Canadian boxer punches ticket to Paris in Pan American Games

SANTIAGO –

Canadian boxer Tammara Thibeault had a ticket to Paris in hand Thursday at the Pan American Games.

The top two boxers in each weight class qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games, so semifinal victors were awarded white and gold souvenir tickets.

“An actual ticket, so I’m very excited,” Thibeault said. “I’m ready to go home and frame it, so pretty happy about it. It’s just the first step. We still have a lot of work to do before we get to Paris.”

The 26-year-old from Shawinigan, Que., meets Panama’s Atheyna Bylon for Pan Am Games middleweight gold Friday in a rematch of their 2022 world championship final.

The Canadian defeated Citlalli Vanessa Ortiz of Mexico by unanimous decision in Thursday’s semifinal, which returns Thibeault to the Olympic boxing ring for a second time after she reached the quarterfinal round two years ago in Tokyo.

But there’s a Pan American Games title on the table for her to complement Commonwealth Games gold and the world title she won in 2022.

“I still have a fight tomorrow. Enjoy this for a little bit. Recover, rest and then get back on it tomorrow,” Thibeault said.

Her bronze medal at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru was upgraded to silver over a year later because of an opponent’s doping violation. Thibeault feels she’s come a long way since Lima.

“I’ve evolved as an athlete, as a boxer,” she said. “Technically, tactically and also in physical maturity.”

Thibeault was among five Canadians attempting to punch tickets to Paris in Thursday’s semifinals in Santiago, Chile

A sixth, Victoria’s Bryan Colwell, didn’t compete in his. The 33-year-old lost his men’s 92-kg semifinal in a walkover.

He was deemed medically ineligible to compete because of a cut over his right eye sustained in his quarterfinal bout.

“I have put in 15 years to get here. It’s been a long time coming,” Colwell said. “Not the way we wanted it to go down, but I still have two more opportunities to qualify. Puts me in a good position within the program.”

Colwell and Montreal’s Junior Petanqui earned the bronze medals that go to semifinal losers at the Pan Am Games because bronze-medal bouts aren’t contested.

McKenzie Wright of Oakville, Ont., Charlie Cavanaugh of Saint John, N.B. and Wyatt Sanford of Kennetcook, N.S., were scheduled to fight their semifinals later Thursday.

The women’s 57-kg and 60-kg were the only divisions in Santiago in which the top four qualified for Paris. Canadians didn’t advance beyond the quarterfinals.

Thibeault’s entry into her second Olympic Games was more straightforward than her first. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out Tokyo qualifiers, so Thibeault earned her quota spot via her world ranking mere weeks before the opening ceremonies

The six-footer with a long reach has the luxury of time to plan and train for Paris.

 “Some time to rest and recover so can come back fresh in the New Year and be able to give the best of myself for the Games,” she said.

Thibeault doesn’t sit on her corner stool between rounds. Standing up and sitting down feels like a waste of energy for her long levers.

 “I might as well just stay standing right?” she said. “I can stand up for 15 minutes. I do it at the gym, so why change my routine when I get into fight mode?”

Petanqui lost his semifinal to Ecuador’s Jose Rodriguez on points in the men’s 71-kg division. The 25-year-old has other avenues to Paris via qualifying tournaments next year.

“I’m disappointed, but I know I’m going to come back strong that’s for sure,” Petanqui said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.