South American Youth Games: Boxer Ken Harvey wins bronze for Guyana

The South American Youth Games bore witness to a technical chess match in Panama as Guyana’s Ken Harvey was edged out by Brazil’s Maicon Dos Santos in a razor-thin 60kg semifinal encounter on Friday.

While Harvey’s journey concludes with a well-earned bronze, the scorecard suggested a contest that could have gone either way, ultimately settled by a 3:2 split decision in favour of the Brazilian.

Both fighters displayed the “sweet science” at its most competitive. Harvey started with intent, convincing Judge 1 and Judge 4 of his superiority in the opening round, though the remaining three officials favoured Dos Santos.

The Guyanese pugilist found a higher gear in the latter stages, clawing back the second round on Judge 4 and Judge 5’s cards, and finishing the third round strongly to secure the final frame from Judges 2, 4, and 5.

Despite Harvey winning the final round on the majority of cards and Judge 4,

Maria Del Pilar Morales of Mexico, scoring the entire bout 30-27 in his favour, it was not enough to overturn the overall tally.

The final verdict saw Dos Santos take the win on points (WP), leaving Harvey to stand on the podium as a proud representative of Guyana after three rounds of relentless action. (Modified from Guyana Olympic Association)

FULL RESULTS: https://results.panama2026.org/#/schedule/disciplines