A tearful Marlen Esparza won the first Olympics boxing medal by a U.S. woman Wednesday while losing her semifinal boxing match to Ren Cancan of China, 10-8.
The Pasadena native, who said the fight would be her last, had been the first American female boxer to qualify for the Games as women's boxing made its long awaited debut in London.
Esparza, who recently turned 23, won the final two rounds of the flyweight division match handily, but it wasn't enough to close the gap as Ren, who is a three-time world champion, had built up a big lead in the first three rounds.
"I thought I got away with it and won because I was only down by two going into the final round and I was finding my range," Esparza told the Los Angeles Times. "I should have put my brakes on but she was frustrating.
"I can't be angry about getting any medal at all but [bronze] wasn't my goal."
