Sebastian Mazeneth earns silver medal at USA Boxing Summer Festival
NEW YORK — Sebastian Mazeneth proved he was one of the best boxers in the country at his weight class, earning a silver medal at the 2024 USA Boxing Summer Festival in Wichita, Kansas.
The 21-year-old Mazeneth of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, N.Y. defeated three boxers in his 147-pound elite male bracket at the Century II Convention Center before losing a spirited decision in the finals of the tournament, which ran from June 24-28.
Mazeneth opened the tournament on Monday, June 24, defeating Jibril Marshall of Florida by a 4-1 decision, then overcame Colorado’s Cashius Jackson the following day in the quarterfinals, scoring a victory by unanimous decision. After a day’s rest, Mazeneth had another strong outing on June 27 in the semifinals, outworking Georgia’s Maximillian Erfani of the famed Lugo Boxing Gym to win a unanimous decision and earn a spot in the finals. In the finals, Mazeneth closed the fight strongly but lost a decision to the more experienced Roy Fields of Texas on Friday, June 28.
“Coming into the Summer Festival I knew I was a complete underdog. I was probably the least experienced guy in my bracket and at one of the most competitive weight classes in the sport of boxing. This didn’t deter me,” said Mazeneth, who is a finance student at College of Staten Island, and had been a football standout at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn.
“I believed in myself and took on the challenge fight by fight. I knew I had the ability to compete on this stage and this week I proved it.”
The silver medal finish marked an impressive run for Mazeneth, given that he has only been competing in boxing for the past 16 months, and had only turned open class in March. Furthermore, Mazeneth still has yet to box in his 20th bout as an amateur.
“The secret to Sebastian’s success is that there is no secret. He works as hard as any boxer in the world, and doesn’t cut any corners in training. Sebastian will only get better from this point. The best is yet to come,” said Ryan Songalia, who trains Mazeneth alongside Argenis Arce.
Mazeneth isn’t taking any time off to rest on his laurels, as he returns to training camp this week to begin preparing for the New York Boxing Tournament, which runs from July 12 through August 3. After that, he will compete in the Metropolitan Championships from September 28 through November 2, which will serve as a qualifier for the USA Boxing National Championships in December.