Queen Underwood and Tika Hemingway Win Gold at the 2009 Women’s Continental Championships in Ecuador
Julie Goldsticker - USA Boxing October 10, 2009
Photo: USA Boxing
Two United States boxers won gold medals on Thursday at the 2009 Women's Continental Championships at the Abel Jimenez Parra Coliseum in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Light welterweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) recorded her second straight dominating victory of the tournament, winning an 18-2 decision over Canada's Stephany Walker while light heavyweight Tika Hemingway(Pittsburgh, Pa.) won a 5-2 victory over Canada's Melinda Watpoole.
In addition to the two gold medals, light flyweight Laura Ramirez (Bronx, N.Y.), lightweight Patricia Manuel (Gardena, Calif.), and welterweight Andrecia Wasson(Center Line, Mich.) won silver medals by advancing to final round action.
Once again, Underwood dominated from the opening bell of her bout, taking a strong 8-1 lead after two rounds of action. She continued to control the contest in the second half of the bout, holding Walker to only two scoring blows and landing seven of her own in the final round to win the 18-2 victory and a gold medal.
Hemingway faced off in a closer contest with her Canadian opponent as the two battled in a low-scoring affair. After a scoreless first round, Hemingway enjoyed a slim 2-1 advantage at the midway mark in the bout. She continued to build slowly on her lead, holding a three-point edge as the bout moved into the final round. Hemingway maintained her lead over the final two minutes to win a 5-2 final decision.
The United States' three silver medalists suffered difficult losses to women's boxing powerhouse, Brazil. Ramirez dropped a 15-2 decision to Brazil's Erika Mattos in the light flyweight championship contest, struggling to score against the Brazilian. After two strong wins earlier in the tournament, Manuel dropped a tough 28-7 decision to Brazil's Adrianna Arallio. Wasson lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Brazil's Andrea Bandera in the welterweight final. The American boxer held a one-point lead after each of the first three rounds but couldn't hold Bandera off in the fourth, dropping the 5-4 decision.
In addition to the two gold and three silver medals, Team USA also claimed three bronzes at the event with flyweight Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas), featherweightLiz Leddy (Portland, Maine), and middleweight Alyssa DeFazio (Peoria, Ariz.) all taking home hardware. The United States placed third in the team standings with their eight medals in Guayaquil.
