The ‘World Boxing Cup: USA International Invitational’ starts today in Pueblo, Colorado. More than 120 boxers from 17 countries are taking part in the tournament that runs till the 20th of April.
This is the second leg of the inaugural World Boxing Cup, following the GB leg that took place in Sheffield, England in January.
The annual World Boxing Cup is a new addition to the elite international boxing calendar. It has been developed by World Boxing, the new international federation established to ensure boxing remains at the Olympic Games.
The format of the World Boxing Cup allows male and female boxers to accrue ranking points over several stages of competition through the year. This culminates in a year-end finals event when the top-ranked boxers compete for the World Boxing Cup trophy.
The five-day competition at Pueblo will take place across all 13 Olympic weight categories, seven for men and six for women. There will be two sessions per day at 12:00 and 18:00 Mountain Time (MT) [19:00 and 01:00 Central European Time (CET)] for the first four days and one session at 12:00 MT [19:00 CET] on the final day.
Half of the boxers participating in the Pueblo event have already secured a place at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. These included six U.S. boxers: Jennifer Lozano (50kg), Jajaira Gonzalez (60kg), Morelle McCane (66kg), Jahmal Harvey (57kg), Omari Jones (63.5 kg) and Joshua Edwards (92kg+).
Canadian world champion Tammara Thibeault (75kg) and Australia’s Caitlin Parker (75kg), who have both recently joined World Boxing’s Athlete’s Committee, are also headed to Paris.
Other Paris-bound boxers competing in the USA this week include: Delicious Orie (92kg+), Charley Davison (57kg) and Chantelle Reid (75kg) from Great Britain; China’s Qian Li (75kg) and Abner Teixeira (92kg) from Brazil.
