Olympics-Boxing-America's Gonzalez relishes battle with hostile French crowd on Games debut

By Aadi Nair

PARIS (Reuters) - A vocal French crowd raucously cheering on local hero Estelle Mossely could not dampen the spirit of fiery American Jajaira Gonzalez, who said she had a great time in her opening win over the Rio Olympics gold medallist at the Paris Games.

Gonzalez had little support from a packed North Paris Arena, but the lightweight was undaunted and claimed a 4-0 win over her French opponent.

"As soon as I heard the crowd booing me, it really turned me up," Gonzalez said.

"It really motivated me to go out there. It made me hungrier. I was like, 'alright, I'm about to show y'all'. Y'all hate me now, but y'all are going love me after this. I was just very confident. I was excited to just get out there.

"I was just having fun. That's why I think I looked over at the crowd and I smiled. I really wanted to blow a kiss, but I was just like, let me stay focused, stay in the moment."

Her confidence almost led her astray, however, as she came within inches of being hit with a dangerous blow while looking at her coaches after landing a shot.

"I looked at them and smiled," Gonzalez said.

"As soon as I turned around, I had barely missed the punch that was coming forward, and I was like, let me not do that again."

The win marked a memorable debut at the Olympics for the Pan American Games silver medallist, who walked away from boxing after failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics before returning to the sport in 2021.

Asked what she thought of that decision, Gonzalez said: "Two thoughts always come to my head.

"One is, if I didn't step away from the sport for so long, how much more advanced would I be in the sport right now?

"But then I also think about how much I've grown as a person and as a fighter, being lonely during that break. I feel like I wouldn't trade it for the world."

The 27-year-old next faces Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Beatriz Ferreira. On paper, it looks like a tough contest for Gonzalez, but she was confident of success.

"I fought her at Pan American Games. She's a good fighter, but I'm a great fighter. I know exactly what I need to do.

"I'm excited. I ain't scared of nobody."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Paris; Editing by Toby Davis)