Wright lost by unanimous decision to Mexico's Fatima Herrera in the final Olympic qualifying bout in Bangkok, Thailand.
St Davids boxer Mackenzie Wright's bid to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris ended in a tie.
Wright lost a unanimous decision to Mexican boxer Fatima Herrera at the Olympic boxing finals in Bangkok on Sunday morning. The 34-year-old was one of nine Canadian boxers who competed in the tournament, but none of them earned a spot in Paris.
Herrera, a skilled ambidextrous southpaw who can also lead with his right hand, defeated Wright by a 5-0 decision, winning all three rounds of the bout.
Wright earned a first-round bye and began her tournament on her birthday, Friday, by defeating Argentina's overwhelming favorite Aldana Florencia Lopez, the 2022 Women's World Boxing Championship bronze medalist, in the women's 50kg division by unanimous decision.
Wright defeated Serbia's Nina Radovanovic on Saturday. Three of the five judges scored the first round in favor of the Serbian fighter, but Wright turned the tide in the final two rounds, outwitting Radovanovic with slick movement and effective counterpunching to win by a 5-0 unanimous decision.
Coming into Sunday's match against Herrera, Wright was the last Canadian player in contention for an Olympic berth.
Herrera set the pace from the start, going on the offensive and landing several close-range punches to Wright's head. Wright fought back with a furious attack late in the first round, but four of the five judges scored the first three minutes in Herrera's favor.
Wright came out of his corner more aggressively in the second round, landing some heavy punches early on, but Herrera adjusted and continued to stab his opponent with a flurry of rights and lefts.
Herrera continued his momentum in the third round, defending effectively as Wright came on the offensive, but Wright was unable to get the hang of it enough to turn the tide, and Herrera took the second and third rounds to take the victory by unanimous decision.
When the bell rang to end the bout, Wright seemed to realize that Herrera had defeated him.
The Niagara University nursing graduate began her Olympic quest at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Jennifer Lozano of the United States.
That meant she had to defend her place on Canada's 50-kilogram team at the Olympic team trials in Montreal in December, where she won handily and qualified for the first round of Olympic qualifiers in March in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
In Italy, she was closely matched by Aira Villegas of the Philippines, but three of the five judges scored the match 3-2 in Villegas's favour, and Wright was eliminated from the round of 32, heading to Bangkok for her final chance at a ticket to Paris.
