The boxing programme at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opened with 15 round-of-16 bouts across five weight categories at the Dakar Expo Centre in Diamniadio.
The opening session began with the women’s 51kg competition, where Algeria’s Cerine Kessal secured a unanimous 5:0 victory over Australia’s Maia Laird.
Venezuela’s Grenyelis Garcia then made history by becoming the first female boxer from her country to compete and win at a Youth Olympic Games, producing a commanding performance to defeat New Zealand’s Lea Newman 5:0.
In the women’s 57kg division, Brazil’s Sara Campos advanced with a unanimous 5:0 victory over France’s Shanon Cabane, before Algeria’s Besma Bahri recorded the same score against Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Jun Lin.
The men’s 55kg competition began with another pair of decisive victories. Australia’s Marley Dodd defeated Mauritius’ Denzel Namaseevayen 5:0, while Georgia’s Emil Ismailov earned a 4:1 decision over the Dominican Republic’s Michael Reyes.
Japan’s Kenshin Sakuno opened the men’s 65kg competition with a unanimous victory over Algeria’s Bilal Lezoul. Armenia’s Suren Katvalyan then edged Uzbekistan’s Ibrokhim Shokirjonov by a closely contested 3:2 split decision.
The first session concluded in the men’s 70kg division, where Kazakhstan’s Bibarys Ashirbay secured a stoppage victory over Libya’s Jihad Mohamed.
The opening day also included an informal visit from IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who watched the competition alongside World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin.
The visit took place in the competition setting as World Boxing delivered an Olympic boxing competition on behalf of the IOC for the first time, giving their discussions a direct connection to the young athletes and officials at the centre of the federation’s work.
The second session resumed with two further contests in the women’s 51kg division. Panama’s Lia Victoria Cordoba Torrero defeated Poland’s Natasza Kosiec by a unanimous 5:0 decision, while Botswana’s Precious Masaba advanced with a 4:0 points victory over Jordan’s Tala Hussein.
Canada’s Lisandro Garcia Rebelo followed with a 5:0 win against Finland’s Mike Parhiala in the men’s 55kg category.
Two more men’s 65kg contests produced contrasting decisions. Spain’s Pablo Souto Macias edged Jordan’s Abdallah Toghoz 3:2 in one of the closest bouts of the session, before Israel’s Artur Eytan Prohnevsky secured a unanimous 5:0 victory over Mexico’s Victor Alejandro Rocha Esqueda.
Great Britain’s Michael Maughan completed the opening day with a commanding 5:0 decision over Ecuador’s Jeremi Soriano in the men’s 70kg division.
Preliminary action continues on 8 November, with boxers competing across the women’s 48kg, 54kg and 60kg divisions and the men’s 50kg and 60kg categories.