In Shreveport, Louisiana, Albuquerque amateur boxer Sharahya Moreu defeated Phoenix’s Victoria Gaynor by unanimous Wednesday evening in a 139-pound Elite Division first-round bout at USA Boxing nationals.
Moreu, fighting two weight classes below the weight at which she’d competed at 2020 nationals (held earlier this year, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic) dominated action against Gaynor with a concerted body attack.
In Thursday’s second round, Moreu will face the winner of a Wednesday bout between Tennessee’s Kenisha Johnson and Florida’s Stevie Morgan.
Earlier Wednesday, Yoruba Moreu Jr., Sharahya’s younger brother, lost to Hawaii’s Lyndon Patricio in a second-round 119-pound Youth Division bout.
Also on Wednesday, Las Cruces’ Victoria McAuliffe defeated Florida’s Yesalee Alvarez by decision in a 119-pound Junior Division first-round bout.
The energetic McAuliffe brought the fight to Alvarez early, applying pressure, and also boxed surprisingly well from the outside against her much taller opponent.
McAuliffe is scheduled to face top-seeded Yazmin Rosales, who drew a first-round bye, in the early session on Friday.
