(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Following a three-duel event on United States soil, Team USA will travel across the ocean to face squads from Scotland, Wales and England in two international competitions on British soil. The opening event will be a fundraiser named the Atlantic Cup and will showcase a mixed Great Britain squad with athletes from Scotland, Wales and England on November 13 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. The second dual event will be a USA vs. England Dual on November 17 at York Hall in Bethnal Green..
Great Britain claimed victories in all three of the duel events in the United States, but Team USA will look to turn the tide on British soil. The unique event will feature both men’s and women’s bouts both events. The U.S. squad of eight men and two women will compete in both competitions, but will face two different teams from the home nations.
On the men’s side, the United States squad will be: flyweight Michael Ruiz, Jr. (Fresno, Calif.), bantamweight John Franklin (Fort Carson, Colo.), featherweight Ricky Edwards (Prospect Park, N.J.), lightweight Eric DeLeon (Lincoln Park, Mich.), welterweight Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas), middleweight Luis Arias (Milwaukee, Wis.), heavyweight Lamar Fenner (Chicago, Ill.) and super heavyweight Lenroy Thompson (Lenexa, Kansas). Female boxers Patricia Manuel (Commerce, Calif.) and Brittany Inkrote (Red Lion, Pa.) will represent the United States at the lightweight and welterweight divisions respectively.
The U.S. coaching staff will be led by newly named Volunteer National Coach Ed Weichers (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and he will be joined by Candy Lopez (San Jose, Calif.) and Gary Sullenger (Concord, Calif.). Richard Trindle (Mercer, Pa.) will serve as the Team Manager for the event with David Llaurdo (New York, N.Y.) and Richard Neves (Pleasanton, Calif.) serving as the AIBA officials.
The team representing Great Britain on November 13 will be: flyweight Khalid Yafai, bantamweight
Andrew Selby, featherweight Iain Weaver, lightweight Tom Stalker, heavyweight Stephen Simmons, and super heavyweight Simon Vallily. The female team members will compete in both events with Natasha Jonas boxing at the lightweight division and Savannah Marshall representing the host nation in welterweight.
The English squad competing on November 15 is flyweight Paul Butler, bantamweight Leigh Woods, featherweight Martin Ward, lightweight Tom Stalker, welterweight Dudley O’Shaunessey, middleweight Hosea Burton, heavyweight Wado Camacho, and super heavyweight Simon Vallily.
The USA vs. England Duel is an annual event between the two squads consistently held in November in England.
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.