Photos: Vincent Auclair – Marie Al-Ahmadieh, Independence Cup champion and Canadian Olympic hopeful.
Team Canada kicked off the year—and its Olympic cycle—strong on the international stage. Out of 17 Canadian amateur boxers sent to the Independence Cup, 13 returned from the Dominican Republic with a medal on March 1st.
Among them, four secured gold, including two Quebecers!
And that’s not all—it’s actually a brother-sister duo.
Marie Al-Ahmadieh
Starting with 20-year-old Montrealer Marie Al-Ahmadieh, she made a name for herself in the 57kg category, and not against just anyone.
She defeated Australia’s Tiana Echegaray, more than a decade her senior and an Olympian from the recent Paris Games. But according to national team coach Vincent Auclair, her gold medal was far from surprising.
“We had high expectations for this competition. Marie is a dedicated athlete who was part of our Olympic cycle before the Paris Games and came just one fight short of qualifying for the Pan American Games.”
Keoma Ali Al-Ahmadieh
On the men’s side, Marie’s older brother, Keoma Ali, took gold in the 63.5kg category against Dominican boxer Joan Aguero.
“During the last cycle, he was somewhat in Wyatt [Sanford]’s shadow because he was competing at 60kg, a category not recognized by the Olympic Committee. But for 2028, we are confident his weight class will be added,” said Vincent Auclair, in a comment that speaks volumes about Keoma’s Olympic potential.
Keoma Ali Al-Ahmadieh
The 21-year-old Montrealer is already, like his sister, a five-time Canadian champion across both junior and senior levels. Before joining the national team, they both trained under Auclair when he led the Pound 4 Pound Boxing Club.
The brother-sister duo is now affiliated with Montreal’s Corner Gym, where coach El Mostafa Lyousfi completes their winning team.
Other Results
As for the other Canadian gold medalists, Randy Polines (Alberta) triumphed in the 51kg category, while McKenzie Wright (Ontario) won in the 50kg class.
Wright’s victory came in an all-Canadian final against Quebec’s Anne Marcotte. Taking home the silver, Marcotte is originally from Abitibi but now resides in Estrie, where she represents the Sherbrooke Boxing Club. A veteran of Team Canada, Marcotte has previously faced future professional boxers such as Kim Clavel, Sara Couillard, and Mathilde Barailler.
Anne Marcotte and McKenzie Wright
Six other Canadians left Santiago de los Caballeros with bronze medals, including Quebecers Nickenson Denis (Boxe Montréal) in the 92kg category and Bede Rowlands (also 92kg), completing a Corner Gym podium sweep. Outside of Quebec, Kuardeep Manu (71kg, Ontario), Adam Fregonas (75kg, Ontario), Joshua Ofori (75kg, Alberta), and Bryan Coldwell (92kg, British Columbia) also reached the podium.
Randy Polines
The Dominican Boxing School
Speaking of the host country, the Dominican Republic, with a delegation of 22 athletes, was the only nation to surpass Canada, securing six gold medals and 15 podium finishes.
That’s no surprise either. Dominican boxing, often overshadowed by Cuba, has produced several champions—both amateur and professional—over the years.
Notable names include Felix Diaz, an Olympic gold medalist in Beijing who later fought Lamont Peterson and Terence Crawford. Others include Javier Fortuna, Jazreel Corrales, Juan Carlos Payano, and Joan Guzman, who even fought in Quebec on the undercard of Lucian Bute’s 2009 event.
“Their style is similar to Cuban boxing but just a little more aggressive and brawling,” described Auclair.
What’s Next
Team Canada is back home—literally—as renovations at the National Training Center have been completed. A fire on March 21, 2024, at the Olympic Park had forced the national team to relocate, training at the Pound 4 Pound Boxing Club for nearly a year.
The team will soon hit the road again at the end of April for a training camp, either in Puerto Rico or Colorado.
In mid-May, they will compete in the Ceintures Montana international tournament in France.
Team Canada
By mid-June, they will head to the World Boxing Challenge in the Czech Republic, followed by the World Boxing Cup in Kazakhstan in early July.
“We really want to focus on high-quality opposition to keep improving,” Auclair emphasized about Canada’s packed international schedule.
“Like in Tennis”
However, the most important date this year will be in September. From the 4th to the 14th, the World Amateur Boxing Championships will take place in Liverpool.
With the scandals and decline of the International Boxing Association (AIBA/IBA), the International Olympic Committee now recognizes World Boxing as the primary governing body for amateur boxing.
According to Vincent Auclair, the biggest difference is that this organization implements a ranking system similar to tennis. For example, Canadian athletes competing in the Czech Republic Challenge and the Kazakhstan Cup will earn points that determine their seeding in the World Championships bracket in Liverpool.
It’s also a bit like March Madness in college basketball, to make a timely comparison.
And that answers Jean-Sebastien Fournier’s question in the comments of La Relève #2.
Canada is heading to the World Championships!
Now, we just have to see who will make the trip to England to represent us.
Professional Note
Wyatt Sanford is in town!
Much like Steve Claggett with Calgary-Montreal, Sanford is splitting his camp between NS and Quebec. He is now in the final stages of his preparation, alongside Vincent Auclair, for his professional debut on April 10th.
Sources (me): his opponent is expected to be Shawn Archer in a four-round, all-Canadian duel.
