Wyatt Sanford pro debut rescheduled for May against Gonzalo Omar Manriquez

Canadian Olympic medalist Wyatt Sanford has a new date for his pro boxing debut scheduled for May 17, when he faces Gonzalo Omar Manriquez. The pair square off in a four-round super lightweight bout at Fredericton Coliseum in New Brunswick.

Sanford was originally scheduled to make his pro debut against Shawn Archer on the undercard of Dzmitry Asanau vs Francesco Patera in Montreal on April 10. The all-Canadian bout fell through due to a medical issue from Team Archer.

The 26-year-old native of Kennetcook, Nova Scotia, Sanford now takes on Gonzalo Omar Manriquez (5-5-1) of Argentina. The latter steps through the ropes for the first time in 19 months, bringing to the ring four defeats and a draw in his five previous bouts.

“I can’t wait to get back in the ring, especially with the chance to do it so close to home,” said Wyatt Sanford, who earned bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I already feel ready to fight, and more importantly, to deliver a great performance.”

If successful in his first outing as a pro, Wyatt Sanford might look to make a quick return to the ring at EOTTM: NABF Rumble scheduled for June 5 in Montreal.

“Of course, we would have liked for his debut to take place on one of our shows, and we plan to have him fight on all our upcoming events,” said Eye of the Tiger president Camille Estephan. “But in the meantime, it was a priority for us to keep Wyatt active by finding him a fight as quickly as possible.”

The Wyatt Sanford vs Gonzalo Omar Manriquez bout serves as the co-feature on the card topped by Sean Finnigan (3-0, 2 KOs) up against Karoly Botos (2-3, 2 KOs) of Hungary. The contest is scheduled for six rounds at super welterweight.

Among other four-round matchups, David Logue (3-1, 3 KOs) meets Tevin Terrance (1-2-2, 1 KO) at light heavyweight, Adam Black (2-1) takes on Anton Tokarchuk (1-1) at heavyweight, and Josh Melvin makes his pro debut against Serge Ntetu (0-2-1) at super welterweight.