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Go For the Golden

A A A Comments By Drew Bixby Thursday, Mar 3 2011

When the best of the best amateur boxers face off tonight in the Championship Finals of the Colorado Golden Gloves State Tournament, they will have already battled their way through three nights of fierce competition — all for the chance to eventually secure an Olympic berth. “Last year, we had 36 bouts one night, 32 the next, and then 29 and then 26,” says Jesse Mora, state chairman. “It’s a lot of boxing going on.” A lot of very serious boxing, despite the amateur tag.

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“It’s just like professional competition,” Mora explains. “These boxers are well controlled, and they’re sportsmen. If one of the boxers is getting seriously outpunched, the official will stop the bout and make sure they can continue. We’re very safety-minded.”

Which is important when boys and girls as young as eight years old and as light as 55 pounds are competing. “Some of these kids already have ten, twelve, thirteen bouts under their belts,” Mora says. “We’re one of the few organizations that give out championships to younger boxers. Usually you have to go to the national level to win a championship. We feel our guys are champions, so we give them outstanding awards.”

The Championship Finals begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Convention Center, I-70 and Chambers Road in Aurora. General-admission tickets are $10, and ringside seats cost $15; for more information, call 303-880-5515.
March 1-5, 2011

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