BUDVA, Montenegro (October 15, 2026) – Brackets have been announced for the 2026 World Boxing U19 Championships, which will begin Friday, Oct. 16, in Budva, Montenegro. USA Boxing will send 15 Youth High Performance boxers, including eight men and seven women, to compete at the 12-day tournament inside the Mediterranean Sports Venue. The competition will run from October 16 through October 27.
Team USA enters the tournament following a strong performance at the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup in Thailand, where the team earned four gold medals, one silver medal and four bronze medals. Christian Paez (Men’s 55 kg | San Antonio, Texas), Guadalupe Ruiz (Women’s 54 kg | Anaheim, Calif.), Brijhana Epperson (Women’s 57 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) and Lauryn Elmore (Women’s 65 kg | Sacramento, Calif.) each captured gold. Asaan Jenkins (Men’s 65 kg | Washington, D.C.), Caleb Reid (Men’s 90+ kg | Palm Bay, Fla.), Marley McNealy (Women’s 70 kg | San Francisco, Calif.) and Ariana Chavez (Women’s 75 kg | Rio Rancho, N.M.) also earned bronze medals.
Team USA will begin competition on Friday, Oct. 16, with Caleb Reid (Men’s 90+ kg | Palm Bay, Fla.) facing Mexico’s Jose Pacheco in the round of 16. Reid will look to build on his bronze medal experience as the lone American on Friday.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, Asaan Jenkins (Men’s 65 kg | Washington, D.C.) will open his tournament against Austria’s Ivan Bezuhlyi in the round of 64. Jenkins comes off a bronze medal run in Thailand after going 3-1, including three unanimous-decision victories. Moving into Sunday, Oct. 18, four Americans will enter the ring. On the men’s side, Refugio Veloz (Men’s 50 kg | Atwater, Calif.) will face Ireland’s Caoimhin Connolly in the round of 32, and World Boxing Futures Cup gold medalist Christian Paez (Men’s 55 kg | San Antonio, Texas), who earned a bye, will face India’s Aditya Aditya in the round of 32. On the women’s side, Ciana Nonhphala (Women’s 48 kg | Providence, R.I.) will square off against Armenia’s Hamest Afrikyan, while Brijhana Epperson (Women’s 57 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) will take on England’s Siobhan Haley. Both women will compete in the round of 32.
Team USA will have four more boxers in action to make their debut on Monday, Oct. 19, as David Arrieta (Men’s 60 kg | Kansas City, Mo.) earned a bye and will face Lithuania’s Simonas Puniskis in the round of 32. Also on the men’s side are Asante Lamar (Men’s 70 kg | Cincinnati, Ohio) and James Gentile (Men’s 75 kg | Staten Island, N.Y.). Lamar earned a bye and will meet Turkmenistan’s Muhammet Rejepov in the round of 32, while Gentile will face Albania’s Valo Valo in the round of 32. Rounding out Monday on the women’s side is Guadalupe Ruiz (Women’s 54 kg | Anaheim, Calif.). The World Boxing Futures Cup gold medalist earned a bye and will face Russia’s Kristina Borisenko in the round of 16. Ruiz went a dominant 5-0 in Thailand, including two wins by RSC and two wins by unanimous decisions.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Ruby Lopez (Women’s 51 kg | Napa, Calif.) will face Latvia’s Jelizaveta Trusa in the round of 32, and Hadi Almashhadi (Men’s 80 kg | Taylor, Mich.) will return to the ring after earning a bye. He will face Ukraine’s Tymur Karaivan in the round of 32.
Also on Wednesday, October 21, World Boxing Futures Cup gold medalist Lauryn Elmore (Women’s 65 kg | Sacramento, Calif.) will face the winner of Belgium’s Stacey Kaersoel and Lithuania’s Luka Vitkute in the round of 16, while Marley McNealy (Women’s 70 kg | San Francisco, Calif.) will take on Italy’s Sara Scorrano in the round of 16. Elmore represents as Team USA’s captain and has an impressive 4-1 international record, after winning gold in Thailand and bronze at the 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Germany.
Rounding out Team USA’s opening bouts is Ariana Chavez (Women’s 75 kg | Rio Rancho, N.M.), who will face Ukraine’s Iryna Onopriienko in the round of 16 on Thursday, Oct. 22.
The USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team is led by National Development Coach Stephen Grand (Nashville, Tenn.), who is supported by High Performance Pool coaches Holly Gregson (Idaho Falls, Idaho), Jason Hamilton (Spanaway, Wash.) and Ronald Wright (Columbus, Ga.).
Schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
Men’s 90+ kg: Caleb Reid, USA vs. Jose Pacheco, MEX – Round of 16
Saturday, Oct. 17
Men’s 65 kg: Asaan Jenkins, USA vs. Ivan Bezuhlyi, AUT – Round of 64
Sunday, Oct. 18
Men’s 50 kg: Refugio Veloz, USA vs. Caoimhin Connolly, IRL – Round of 32
Men’s 55 kg: Christian Paez, USA vs. Aditya Aditya, IND – Round of 32
Women’s 48 kg: Ciana Nonhphala, USA vs. Hamest Afrikyan, ARM – Round of 32
Women’s 57 kg: Brijhana Epperson, USA vs. Siobhan Haley, ENG – Round of 32
Monday, Oct. 19
Men’s 60 kg: David Arrieta, USA vs. Simonas Puniskis, LTU – Round of 32
Men’s 70 kg: Asante Lamar, USA vs. Muhammet Rejepov, TKM – Round of 32
Men’s 75 kg: James Gentile, USA vs. Valo Valo, ALB – Round of 32
Women’s 54 kg: Guadalupe Ruiz, USA vs. Kristina Borisenko, RUS – Round of 16
Tuesday, Oct. 20
Women’s 51 kg: Ruby Lopez, USA vs. Jelizaveta Trusa, LAT – Round of 32
Men’s 80 kg: Hadi Almashhadi, USA vs. Tymur Karaivan, UKR – Round of 32
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Women’s 65 kg: Lauryn Elmore, USA vs. winner of Stacey Kaersoel, BEL, vs. Luka Vitkute, LTU – Round of 16
Women’s 70 kg: Marley McNealy, USA vs. Sara Scorrano, ITA – Round of 16
Thursday, Oct. 22
Women’s 75 kg: Ariana Chavez, USA vs. Iryna Onopriienko, UKR – Round of 16
Press Release/Bob Trieger
