Canadian boxing fans will need stay up late Friday to catch Canada’s first boxing matchup at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Welterweight boxer Wyatt Sanford (32-12-0, 4 KOs) will make his debut tonight when he takes on Merven Clair (18-16-0, 0 KOs) of the African country of Mauritius at 12:54 a.m. ET early Saturday morning in a 69 kg qualifying Round of 32 bout.
Sanford (32-12-0, 4 KOs), 22, is a four-time Canadian Youth National Champion and has been boxing for about nine years and will look to take advantage as more experienced boxer.
Clair competed for Mauritius at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where he was eliminated in the opening round.
The winner advances to the round of 16.
The rest of Team Canada’s boxing schedule at the Games is:
WOMENS FLYWEIGHT (51KG)
July 24 – 10:48 p.m. Round of 32 – Mandy Bujold (CANADA) vs. Nina Radovanovic (SERBIA)
WOMEN’S WELTERWEIGHT (69KG)
July 27 – 6:54 a.m. ET – Round of 16 Myriam Da Silva (CANADA) vs. Maria Moronta Hernandez (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
WOMEN’S MIDDLEWEIGHT (75KG)
July 27 – 11:18 p.m. ET – Round of 16 – Tammara Thibeault (CANADA) vs. Nadezhda Ryabets (KAZAKHSTAN)
WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT (57 KG)
July 26 – 1:12 a.m. ET – Round of 16 – Caroline Veyre (CANADA) vs. TBA