(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The large Icelandic volcano, which has crippled travel throughout the world, has caused the United States team to withdraw from the upcoming 2010 AIBA Youth World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. The safety and security of its athletes is always the first priority of USA Boxing, and the U.S. squad will therefore be unable to travel to Azerbaijan..
“While this is a very important competition and our staff is very disappointed for our athletes, the continued uncertainty of the volcano’s impact on air travel, both domestically and internationally, made the decision to cancel our team’s entry into the tournament the right decision,” Interim Executive Director Mike Martino said. “I can only imagine what problems this natural disaster would have created had it occurred two years from now, during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.”
The volcano has disrupted major international events throughout the globe both in and out of the sports world. As a result of the major natural disaster, AIBA has chosen to delay the start the event to April 25, but USA Boxing has been advised by knowledgeable travel personnel that it is unlikely the team will arrive in Baku and return to the United States in a timely fashion. Therefore, USA Boxing believes the most responsible decision for the security of the U.S. team is to avoid travel through the affected area.
The ten U.S. boxers scheduled to compete in the 2010 Youth World Championships were light flyweight Carlos Suarez (Lima, Ohio), flyweight Emmanuel Folly (Philadelphia, Pa.), bantamweight Emonte Scruggs (Dayton, Ohio), featherweight Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.), lightweight Ryan Martin (Chattanooga, Tenn.), light welterweight George Rincon (Carrollton, Texas), welterweight Alantez Fox (Forrestville, Md.), middleweight D’Mitrius Ballard (Temple Hills, Md.), light heavyweight Jerry Odom (Bowie, Md.), and heavyweight Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.). All of the boxers earned their sports on the Youth World Championships Team with victories at the 2010 Under-19 National Championships.
USA Boxing would like to thank AIBA and the event organizing committee for their understanding of this very difficult decision, and wishes all of the participants good luck in the tournament.
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.
Team USA Gears up for the 2010 Youth World Championships, April 20 – May 2 in Baku, Azerbaijan
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Ten of the nation’s top youth boxers will represent the United States at the 2010 Youth World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, April 20-May 2. The U.S. squad was chosen at the 2010 Under-19 National Championships in Cincinnati earlier this year and now the United States’ best will face the greatest 17 and 18-year-old boxers from around the world. The top four finishers in each of the eleven contested weight divisions will advance on to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August.
A record 555 boxers from 109 nations are registered to compete in the Youth World Championships with the boxers competing in three, three-minute rounds of action. Formerly called the Cadet World Championships, the event is the most prestigious tournament in the world for youth boxers. The event has been contested since 1979 and is held every two years.
The ten boxers representing the United States in Azerbaijan will be light flyweight Carlos Suarez (Lima, Ohio), flyweight Emmanuel Folly (Philadelphia, Pa.), bantamweight Emonte Scruggs (Dayton, Ohio), featherweight Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.), lightweight Ryan Martin (Chattanooga, Tenn.), light welterweight George Rincon (Carrollton, Texas), welterweight Alantez Fox (Forrestville, Md.), middleweight D’Mitrius Ballard (Temple Hills, Md.), light heavyweight Jerry Odom (Bowie, Md.), and heavyweight Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.). As there were no competitors in the super heavyweight division at the Under 19 National Championships; USA Boxing will not be sending a super heavyweight to Baku.
The coaches guiding the young U.S. boxers in Baku are Gene Vivero (Dallas, Texas) and Anthony Chase (Marietta, Ga.) and Ted Palac (Hamtramck, Mich.) will serve as Team Manager for the competition. The U.S. squad will arrive in Baku on April 18 for a short preparatory training camp before opening competition on April 23 at the Serhedchi Olympic Sport Complex. Preliminary competition will run through April 27 with quarterfinal action being contested on April 28. All of the competitors will enjoy a rest day before the tournament concludes with semifinal competition on April 30 and final round action on May 1.
The U.S. team members will all look to duplicate the feat of 2008 Youth World Champion Joey Dawjeko (Philadelphia, Pa.) with a gold medal victory in Baku. He became the first U.S. boxer since welterweight Juan McPherson (Cleveland, Ohio) in 2002 to claim a youth world championship with a win in the super heavyweight division.
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.