Ruiz and Veloz Earn Dominant Wins on Opening Day of 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup
Day one concluded in Bangkok, Thailand, at the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup, where the USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team had two boxers step in the ring. Guadalupe Ruiz (Women’s 54 kg | Anaheim, Calif.) and Refugio Veloz (Men’s 50 kg | Atwater, Calif.) set the tone for Team USA with dominant wins in their international debuts.
Ruiz got the event off to a dominant start for Team USA after earning two 10-8 scores in the first round, winning all five judges’ scores, and securing an RSC win in the second round after delivering two 8-counts. Ruiz picked up her first international win over Kyrgyzstan’s Azizakhon Pazilova and now advances to the Round of 16 to face Colombia’s Evelin Trejos on March 10.
“I feel good, just a little rough, but the first fight got it out of the way, and the next one I’ll be better,” Ruiz stated after her first international win. “When I got in the ring, I was like, I got this, and I am ready to go.”
After Ruiz’s win, Veloz picked up right where she left off as he earned a unanimous 5-0 victory in his international debut over Taiwan’s Qi You Xiao. Veloz won the first round 4-1, and then won every judge’s vote in the final two rounds, including five 10-8 scores in the second round and four 10-8 scores in the third round. The California native secured three 30-25 scores and two 30-26 scores in his Round of 64 victory and will now advance to the Round of 32, where he will face Botswana’s Lefa Senzo Dithebe on March 10.
Team USA will have three boxers make their tournament and international debut on day two of the 2026 World Boxing Future Cup, beginning with Christian Paez (Men’s 55 kg | San Antonio, Texas), who will face Jordan’s Motaz Almashale. David Arrieta (Men’s 60 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) will face Thailand’s Siwa Chainarong and Brijhana Epperson (Women’s 57 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) will face Taiwan’s Yu Jun Lin.
The USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team is led by National Development Coach Edward Fonteneaux (Fayetteville, N.C.). Fonteneaux will be assisted throughout the tournament by High Performance Pool coaches, including Holly Gregson (Idaho Falls, Idaho), Jason Hamilton (Spanaway, Wash.), Yessenia Montalvo (Bloomfield, N.J.), and Ronald Wright (Columbus, Ga.).
Additional tournament information for the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup, including the tournament draw, daily bout sheets, results, tournament updates, and more, will be uploaded to the event page on the USA Boxing website, where followers can find the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup event page.
Sunday, March 8 Results:
Women’s 54 kg: Guadalupe Ruiz, USA VS. Azizakhon Pazilova, KGZ | W RSC (R2)
Men’s 50kg: Refugio Veloz, USA VS. Qi You Xiao, TPE | W 5-0
Monday, March 9 Schedule
Women’s 57kg: Brijhana Epperson vs. Yu Jun Lin, TPE
Men’s 55kg: Christian Paez vs. Motaz Almashale, JOR
Men’s 60kg David Arrieta vs. Siwa Chainarong, THA
