After months of delays due to Covid, the USA Boxing National Championships are finally taking place in Shreveport.
“The world champions of today in professional boxing, they came through the ranks of amateur boxing and they all go through this,” Tim Dement, a 1972 Olympian and Bossier City native said. “The people that are going to fight here will be world champions in the future.”
USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee added, “It’s huge not only (for) the boxers, but the coaches and the families. What we’re going to find with Covid, just the tragedy of all the loss of life, but the metal health for young people has been devastating.
“We’ve had officials that are just like ‘being able to see each other, a sense of normalcy [is great].”
Boxers that do well here will set themselves up to maybe eventually compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. McAtee explained there’s already a worldwide audience with their eyes on Shreveport.
“Russia, China, they’re watching our boxers now so an eight-year-old boxer stepping into the ring will have the ability to showcase his or her boxing skills, all the way up to our elites, and they’re going to be shown all over the world.
“Families back home will be able to watch them, cheer for them and we’re hoping just like everybody else that we can do things safely and have a lot of people cheering.”
While spectators won’t be able to attend in person, locations around the Shreveport-Bossier area will have live streams set up for the action. You can find those listed on the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission website.
For a schedule of bouts visits the USA Boxing website.
–KTBS.COM
