Just as it did three years ago in Tokyo, the United States will bring a team of Olympic rookies to the 2024 Paris Games.
It worked out well in Tokyo, particularly for the U.S. men, who brought home three silver medals and had their most successful Olympics since Andre Ward won gold in 2004. With strong medal contenders on the roster, including a 2021 world champion, Team USA will be hoping for another strong showing in Paris.
Overall, the U.S. qualified in eight of the 13 weight classes that will be contested in Paris, and the team will be comprised of four men and four women.
Meet the 2024 U.S. Olympic boxing team below.
Roscoe Hill (Men's Flyweight)
Roscoe Hill has a unique connection to an American boxing legend. His father, a former boxer, used to train with George Foreman, and Hill himself grew up training in Foreman's gym and was even baptized by the man himself. The 29-year-old, who was the runner-up at the 2021 World Championships, will now hope to follow in Foreman's footsteps and write his own chapter of USA Boxing history at the Paris Olympics.
Jahmal Harvey (Men's Featherweight)
At just 21 years old, Jahmal Harvey is one of the brightest young stars within the USA Boxing program. The Oxon Hill, Maryland, native grew up playing football but found success after transitioning to the ring. He won his first elite world title in 2021, ending a 14-year drought for the U.S. men, and recently claimed gold at the 2023 Pan American Games. Harvey heads to Paris as one of Team USA's leading medal contenders and will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
Omari Jones (Men's Welterweight)
Omari Jones, 21, is another promising U.S. athlete to watch out for in Paris. His aggressive demeanor in the ring, which has earned him the nickname "Banger," is balanced with a softer side: As part of his community involvement, he uses money earned through boxing to purchase backpacks for kids in his hometown of Orlando, Florida. Jones was the runner-up at the 2021 World Championships and won a pair of international tournaments in 2023.
Joshua Edwards (Men's Super Heavyweight)
Joshua Edwards, 24, will become the latest boxer to represent the U.S. in the men's super heavyweight division. Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing around 220 pounds, Edwards considers his defense and his speed to be his biggest advantage against other boxers in the weight class. The Houston native recently won a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Jennifer Lozano (Women's Flyweight)
Nicknamed "La Traviesa" — "The Troublemaker" — by her grandmother, Jennifer Lozano will now be trying to make trouble for any opponent she faces at the Paris Olympics. Growing up in a small border town in Texas, Lozano originally started boxing as a way to defend herself against bullies. Those skills are now translating to the elite level, as the 21-year-old has started building a resume that includes a 2023 Pan American Games silver medal.
Alyssa Mendoza (Women's Featherweight)
Alyssa Mendoza secured her spot at the Olympics by winning each of her bouts by unanimous decision at the final world qualification tournament in May. She's coming off a strong rookie season on the international circuit in 2023 in which she finished on the podium at three tournaments. The 20-year-old will become Idaho's first Olympic boxer when she competes at the Paris Games.
Jajaira Gonzalez (Women's Lightweight)
The Olympics have been a long time coming for 27-year old Jajaira Gonzalez. After winning gold at the 2014 Youth Olympics — part of a dominant stretch for the former teenage phenom — she finished second at Olympic Trials in 2016 and missed out on the Rio Games. Then in 2018, she stepped away from the sport to focus on her mental health and didn't return until 2021. Although Gonzalez missed out on being selected for the women's featherweight (57kg/125 lbs.) spot on the national team, an opportunity for her to move up to lightweight (60kg/132 lbs.) presented itself. With a bronze-medal performance at the 2023 Pan American Games, Gonzalez successfully punched her ticket to Paris in her new weight class and will finally get to make her Olympic debut.
Morelle McCane (Women's Welterweight)
Morelle McCane, 29, is headed to her first Olympics after a strong 2023 season in which she won three international medals, including Pan American Games silver. McCane will be the latest in a long line of Olympic boxers to come out of Cleveland — the city now has sent boxers to five straight Olympic Games — but just the first woman. "When people see me fight, I don’t want them to say I fight like a dude," she told USA Boxing. "I want them to say, 'Oh my God, that girl can fight.'"
