PARIS (EP). Spanish boxer Enmanuel Reyes Plá (-92 kg) secured a medal for the Spanish Team on Thursday after beating Belgian Victor Schelstraete in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Games tournament by unanimous decision of the judges, in a solid fight against the 2021 world bronze medalist who gives national boxing an Olympic medal – at least the bronze – 24 years later.
Guided from the corner by Rafa Lozano, the last Spanish Olympic boxing medallist in Sydney 2000, Reyes Plá worked and convinced the judges unanimously to take over from his mentor and secure the bronze medal in the -92 kg category, the first of four medal options for Spain in this discipline.
The Spaniard improved in the first round, with good cardio management to get to the end of the fight with fuel. ‘The Prophet’ started with good combinations, especially with a precise right hand that caught the Belgian on a couple of occasions in a way that was eye-catching for the judges. And they confirmed, unanimously, that the first round was for ‘The Prophet’.
Very compact and intelligent boxing from the Spaniard, with very high defenses to neutralize the somewhat telegraphed blows from the Belgian, who was a little more active in the second round. But Reyes Plá, as in the first three minutes, saved the best for the end, showing more freshness. Schelstraete got some accurate jabs, although the round once again went to the Spaniard, this time by split decision.
‘The Prophet’ only needed to avoid making mistakes in the final round, with the Belgian already with his arms very low and tired, although the volume of punches from the Spaniard was not what he wanted. Enmanuel Reyes worked on the abdominal area, always managing the distance and moving away from the ropes, even celebrating before the end of the round. ‘The Prophet’ secured the first medal for Spanish boxing in 24 years.
