2009 AIBA World Championships

Frankie Gomez Earns a Spot in the Medal Round with a Stoppage Victory at the 2009 World Championship

Team USA's lone remaining competitor, light welterweight Frankie Gomez (Broadway, Calif.) ensured his United States team wouldn't go home empty-handed with a dominating quarterfinal performance at the 2009 World Championships in Milan, Italy. 

Gomez recorded three earlier wins in Milan to advance on to his quarterfinal match-up with Lithuania's Egidijus Kavaliauskas on Wednesday. The 17-year-old American left nothing to chance in his bout with Kavaliauskas, stopping him in the third round of their contest. After a slow-paced first round, the pace quickened in the second with Gomez taking a 6-2 advantage into the final round. He had moved out to a 12-3 advantage in the third when the referee stopped the bout, giving Gomez the hard-earned victory. Gomez gave his Lithuanian foe three standing eight counts before the referee called a halt to the bout in the final round.

His victory guarantees Gomez at least a bronze medal in his first world championships. He will face Hungary's Gyula Kate in the semifinals at on Friday, September 11 at 8:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. EST). Kate claimed a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships and is a two-time Olympian for Hungary. 

Wednesday's U.S. Results
141 lbs: Frankie Gomez, Broadway, Calif./USA stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas, LTU, RSC-3 

Friday's U.S. Schedule
141 lbs: Frankie Gomez, Broadway, Calif./USA vs. Gyula Kate, HUN

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States' member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It is responsible for the selection and management of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and for the governance and oversight of USA Boxing's national organization of 38,000 members, 1,400 individual boxing clubs, and 1,600 sanctioned events annually.