Born in the Cauca region of Colombia, Ingrit Lorena Valencia looked up at the sky, saw the planes and imagined traveling the world. On the morning of July 29 in Tokyo, the 33 year-old won a resounding victory over India’s iconic representative, Mary Kom. In this way Valencia is preparing for the quarterfinals to be held on August 1 with the illusion of repeating the medal she won at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
A respectable sportswoman, Mary Kom is an important figure for India and because of the values she transmits, she was a special guest at the 98th World Boxing Association Convention 2019 in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China. Likewise, Ingrit Valencia participated in the FUTURE WBA CHAMPIONS camp held with the intention of giving support to amateur and professional athletes under the motto of ONE BOXING.
In a tough fight, Valencia knew how to take advantage of her punching speed and precision, which prevailed over the power and depth that the six-time amateur world champion Mary Kom was looking for. The most intense round was the last round when both boxers came out to give it all they had. A vibrant bout. Finally, with a 3-2 split decision of the judges, the representative of Colombia won the victory in the 48-51kg division.
This achievement, which brings Ingrit closer to dreaming of a second Olympic medal, was also significant due to the caliber of the opponent she faced. After the referee’s announcement, both boxers raised their hands: Valencia expressed her triumph while Kom expressed the emotion of a farewell.
Ingrit Valencia started boxing at the age of 16 just to do something. When her son came into the world at 18, Ingrit decided to dedicate full time to boxing and at the age of 20 she had her first competition representing her country. Many achievements have accompanied her since then and with a degree in Education she dreams of transmitting the best of herself to children.
Her dreams as a traveler have been fulfilled with much more than she expected. And now she is also thinking about the possibility of reaching Paris in 2024, but without getting ahead of herself. The pioneering boxing organization continues to support the dreams of athletes.
