Eyeing Gold at Paris Olympics, 20-Year-Old Boxer All Set to “Put Idaho on the Map”

20-year-old Alyssa Mendoza is coming off a dominant boxing year after she won three medals from international competitions in 2023. The Caldwell native initially made waves at the 2022 USA Boxing Elite National Championships by winning gold. She has been a mainstay at prestigious events since 2019 and has her sights set firmly on the Paris Olympics now.

Mendoza is excited after winning the Olympic qualifying round, saying, “I can’t wait until I can do that(represent the USA internationally).” Now, closer to her Olympic dreams than ever, one of the youngest American women’s boxers shared the underlining value of her much-awaited Mega Games berth.

Paris Olympics might welcome youngest American boxer

With USA Boxing National Head Coach Billy Walsh at their helm, 8 boxers from Team USA are vying at the 2024 Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament. Among them, Alyssa Mendoza, won the opening round of their 57 kg weight class, her third win, on March 8 by a referee stoppage over Morocco’s Nisrine Amine, and her second victory by the Referee Stopped Contest (RSC).

Mendoza discussed the significance of her accomplishment in an interview with KTVB 7, saying, “I am glad to be different in that way, being from a smaller state and not really known um kind of puts Idaho on the map.” Being the youngest contender doesn’t faze Mendoza who asserted, “When i am feeling low on motivation, I’m like, no, like you’re at the Olympics Training Center doing what you love every single day even though it’s hard.“

She expressed her goal of earning the 57 kg weight quota for the Summer Olympics while accepting the “pretty big adjustment” of making the switch to elite boxing at the age of 19. However, she has been training for eight years now and shares the hard work credit with her dad. She said, “My dad had always been a boxing coach.” Her voice was determined as she said, “I am ready for Paris.” And how?

Summer Olympics qualifier round recap

Mendoza proved her superiority in the ring by forcing her opponent into three standing eight counts during an exciting bout on Friday’s match held at Busto Arsizio, Italy. Following her win, Mendoza said, “The first fifteen seconds, I was trying to figure her out, see what she throws, how she opens herself,” while explaining her approach.

She continued to tell Olympics.com,

“And then after I figured it out, then I just put the pressure on, feinting, timing her, and was just letting my shots fly.” Young Alyssa Mendoza epitomizes sheer focus as she gets ready to represent the United States and Idaho on the big stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her sights are set firmly on the gold!

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