United States Olympic Boxing Team Battles This Weekend

The full United States Olympic Boxing team is action this weekend. The eight members who have already qualified for Beijing are competing tonight against their Puerto Rican amateur adversaries in Philadelphia while the remaining three are vying for their Olympic spots at the second Americas Qualifier being held this week in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The Philadelphia event is being held at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. Tickets range from $17 to $67. There are both group and Temple student discounts. The card features a bout in all eleven weight classes and is headlined by future American stars including the flashy lightweight Sadam “World Kid” Ali, 2004 Olympian and current flyweight world champ Rau’shee Warren, and Pan Am Games gold medalist light flyweight Luis Yanez.

The event is also being advertised as streaming live online at www.gofightlive.tv

2,000 miles south of Philly middleweight Shawn Estrada, light heavyweight Christopher Downs, and super heavyweight Michael Hunter II are fighting to join their teammates in Beijing. Sadly, Guatemala City has not been kind to Christopher Downs. The 6′4″ 33-year-old U.S. Army sergeant first class lost on Friday 5-3 to Ecuador’s Cesar Castillo Torres and been knocked out of the tourney.

Downs was battling to become the oldest ever U.S. boxing Olympian but in the end a slipped disk in his back and a severely twisted ankle hindered his ability to compete against the young amateurs. Downs, an Iraq War veteran, had impressed early at last month’s first America qualifiers but his Beijing quest was not to be.

Estrada kept his dream alive with an opening bout win on Friday and Hunter begins his journey tomorrow.