Eddie Valenzuela Barillas (born 22 December 1982) is a

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

n amateur

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who qualified to the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

. Valenzuela, a native of

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

, was the first Guatemalan boxer to reach the Olympics in 16 years. At the Beijing Games, he lost the only fight he contested, in the round of 32, against Thai boxer

Somjit Jongjohor Somjit Jongjohor (, , ; born January 19, 1975) is an amateur Thai boxer best known for winning gold medals in the flyweight division at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships and at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Early life and personal life ...

, who was the eventual

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

winner. In 2009 he reached the third round at the amateur world boxing championship in Milan Italy, ranking as one of the best 16 amateur boxers at the flyweight division. He also participated at the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

and at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

References

External links

2nd Qualifier
1982 births Living people Boxers from Guatemala City Flyweight boxers Boxers at the 2003 Pan American Games Boxers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2011 Pan American Games Guatemalan male boxers Olympic boxers for Guatemala Pan American Games competitors for Guatemala Boxers at the 2015 Pan American Games {{Guatemala-boxing-bio-stub