▪️Sixteen African boxers have so far been eliminated, 12 are still on the battlefield with 11 featuring in today’s quarter-finals while one is in the semi-finals
November 10, 2026
Algeria’s female flyweight Cerine Kessal delivered a vital lifeline for African boxing on Monday, November 9, 2026, guaranteeing the continent its first medal of the Dakar Youth Olympics by fighting her way to the semi-finals.
Her triumph, however, proved to be the lone bright spot on a bruising day for the host continent.
Seven other African boxers—including host nation Senegal’s final remaining hopeful Khadidiatou Boiro—were eliminated during the opening round of quarter-finals.
Kessal made quick work of Bhupal’s Sangay Peldon, forcing a referee stoppage at 1:28 of the second round. With a podium finish now assured regardless of her next result, the Algerian advances to a difficult semi-final clash against Venezuela’s Grenyelis Garcia—a formidable test that could prove to be her toughest hurdle yet.
Garcia, tipped by boxing analysts as one of the hot prospects for gold, booked her spot in the final four with a dominant display against Kenya’s Ellah Demesi, securing a first-round stoppage in 2:02.
Capitalizing on her superior reach, the South American Youth Games champion overwhelmed Demesi with a relentless barrage of head shots. After the Kenyan took three standing counts without mounting an effective response, the referee stepped in to wave off the bout.
While Demesi, who celebrated her 17th birthday on September 29 this year, struggled to find her spark on the day, the bout offers her valuable experience as she looks to improve for future international tournaments but at the big stage she has to be fast, aggressive, increase her work rate, show more fire and an appetite for victory. Otherwise she’s a talented boxer with a bright future.
Botswana’s Precious Masaba stepped into the ring looking to avenge Demesi’s earlier loss to Canada’s Mehreen Khakh at the World U-19 Futures Cup in Bangkok. Masaba started strong, taking the fight to the Canadian southpaw in an aggressive opening round. However, the momentum shifted dramatically in the second. Khakh took control of the exchanges, repeatedly catching Masaba with a sharp left cross that resulted in three counts and another referee stoppage, compounding Africa’s rough outing.
For host nation Senegal, the disappointment continued. With two boxers already eliminated earlier in the tournament, local hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of female featherweight Khadidiatou Boiro. Entering the ring determined to turn the tide for the hosts, Boiro ultimately suffered a similar fate, bowing out in the quarter-finals to bring Senegal’s home boxing campaign to an early close. She lost 5-0 to Kazakhstan’s Aknur Tursyngali.
While the females chalked up one victory, all the three African male boxers in the quarters were bundled out.
Libya’s bantamweight Emran Bawi was the first victim going down to Australia’s Marley Dodd, Gambia’s bantamweight Alieu Sanyang lost 5-0 to Canada’s Lisandro Garcia and welterweight Fahd Wazir was stopped in 2:59 of the second round.
Meanwhile, 11 African boxers take to the ring in today’s quarter-finals, one of the highlights being women’s minimumweight rematch between Nigeria’s African Youth Games champion Mayowa Ayomide and Algeria’s Bouthaina Bensalah. The Algerian is seeking to avenge a points loss to Mayowa in the finals of the African Youth Games in 2025 in Luanda, Angola.
The quarter-finals pairings involving the African boxers:
Men
Flyweight
Namibia’s Kalenga Abraham vs India’s Ambekar Lairen
Lightweight
Togo’s Blaise Agoda vs Thailand’s Siwa Chainarong
Mauritius’ Julian Agathe vs Puerto Rico’s Torres Santiago
Seychelles’ Franco Zialor vs China’s Zhengkun Zhang
Light-middleweight
Ghana’s Amartey Tagoe vs UAE’s Mohamed Moaaz
Egypt’s Ahmed Mobarak vs Great Britain’s Michael Maughan
Women
Minimumweight
Nigeria’s Mayowa Ayomide vs Algeria’s Bothaina Bensalah
Bantamweight
Morocco’s Manar Adnane vs Japan’s Yura Kanemaru
Egypt’s Hajer Elsherbiny Wahba vs Maral Tolepbergen
Lightweight
Egypt’s Menatalla Ibrahim vs China’s Jiaen Wang
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