The 2009 National PAL Championships to be Contested October 19-24 in San Antonio, Texas – COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Nearly 600 of the nation’s top amateur boxers are currently preparing for the 2009 National Police Athletic League Championships, October 19-24 at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. The unique event provides an opportunity for male, female and junior boxers as young as 11 to compete in one tournament. The 2009 event is on track to boast one of the largest turnouts in the history of the event with over 550 boxers currently pre-registered for the tournament..
In addition, the 2009 National PAL Championships will be recognizing the United States military with all military personnel receiving free admission to the event and the championship belts being presented by Wounded Warriors from the Intrepid Center. The 2009 edition of the event is moving south to San Antonio after four straight years in Oxnard, Calif.
Junior division action will be contested in the 11-12-year-old, 13-14-year-old, and 15-16-year-old age groups in both the male and female divisions. In addition, open division action will take place throughout the week with the winners earning an automatic berth into the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships. Preliminary round competition will begin on Monday, October 19 with two sessions a day scheduled to take place through Saturday when final round competition will be contested at 6 p.m.
The 2009 National PAL Championships will be the first major national event since the IOC decision to allow women’s boxing in the Olympic Games and will therefore be showcasing the new men’s weight divisions. The 10 weight classes will now be: light flyweight (108 lbs), flyweight (114 lbs), bantamweight (123 lbs), lightweight (132 lbs), light welterweight (141 lbs), welterweight (152 lbs), middleweight (165 lbs), light heavyweight (178 lbs), heavyweight (201 lbs) and super heavyweight (201+ lbs).
Tickets for the event are available for $5 for spectators ages 7-17, general admission tickets are $10 and ringside tickets are $20. A week-long pass can be purchased for $30 offering a significant discount on the full-price session tickets. Children seven and under and military personnel are free of charge.
Registration for the event will take place on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 at the Municipal Auditorium and walk-in registration will be accepted.
The National PAL Championships continuously showcases future Olympians and stars of the professional boxing world. Former PAL competitors Yory Boy Campas and Raul Martinez are expected to be on hand to take in the action during the week-long competition.
Des Moines to Host a 2009 USA vs. Great Britain International Boxing Dual on October 30
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Top boxers from the United States and Great Britain will face off in the third of three duals on October 30 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Eleven bouts of Olympic-style boxing action are scheduled for the international event in Des Moines. Hosting an international boxing event with Team USA is a great opportunity,” said Global Spectrum’s Matt Homan, General Manager of Wells Fargo Arena. “USA Boxing versus Great Britain will allow Iowans to see the athleticism, physical condition, and great character of the athletes they see as part of the Olympics in competition up close and in person”
The squad representing the United States in Des Moines boasts a unique collaboration of reigning national champions, and international newcomers. 2009 light flyweight national team member Michael Bennedosso (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 2009 USA Boxing National Championships Flyweight bronze medalist Michael Ruiz, Jr. (Fresno, Calif.); 2009 Bantamweight National Champion Jesus Magdaleno (Las Vegas, Nev.); 2009 USA Boxing National Championships Featherweight bronze medalist Ernesto Garza (Saginaw, Mich.); 2009 USA Boxing National Championships lightweight bronze medalist Adrian Martinez (Milwaukee, Wis.); 2009 USA Boxing National Championships light welterweight bronze medalist Zeddie Adams (Cleveland, Ohio); 2009 USA Boxing National Championships welterweight bronze medalist Richard Hargraves (San Francisco, Calif.); 2009 USA Boxing National Championships bronze medalist Russell Lamour (Portland, Maine); 2009 Heavyweight National Champion Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.); and 2009 USA Boxing National Championships super heavyweight bronze medalist Trevor Bryan (Marquette, Mich.) will all compete for Team USA. A second flyweight boxer will be added to the U.S. roster shortly.
Coaches Israel Acosta (Milwaukee, Wis.), Kenneth Buffington (Marshalltown, Iowa) and Dennis Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.) will lead the U.S. team into action with Venoria Lindsay (San Diego, Calif.) serving as the Team Manager for the event. Doug Emery (Lincoln, Neb.) and Zac Young (Los Angeles, Calif.) will work as the AIBA officials and Kevina Franklin (McDonough, Ga.) will join the delegation as the computer technician.
The Great Britain squad competing in Des Moines will be: light flyweight Paul Butler, flyweights Khalid Yafai and Daniel Chapman, bantamweight Andrew Selby, featherweight Iain Weaver, lightweight Daniel Phillips, light welterweight Scott Cardle, welterweight Craig Dixon, middleweight Karl Kirkham, heavyweight Stephen Simmons, and super heavyweight Amin Isa. Coaches James Davison, David Alloway, and Nigel Davies will lead their squad in Des Moines.
The United States participates in international dual events throughout the year both in the United States and abroad in an effort to provide consistent international competition for the athletes. The Des Moines event will be the final of three duals against Great Britain in the United States with competitions taking place in Norfolk, Va., and St. Louis, Mo., earlier in the month.
The United States vs. Great Britain dual will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Arena. Tickets for the event run from $21 to $56 and can be purchased at the Wells Fargo Arena Box Office, all Dahl’s foods, online at dahlstickets.com, or by calling 866-55-DAHLS
Team USA Prepares for the USA vs. Great Britain Dual Opener on October 16 in Norfolk, Virginia
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Team USA has opened their short preparatory training camp for the first of three USA vs. Great Britain Duals at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va., on October 16. The eight boxers competing for the United States in the international dual arrived in Virginia on Monday and are training for the event at Coach Gloria Peek’s Barraud Park Boxing Center in Norfolk through competition on Friday.
The event will be the first domestic dual of 2009 for Team USA and provide valuable international experience for the boxers competing in the event. Due to injuries and schedule conflicts, the eight boxers representing the United States will be flyweight Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.), bantamweight Luis Rosa (East Haven, Conn.), featherweight Josh Bowls (Harrisburg, Pa.), welterweight Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas), middleweight Jesse Hart (Marquette, Mich.), heavyweight Anthony Mack (Plano, Texas), and super heavyweight Javier Torres (Commerce, Calif.).
Coaches Barry Hunter (Fort Washington, Md.), Gloria Peek (Norfolk, Va.) and Willie Taylor (Arlington, Va.) are currently working with the athletes to finalize their preparation for the dual. The Norfolk event will be the first of three duals against Great Britain in the United States with competitions taking place in Des Moines, Iowa and St. Louis, Mo., later in the month.
The United States vs. Great Britain dual will kick off at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk. Tickets for the event run from $17 to $53 and can be purchased through the venue website at http://www.constantcenter.com.
The United States vs. Great Britain theme will be continued on Saturday night as USA Boxing alum and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell (Flint, Mich.) faces reigning WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch in his hometown of Nottingham, England. A second Olympic medalist will face off against a foreign foe in Saturday’s action as well as 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Jermain Taylor (Little Rock, Ark.) battles Arthur Abraham in Berlin, Germany. Both bouts are being contested as part of the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic and will be shown on Showtime on Saturday night.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It is responsible for the selection and management of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and for the governance and oversight of USA Boxing’s national organization of 38,000 members, 1,400 individual boxing clubs, and 1,600 sanctioned events annually.