Historic Sunday for Brazilian boxing: Bahian boxer Beatriz Ferreira, 30, won the world title for the second time in her career. Olympic runner-up in Tokyo and current number 1 in the world ranking, the Brazilian defeated Colombian Angiel Paola Valdez Pana today (26) in the under-60 kg category final, in a unanimous decision by the referees, in New Delhi (India). Bia Ferreira is the first boxer in the country to play in three consecutive finals in the competition: she won gold in 2019 and last year she won silver. Beatriz Ferreira has a very heavy hand! 👊🏽🇧🇷 And there’s a sensational little dance! 💃🤩 pic.twitter.com/IjZe9BigjZ — Time Brasil (@timebrasil) March 26, 2023 The performance of Brazilian women’s boxing at the Worlds is also the best in history. In addition to the gold medal, the country also took the podium in this edition with Bárbara Santos, who took bronze in the 70 kg (non-Olympic category). Before, the most successful campaign in Brazil had been last year, when Bia was runner-up and Caroline Almeida, from Pernambuco, took bronze in the 52 kg. In the title decision this morning, Bia Ferreira was left in the ring since the first round. The Bahian, born in Salvador, started out more aggressive: she landed a left blow and, in the sequence, invested three more times against her opponent. In the second round, the Colombian reacted, but Bia knew how to defend herself well. The Brazilian’s best moment was at the beginning of the third round, when she landed a left cross, and then remained defensive until the end of the fight. The victory this Sunday (26th), by unanimous decision of the judges, was the fourth consecutive one at the Worlds. Before qualifying for the final, Bia defeated the Australian Danielle Scanlon in her debut, and then defeated the Japanese Tagachi Ayaka and, in the semifinal, beat the South Korean Oh Yeonj. Beatriz Ferreira reached the decision in ALL major boxing events in the world in the last 4 years. We are talking about one of the biggest names in Brazilian sport today! How consistent Bia is! 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/J4cyukS2RM — Time Brasil (@timebrasil) March 26, 2023 Bia Ferreira arrived at the Worlds as a favorite for the title, after the boycott of some western countries to the competition organized by the Associação Internacional de Boxe Amateur (IBA), that did not veto the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the World Cup in New Delhi. Among the nations that joined the boycott are the United States, Canada, Sweden and Great Britain. The world title won today (26) by Bia Ferreira keeps her at the top of the world ranking. Traditionally, the score would count in the search for a place for the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, the IBA is suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which prevents it from defining the classification criteria for the next Olympics. According to the Brazilian Boxing Confederation (CBboxe), classification for Paris 2024 will take place this year at the Pan American Games in Santiago (Chile), from October 20 to November 5. “The World Cup remains the most important championship of the year, even with the boycotts. A world title is still very relevant for the career of boxers and the championship brings together the best athletes from all over the world, it is important to know how the opponents are doing in the pre-Olympic year”, said CBboxe, through its press office. The world competition in New Delhi brought together athletes from 23 countries. In addition to medalists Bia Ferreira and Bárbara Santos, the Brazilian delegation traveled to India with five other athletes: Beatriz Soares (66 kg), Tatiana Chagas (54 kg), Caroline “Naka” Almeida (50 kg), Jucielen Romeu (57 kg) and Viviane Pereira (75kg).
Agência Brasil
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