2009 AIBA World Championships

The United States’ Frankie Gomez Records an Opening Day Victory at the 2009 World Championships

Light welterweight Frankie Gomez (Broadway, Calif.) claimed the lone victory for the United States on the opening day of competition on Tuesday at the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, Italy. 

Gomez recorded an 18-4 decision over Belarus' Mikhail Bakarura in his World Championships debut on Tuesday afternoon. Following a tied first round, Gomez broke it open in the second, outscoring his opponent by an 8-1 margin to take an 11-4 advantage into the third and final round. He held Bakarura scoreless over the final three minutes while recording seven scoring blows over his own to win the 18-4 final decision. Gomez will face Georgia's Levan Gvamaichava on Friday afternoon. 

Flyweight Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) opened the day in a close loss to Mexico's Braulio Avila in morning competition. Byrd dropped a 14-12 decision to Avila in the first bout of the tournament, eliminating him from the competition. 

Super heavyweight Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) drew reigning Olympic and World Champion Roberto Camarrelle of host country, Italy, in his tournament opener. Hunter hoped to record an opening round upset, but fell short, dropping an 8-1 final decision to the Italian police officer. "His timing was too good, and I tried my best, but this time it was not enough," Hunter said. 

Wednesday's competition will feature bantamweight Jesus Magdaleno (Las Vegas, Nev.); lightweight Duran Caferro (Helena, Mont.); and middleweight Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio) in first round action. 

For the most up-to-date results and information on the 2009 AIBA World Championships, go to www.aiba.org.

Tuesday's Results
112 lbs/51 kg: Braulio Avila, MEX, dec. Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo./USA, 14-12
141 lbs/64 kg: Frankie Gomez, Broadway, Calif./USA dec. Mikhail Bakarura, BLR, 18-4
201+ lbs/91+ kg: Roberto Camarrelle, ITA, dec. Michael Hunter, Las Vegas, Nev./USA, 8-1 

Wednesday's U.S. Schedule
119 lbs: Jesus Magdaleno, Las Vegas, Nev./USA vs. Dimitrijis Gutmans, LAT (morning session)
165 lbs: Terrell Gausha, Cleveland, Ohio/USA vs. Alex David Theran Millares, COL (afternoon session)
132 lbs: Duran Caferro, Helena, Mont./USA vs. Saylom Ardee, THA (evening session)

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.