Canada's Tammara Thibeault loses on points in Olympic boxing shocker

Tammara Thibeault of Shawinigan, Que., lost her 75-kilogram Round of 16 boxing match to Cindy Ngamba from the Refugee Olympic Team on Wednesday and will not fight in Sunday's quarterfinal at North Paris Arena in Villepinte, France.

Thibeault, who was fifth in the 2021 Olympic tournament in Tokyo, lost 3-2 on points after entering the Paris competition with one goal — becoming the first Canadian Olympic boxer to win gold since heavyweight Lennon Lews triumphed in Seoul in 1988.

Canada has not won a boxing medal at the Summer Games since another heavyweight, David Defiagbon, took silver at Atlanta 1996.

To say Thibeault was the favourite in Paris would have been an understatement, but the 27-year-old tried to put that aside before arriving in Paris.

"I'm the reigning world champion," she said recently. "But it's a new tournament. Everyone starts on the same footing and, above all, I don't underestimate any of my opponents. I also don't rely on being the favourite."

Entering Wednesday's bout, the 2022 world champion had won 25 consecutive fights since that quarterfinal defeat in Japan.

Thibeault is also a two-time Pan American Boxing gold medallist and won the last Pan American and Commonwealth Games.

Recently, she told The Canadian Press she planned to turn professional as soon as the Games are over and won't rule out competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Canada's other Olympic medal hope in Paris, Wyatt Sanford, faces Ruslan Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in a 63.5 kg quarterfinal on Thursday at 6:52 a.m. ET.

Like Thibeault, Sanford secured his Olympic spot at the Pan Am Games last fall in Santiago, Chile in a unanimous decision (5-0) over Brazil's Yuri Falcão.

The 24-year-old Sanford, who hails from Kennetcook, N.S., was the