Posts tagged Olympics
The most impressive male prospect of the night was probably Marcus Browne, 20, who has already qualified for the 2012 Olympic trials. He won the 178-lb. open division by out-boxing the courageous DeVaun Lee, 23, of Queens.
Cash boost helps boxing club punch above its weight
It looked like it had been dealt a knock-out blow – but an Oxford boxing club threatened with closure has been saved thanks to London 2012-inspired funding.
The Oxford Boxing Academy had been on the ropes as its facilities fell into disrepair. But thanks to the £135 million Places People Play investment programme, the club has now a brand new gym, and a bright future ahead of it.
And Faz Keyani, who runs the Academy, said it is in perfect shape to capitalise on the interest in boxing generated by London 2012.
“After the Games, I’m expecting us to be inundated. So it’s a good job we’ve now got 200 square metres of gym, 20 punch-bags and an Olympic-sized boxing ring.”
“I’m hoping we’ll expand as more people take it up. Many more boys and girls will be interested. We’re helping obese kids move to a healthy lifestyle and educating those with behavioural problems to have respect and channel their energy in a positive way.”
Quanitta Underwood and her sister suffered years of sexual abuse from their father. She’s now an Olympic contender in boxing, and a public voice for other survivors:
Underwood, of course, covets a gold medal and the fame that would come with it. “I want to take that ride,” she says. “I want to be a household name.”
But beyond that, she wants to be a symbol of hope to anyone who has ever been sexually abused, though to do so requires something harder for her than a thousand hours of hitting the heavy bag. She has to talk about what happened.
“Quanitta Underwood: A Contender for Olympic Gold and a Survivor.” — Barry Bearak, New York Times
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Sixteen-year-old boxer Claressa Shields before winning her first fight at the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team Trials outside Spokane on Monday. She fought Franchon Crews the #1 ranked middleweight female boxer in the country. Listen to her story.
Four Indian Boxers Make 2012 Olympics
The world’s largest democracy will be well-represented in the pugilistic arts at the 2012 London Olympics. Four Indian boxers reached the quarterfinals of the AIBA World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, assuring them of places in next year’s games: junior welterweight Manoj Kumar (right), lightweight Jai Bhagwan, welterweight Vikas Krishnan and light flyweight Devendro Singh.
Liveblog: Olympic Boxing Trials
Trials for the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team got underway on Sunday in Mobile, Ala. and fortunately the useful DC Amateur Boxing blog is down there providing live coverage of all the action.
Opening bouts were released earlier today and feature several East Coast prospects who should be familiar to Stiff Jab readers that followed our coverage of this year’s New York and Washington-area regional Golden Gloves championships.
Our first impression is that Gary Allan Russell III, Michael Reed, Erick DeLeon and Marcus Browne are the names to watch but there are plenty of familiar fighters capable of making noise. We’ll update this post as the results come in:
Sugar Ray Leonard never had any trouble pulling the trigger inside the ring, but the bombshell he dropped on Tuesday, his 55th birthday, deals with the messy reality of life outside the ropes.
The New York Times reports Leonard’s upcoming memoir reveals for the first time that he was sexually abused as a young fighter by an unnamed “prominent Olympic boxing coach.” The details are both disgusting and completely believable, especially given the huge influence Olympic coaches have on amateur athletes.
Hopefully Ray’s revelation will help shine some light on an under-reported problem in the U.S. Olympic program. His willingness to step forward and discuss the past shouldn’t surprise us given his courageous displays in the ring, but we commend him all the same. Kudos to you Ray, and Happy Birthday.
Local amateur Lawrence Singh is the youngest member of Trinidad & Tobago’s Olympic boxing team and a standout student set to graduate from high school one year early so he can focus on his training. Definitely a prospect worth following.
American University J-School student Dan Merica brings us this look at Singh, his dad Loknauth and the great work they’re doing at Headbanger’s Gym in Southwest D.C. We’re hoping to be at the Golden Gloves in Waldorf, Md. next weekend to see Singh in action for ourselves.
