of 16 bout.
Desmond Amsterdam in action
In the Light Heavy quarterfinals, Amsterdam overpowered Haiti’s Cedrick Belony-Duliepre on account of points. The Judges’ scorecards read 29:27, 29:27, 29:27, 28:28 and 28:28, with Amsterdam earning passage to the semifinal round.
On account of qualifying for the semifinals, both Amsterdam and Allicock have secured their tickets to the Pan American Games 2023, set for October 20th to November 5th in Chile.
Keevin Allicock
On Monday night, both boxers geared up for their semifinal bouts, but fortunes for the Guyanese duo were mixed. Allicock took on Puerto Rico’s Caleb Josue Pagan in the Featherweight semifinal, but lost on points, 29:28, 28:29, 29:28, 29:28 and 29:28. On the other hand, Amsterdam gained a walk over into the final, instead of having to trade punches with Trujillo Barillas Wyatt Denzel of Guatemala in the Light Heavyweight semifinal.
As such, Amsterdam will be tasked with defeating Gustiniano Abel Mina Caicedo of Ecuador in order to clinch the continental gold medal. That fight will take place tonight.
