Women’s Boxing U.S. Olympic Team Trials to Held in Memphis

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing will be held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. USA Boxing has teamed up with Prize Fight Boxing and the Memphis (Tennessee) Convention & Visitors Bureau to host the second edition of the event, which will take place October 25–31.

“Many historic events have taken place in Memphis and we are thrilled to bring a piece of boxing history and our top female athletes to the area,” said Mike Martino, USA Boxing executive director. “USA Boxing is excited to work the Prize Fight Boxing team and the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau to make this a world- class event.”

The event will mark the first time in United States boxing history that a returning Olympic medalist competes in the Olympic Trials. Claressa Shields (2012 Olympic gold medalist) and Marlen Esparza (2012 bronze medalist) both qualified their berths in the 2016 Olympic Trials and will continue their journey to Rio in Memphis.

“Hosting a USA Olympic event is an enormous milestone for Memphis, and it’s an honor to have the nation’s top boxers compete in our city prior to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio,” said Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau. “As an organization dedicated to growing the local economy by attracting world-class and youth sports events, hosting an event of this stature continues to raise the profile of Memphis as a sports event destination.”

The competition will be a double-elimination tournament with eight women competing in the three weight divisions over the weeklong competition in Memphis. Six women have already clinched their Olympic Trials berths and six more spots in each of the three Olympic weight divisions remain available. The remaining trials berths will be determined by regional qualifiers, which are currently being finalized.

Additionally, the final qualifying tournament for the Olympic Trials for Men’s Boxing will also be held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, in conjunction with the women’s event. A full schedule for both events will be released upon completion.