St. Davids boxer Mckenzie Wright’s quest to earn a berth at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics has ended in Thailand.
Wright lost in a unanimous decision Sunday morning to Mexican boxer Fatima Herrera at the final Olympic boxing trials in Bangkok. The 34-year-old was one of nine Canadians at the tournament, none of whom ended up punching their ticket to Paris.
Herrera, a tricky, ambidextrous southpaw who can also lead with her right hand, ousted Wright in a 5-0 decision, winning all three rounds in their bout.
After earning a bye in the first round, Wright began the tournament Friday, her birthday, with a unanimous decision over the heavily-favoured Aldana Florencia Lopez of Argentina in the women’s 50 kg weight class. Lopez was the bronze medallist at the 2022 Women’s World Boxing Championships.
Wright followed that on Saturday with a win over Serbia’s Nina Radovanovic. Though three of the five judges scored the first round in favour of the Serbian fighter, Wright turned things around in the final two rounds, frustrating Radovanovic with skilled movement and effective counter-punching to earn the 5-0 decision.
Heading into Sunday’s fight against Herrera, Wright was the final Canadian to vie for an Olympic berth.
From the outset Herrera set the pace and went on the offensive, landing some close-range shots to Wright’s head. Wright countered with a flurry near the end of round one, but four of the five judges scored the first three minutes in Herrera’s favour.
Wright emerged from her corner much more aggressively to begin the second round, landing some solid punches early on. But Herrera adjusted, continuing to mix up a series of rights and lefts that found their way through.
Hererra kept it up for the third round, defending effectively as Wright went on the offensive. Wright couldn’t connect with her opponent often enough to turn the tide, as Herrera won rounds two and three unanimously on the way to her victory.
When the final bell sounded, Wright seemed to know that Herrera had gotten the better of her.
The Niagara College nursing graduate began her Olympic quest at the 2023 Pan American games in Santiago, Chile. She lost in the semi-final there to the eventual winner, Jennifer Lozano of the United States.
That forced her to defend her position as Canada’s international representative in the 50 kg class at the Olympic team trials in Montreal in December, where she cruised to victory to earn her chance to fight in Busto Arsizio, Italy at the first Olympic qualifier in March.
In Italy, she fought a close match against Aira Villegas of The Philippines. Three of the five judges scored the match 3-2 in favour of Villegas, knocking Wright out of the round of 32 and sending her to Bangkok for her final chance to earn a spot in Paris.