Thanks to Utah’s first family of boxing — the offspring of former professional boxers Gene, Don and Jay Fullmer — and the support of the Utah Sports Commission, the state has successfully hosted more than its share of national boxing tournaments.
For instance, Golden Gloves’ National Tournament of Champions has found a second home at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, making three appearances in the last decade.
Now USA Boxing is coming to town.
The national organization announced Tuesday at a new conference in Salt Lake City that the 2017 USA Boxing Elite and Youth National Championships will be held at the Salt Palace Dec. 4-9. The five-day tournament will feature more than 600 boxers ranging in age from 8-40.
Admission for the first four nights (Tuesday-Friday) is free and tickets will be available for purchase for Saturday’s Elite Finals.
The event will also feature Junior and Prep bouts.
“This is the first time [USA Boxing] will have held their nationals in Salt Lake City,” said Larry Fullmer, president of Golden Gloves’ Rocky Mountain franchise. “I guess they liked the way we did it with the Golden Gloves tournaments.”
USA Boxing also announced Tuesday the launch of the USA Boxing Alumni Association.
“The Alumni Association will be looking to connect generations of champions of the sport,” said Mike McAtee, USA Boxing’s executive director. “This association will bring former boxers that reached all levels of success in amateur boxing, as well as coaches, officials and people who have a love for Olympic-style boxing together.”
USA Boxing president John Brown said the association has been talked about for more than 30 years.
Its formation “will allow us to accomplish goals only previously dreamed of,” Brown said.
The association will host a reception the night of Dec. 8 in SLC during the national tournament.
Team USA recently competed in the 2017 Elite Men’s World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, and won three medals.