2009 AIBA World Championships

The United States Goes Undefeated on Day Three of the 2009 World Championships

The United States enjoyed a successful third day at the 2009 World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy with both light flyweight Miguel Cartagena (Philadelphia, Pa.) and featherweight Kevin Rivers (Landover, Md.) recording first round victories at the Mediolanum Forum. 

Rivers faced off with Australia's Ibrahim Bell in his first bout of the tournament and he pulled out a 22-19 victory over Bell to move on in the tournament. "My goal is the gold medal," Rivers said. "Bell was a tough opponent; I expected a hard match and I got what I expected. I want to go all the way." 

Cartagena battled Japan's Taro Hayashida in his World Championships debut and he put forth a commanding performance to win a 23-9 decision and move on to second round action. 

Light welterweight Frankie Gomez (Broadway, Calif.) will return to action on Friday in his second bout, taking on Georgia's Levan Gvamichava at 3:30 p.m. Milan time (9:30 a.m. EST). 

For the most up-to-date results and information as well as full draw sheets for all 11 weight divisions, go to www.aiba.org.

Thursday's U.S. Results
106 lbs: Miguel Cartagena, Philadelphia, Pa./USA dec. Taro Hayashida, JPN, 23-9
125 lbs: Kevin Rivers, Landover, Md./USA dec. Ibrahim Bell, AUS, 22-19

Team USA Quotes

Louie Byrd:  "I feel proud to represent my country in the sport that I love. I have learned that on the international level, I need to tweak my style and throw more straight punches.  I was more nervous than usual and the surroundings were hectic as it seemed that every man was out for himself."

Duran Caferro:  "I know there are a lot of people at home that are proud of me, and I kept that in my mind every time I trained. Training hard is not enough to win on this level, we must learn the international system to be more successful."

Terrell Gausha :  "I feel blessed to represent my country in the World Championships.  My experience here was different, trying to focus on new things that I was advised to do to compete internationally."

Frankie Gomez:  "I feel proud representing my country and hope to represent in the 2012 Olympic Games.  The kid I boxed was tough in the first two rounds then I noticed he got winded and I stepped it up."

Jesus Magdaleno:  "I feel great and it is a big honor and dream to represent the USA. I am happy to be on the team.  "My adrenaline was pumping and I was really excited. The bout was great as I was able to use my speed and strength to win. I plan to stay disciplined and focused in order to win Gold."

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.