科罗拉多斯普林斯, 膝部. (三月 15, 2021) – There is no more of a family affair in USA Boxing thanKayla Gomez’s, in which her mother, Crystal Aceves, and grandmother, Cindy Aceves, work her corner.
They will be together once again at the 2020 美国拳击全国锦标赛, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from last December to March 25 – 四月 3, in Shreveport, 的。
The 18-year-old Gomez, who lives in El Paso (TX), is a youth flyweight (112 磅。) 拳击手, who finished second at the 2019 全国锦标赛, highlighting her first year in Youth competition. She has a growing supply of gold medals having finished on top at the 2019 & 2018 西部地区公开赛, 2018 & 2017 Junior Open Championships, 和 2018 & 2017 东部地区公开赛. She is also a 5-time National Junior Olympic champion (2015 通过 2019).
A self-described multi-dimensional boxer, Kayla is a counter puncher and consummate boxer, displaying veteran-like “ringmanship,” but also capable of being a technical brawler and pressure fighter. She first started boxing in 2012 after watching a documentary on the 2012 Olympics.
“The inspiration of the boxers training to earn a gold medal motivated me to learn this unique sport,” Gomez explained. “I dedicate my whole life to boxing and as of right now, amateur boxing has impacted my life in a positive manner, paving my way in the near future to earn different accolades and experience for an Olympic gold medal and my pro career.”
Her mother, Crystal, is an amateur boxer who has competed in many tournaments. She will not compete in these championships this year because she is fully focused right now on her daughter and her future. She will be competing at other 2021 tournaments.
“As a boxer, my mom knows what it’s like to be in my position, so instead of getting mad at me, she gives me alternatives to do when I’m feeling low or not myself to have a better chance of being the best fighter I can be,” Kayla explained what it’s like having her mother and grandmother working her corner. “We all have a great relationship and work well in the ring together. They understand what it’s like to be in my position.”
A high school senior, Kayla is in a K-12 program for an online school due to her busy schedule. She does plan to attend college and share her boxing with educational opportunities.
“My education is just as important as my boxing,” She concluded. “I will attend college and work really hard to accomplish my goal of earning a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics and beginning my pro career afterwards.”
Kayla Gomez is a legacy boxer with a promising future.
科罗拉多斯普林斯, 膝部. (三月 8, 2021) – In the 2019 USA National Boxing Championships, 阿米尔·安德森was a relatively unknown competitor from Syracuse (纽约州), but this year he believes he’s one of the “top dogs” in the 165-pound decision.
Anderson will be competing in the youth division at the 2020 美国拳击全国锦标赛, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from last December to March 25 四月 3, in Shreveport, 的。
Anderson’s goal at these championships is simple: he wants to win to lock down a slot on the USA Boxing Youth Team, which will give him a leg up in terms of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“The winner in each weight class qualifies for the USA Boxing Youth Team,” he explained. “Runner-ups are alternates and can make the team if the winner can’t for whatever reason. 我要赢!
“Last time I had nothing to lose at Nationals. 现在, I have everything to lose. I do my research and breakdown other fighters in my weight class. I’ll be more focused this time because I was an underdog then and now, I’m the top dog in my division.”
The 17-year-old Anderson has already tasted success, capturing top honors at the 2019 少年公开赛和 2019 东部地区公开赛, in addition to finishing in the runner-up position at the 2018 & 2019 全国青少年奥林匹克运动会。
Still a high school senior, Amir describes himself as an all-around boxer with a unique style in which he can box or bang, hit the angles and throw a lot of punches.
Like every amateur boxer, last year was a tremendous challenge to train, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. “I trained six hours a day in my basement to get in really good workouts,” Anderson said. “And I ran my miles, 太. When my gym opened-up last July 2ND, it was limited so I had to still workout in my basement. It was hard to stay focused, but I knew how.
“I really planned to win a lot of regional and national tournaments to get national recognition. I wanted to fight in Bulgaria with the junior team, but that was canceled, 太. The pandemic was a setback for me, but we’ll see what’s in store for 2021.”
The National Championships is the first trip towards Amir Anderson’s Parisian goal for 2024 at the Olympics.
(科罗拉多斯普林斯, 科罗拉多州。) – When the boxers of the USA Boxing Olympic Qualification Team arrived in Colorado Springs, 科罗拉多州. this week they walked into a new training facility with just over six months left until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and even less time to their qualification tournaments.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, USA Boxing athletes have not been allowed to train in the national boxing gym at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (USOPTC) since March 2020 and have had to continue to make adjustments to their training plans, which included training at the French National Training Center in Paris in late 2020.
After being told they would not be allowed to begin 2021 at the USOPTC, the coaching and national office staff had to find a new home to begin the final preparations for the qualification tournaments taking place in May and June.
“After spending most of 2020 waiting to be allowed entry back into our national gym at the Colorado Springs OPTC, it was time that we took matters into our own hands and established a training space that can properly accommodate our team’s training needs,” said Matt Johnson, USA Boxing High Performance Director.
USA Boxing ended 2020 and the beginning of 2021 moving all equipment, which included four boxing rings, numerous heavy bags and strength and conditioning equipment, from their gym at the USOPTC to an abandoned department store in a mall in Colorado Springs to hold training camps, while housing the boxers and coaching staff at the nearby Hotel Eleganté.
“We are able to continue to move forward in this COVID environment by applying multi-layer protection protocols, pre-travel testing, mandatory mask wearing, social distancing, regular cleaning, regular rapid antigen testing, daily health surveys and follow up PRC pool testing, as well as provide a top notch training facility in our temporary facility, which we are greatly thankful for John Bushman, owner of Hotel Eleganté and the training facility, to help provide these opportunities to our boxers,” stated Mike McAtee, USA Boxing Executive Director.
“The training facility and environment we have created has greatly reduced the risk to our boxers and coaches. USA Boxing strives to fulfill our stated mission to our boxers, ‘… (到) inspire the tireless pursuit of Olympic gold and enable our boxers and coaches to achieve sustained competitive excellence…’ in the face of a worldwide pandemic.”
The first training camp of 2021 began Jan. 14 and will run until Feb. 18, before the boxers head to Bulgaria and Spain for international competitions. USA Boxing will hold the final training camp before the America’s Olympic Qualification Tournament at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, in Chula Vista, 加利福尼亚州。, in another makeshift boxing gym, which held the final training camp of 2020 十一月.