USA BOXING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO SALT LAKE CITY NEXT WEEK

USA Boxing’s Elite and Youth National Championships & Junior and Prep Open returns to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah for the second consecutive year, Dec. 1-8.

Over 650 of the nation’s best boxers, aged 8 to 40, will step into the ring beginning Dec. 4 looking for their chance to win a national title. This year’s tournament will also serve as the first qualifier to the 2020 Olympic Trials for Boxing for those boxers in the elite division (19-40).

Winners in the junior (15-16), youth (17-18) and elite division will earn spots on USA Boxing’s High-Performance Squad, which will give them the opportunity to attend training camps at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., as well as represent Team USA in international competition in 2019. Boxers in the prep divisions (8-14) will earn valuable ranking points for the next year.

"We are looking forward to returning to Salt Lake City for another year of amazing boxing," stated USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee. "These championships are an important step towards qualifying to Team USA and their chance to try and qualify to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as well as earn a place on our high performance squad for our younger boxers."

USA Boxing will kick off the weeklong tournament with a press conference on Monday, Dec. 3 in Room 155 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Local Utah boxers, World Championship medalists, as well as alumni of USA Boxing are expected to speak. A list of speakers will be announced closer to the day of the press conference.

Boxing will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 4 with two sessions, noon and 6:00 p.m., and will be free to the public until finals. Two sessions will continue through Thursday, Dec. 6, with Friday, Dec. 7 having just one noon session. The championships will conclude with the junior and youth finals beginning at 3:00 p.m., followed by the elite championship bouts starting at 6:00 p.m. Tickets will be available for purchase throughout the week at the venue or at the door prior to the start of the finals.

USA Boxing and the USA Boxing Alumni Association will also host its second annual Alumni Association Hall of Fame Reception at the Radisson Hotel (215 S. Temple St.) on Friday, December 7. Visit teamusa.org/usa-boxing/alumni for more information.