FEATHERWEIGHT boxer Keevin Allicock made a solid start to his bid to qualify for a second Olympic Games when he comfortably defeated Panama’s Javier Ibarguen in the opening bout of the Men’s 57kg at the ongoing Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday.

Allicock’s dominance forced the referee to stop the contest one minute 32 seconds into the second round.
Speaking after the bout, Allicock explained he is happy with the start, but is not looking too far ahead in the ultimate goal of Olympic qualification.
His next bout is a quarterfinal against American Jahmal Harvey on Monday from 17:15hrs.

Meanwhile, compatriot Alesha Jackman suffered a painful defeat in her Round-of-16 contest in the Women’s 66kg category.
The 19-year-old Jackman lost to 31-year-old Lucia Perez of Argentina when the referee stopped the contest one minute, 52 seconds into the third round.
Jackman said she was disappointed with the result, but admirably indicated it was a great learning experience, which she will use to seek success at other international events.
Up next for boxing, Desmond Amsterdam faces Gabriel Buonarrigo in the start of Round-of-32 bouts in the Men’s 80kg on Saturday, while Joel Williamson faces Miguel De La Cruz of the Dominican Republic in the Round-of-16 in the 63.5kg category on Sunday from noon.

Emmanuel Pompey will battle Tabukuo Aska of Antigua and Barbuda on October 23 from 12:15h.
Clive Atwell secured Guyana’s last medal in the sport at the 2007 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he won bronze in the 54kg segment.
Twenty athletes are representing Guyana across the disciplines of Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Swimming, Weight Lifting, Electronic Sports (Esports) and Track and Field.

From Saturday, Badminton, Swimming, Taekwondo and Weightlifting will get their first taste of competition.