USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Begins Competition at 2025 Brandenburg Cup
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 30 Jul 2025
FRANKFURT (ODER), Germany (July 29, 2025) – The USA Boxing Youth High Performance team begins competition Wednesday, July 30, at the 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. Throughout the week, Team USA will see 13 athletes in action inside the Sports Center Frankfurt. Day one will feature a busy slate for the Stars and Stripes with eight of its 13 Youth High Performance team members in action.
Wednesday’s competition will feature three sessions, beginning at 5 a.m., 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET. There will be two rings hosting all matchups throughout the week, both of which will be in action at the previously mentioned session start times.
Wednesday’s opening session will feature three USA athletes, including Laila Zakirova (women’s 51 kg | Staten Island, N.Y.), Joseph Awinongya (men’s 80 kg | Joliet, Ill.) and Angel Blancarte (men’s 85 kg | Hutchinson, Kan.). Zakirova will take on England’s Ruby White in Ring A, bout one, kicking off the week of competition. Awinongya, a 2024 World Boxing gold medalist, makes his tournament debut in Ring B, bout nine, at approximately 7 a.m. ET against Norway’s Vincent Solberg Odland. Blancarte will make his tournament debut in Ring A, bout 10, at approximately 7:15 a.m. ET against Hungary’s Gyula Bozai.
Session two will see two Team USA male competitors, Lavant Brownlee (men’s 65 kg | Louisville, Ky.) and Jose Vasquez (men’s 70 kg | Dallas, Texas), step onto the canvas. Brownlee takes on Italy’s Alessandro Bramerini in Ring B, bout five, which starts at approximately 10 a.m. ET. Vasquez will square off against Germany’s Jason-Andre Sovva in Ring A, bout 10, beginning at approximately 11:15 a.m. ET.
In day one’s final session, there will be three more Team USA athletes in action, including Anthony Lona (men’s 75 kg | Kyle, Texas), Salim Ellis-Bey (men’s 65 kg | Philadelphia, Pa.) and Nnajai Wright (men’s 90+ kg | Richmond, Va.). Lona will face off against Germany’s Sebestien Culcay Keth in Ring A, bout four, starting at approximately 1:45 p.m. ET. Ellis-Bey makes his tournament debut against Germany’s David Gerstenlauer in Ring B, bout seven, beginning at approximately 2:45 p.m. ET. Wright will close out the day in Ring A, bout 10, against Romania’s Denis Cucu, at 3:15 p.m. ET.
Of the eight Team USA athletes in action on Wednesday, six will make their international debuts, including Blancarte, Brownlee, Vasquez, Lona, Ellis-Bey and Wright. Zakirova and Awinongya return to the international stage after competing at the 2024 World Boxing U19 Championships in Pueblo, Colorado, last year.
Each bout of the 2025 Brandenburg Cup will be broadcast live by the German Boxing Federation. The broadcast has been placed behind a paywall for 12.99 (EUR), which grants access to watch the entire week, and can be accessed HERE.
This year’s iteration of the Brandenburg Cup marks the 30th anniversary of the event and will feature 174 athletes from 19 national federations. There are 50 women registered for competition across eight weight classes, while 124 male athletes will be in action across all 10 weight classes.
Team USA is led by head coach Edward Fonteneaux (Fayetteville, N.C.), and assisted by Jason Hamilton (Spanaway, Wash.), Ronald Wright (Columbus, Ga.) and Yessenia Montalvo (Bloomfield, N.J.). To keep up with Team USA’s 13 competitors, follow along on the USA Boxing tournament page, linked HERE.
Wednesday, July 30 (All Bout Start Times Listed in ET):
Session 1:
W51 kg | Laila Zakirova, USA vs. Ruby White, ENG | Ring A, 5 a.m.
M80 kg | Joseph Awinongya, USA vs. Vincent Solberg Odland, NOR | Ring B, 7 a.m. M85 kg | Angel Blancarte, USA vs. Gyula Bozai, HUN | Ring A, 7:15 a.m.
Session 2:
M65 kg | Lavant Brownlee, USA vs. Alessandro Bramerini, ITA | Ring B, 10 a.m.
M70 kg | Jose Vasquez, USA vs. Jason-Andre Sovva, GER | Ring A, 11:15 a.m.
Session 3:
M75 kg | Anthony Lona, USA vs. Sebestien Culcay Keth, GER | Ring A, 1:45 p.m.
M60 kg | Salim Ellis-Bey, USA vs. David Gerstenlauer, GER | Ring B, 2:45 p.m.
M90+ kg | Nnajai Wright, USA vs. Denis Cucu, ROU | Ring A, 3:15 p.m.
INFORMATION:
www.usaboxing.org
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