Camden’s Jamar Talley drops decision to Cuba’s La Cruz at Pan Am Games

American heavyweight Jamar Talley came up short in his first fight at the 2023 Pan American Games, losing a unanimous decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Julio Cesar La Cruz at the Olympic Training Center in Ñuñoa, Chile. Two judges had it 30-27, while the other three had it 29-28, all in favor of La Cruz, the 34-year-old from Camaguey, Cuba who won the 2016 gold medal at light heavyweight and the heavyweight gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

The loss in the round of 16 means Talley, 23, of Camden, N.J. won’t qualify for the Paris Games at this event, as only the top two finishers in the 203-pound division earn a ticket to next year’s Olympics, but there are two more world qualifiers set for next year, at Busto Arsizio, Italy from February 29 to March 12, and in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 23 to June 5.

Talley, the taller fighter at 6’3”, came out the aggressor with his jab. La Cruz was able to get away from the heavy punches by pulling back at awkward angles while looking for counter punch opportunities. Talley won the first round on three of the five cards, forcing La Cruz to come out more aggressive in the second round and use his speed to beat Talley to the punch with his lefts

With the fight on the line, Talley came out swinging hard in the third, looking to land a punch that could slow La Cruz down. The more experienced La Cruz looked for his counterpunching opportunities, bloodying the mouth of Talley, who continued to punch with bad intentions.

All five judges gave La Cruz the final two rounds.

Talley had previously won gold medals at the 2023 GeeBee Tournament in Finland and the 2022 AMBC American Elite Boxing Championships in Ecuador.

The United States hasn’t had a heavyweight boxer qualify for the Summer Olympics since Michael Hunter represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics. The last boxer from New Jersey to compete at the Olympics was silver medalist Shakur Stevenson at the 2016 Games.