Thirty Four Soldier Athletes Set to Compete at 2003 Everlast U.S. Boxing Championships

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - With one eye on the developing situation in Iraq and one on the upcoming 2003 Everlast U.S. Boxing Championships, over 34 soldier athletes from all four military branches are making final preparations as preliminary rounds begin Monday, March 24 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

While their counterparts are engaged in war with Iraq, the U.S. Army's
World Class Athlete Boxing Program, based out of Ft. Carson, Colo. will
have 10 boxers participating at the U.S. Championships. Welterweight
Rondale Mason, the 2002 U.S. Champion at 147 pounds, and middleweight
Julius Fogle, the 2002 U.S. Champion at 165 pounds, will lead the team into
competition. Three other Army boxers from other Army bases will also be a
part of the team participating in the U.S. Championships.

"They are going to be somewhat distracted and thinking about events in
Iraq, but they will focus on their task at hand, and that's to do well at
nationals," said Maj. Mike Hagen, commander of the 112 soldiers assigned to
the Army World Class Athlete Program at Fort Carson, Colo. "Their thoughts
will be with their fellow soldiers, but when it comes time to step into the
ring, they will focus where they need to and get good results."

The United States Marine Corps will field a team of nine athletes and is
looking to continue their success from 2002 when four Marines took home
medals from the event. The Marines are led into competition by Sergeant
Johnnie Edwards, a featherweight bronze medalist at the 2002 U.S.
Championships.

The United States Navy and Air Force are also bringing teams to the event,
rounding out the military contingent competing in the 2003 U.S. Championships.

The boxers understand their mission.

"If I should be deployed, that's my first obligation to the country as well
as to the Army - to go over there and do what the Commander-in-Chief says," said Spc. Mason, 23, a native of Columbus, Ohio.

"If they send us over there, we will go," continued Mason, who will compete
at 152 pounds this year. "We are soldiers first, then we box."

Staff Sgt. Fogle, 31, of Houston, is a 13-year veteran of the Army with
seven Armed Forces titles on his résumé.

"It's always difficult when you're thinking about your fellow soldiers
deployed for combat, but I'm aware that anytime I can be given a call
also," said Fogle. "Like all the other WCAP soldiers, I'm always a soldier
first. Right now, we're competing, but they might call us tomorrow, so you
always have to be ready."

Fogle, an Avenger crewmember who feels a sense of security with the WCAP, will not hesitate to pack his bags if called.

"If the numbers are low and they need you, they'll pull you," he said.
"Anybody in the Army can be deployed at any time any day. I'm ready to go.
I know I'm fortunate to be in this program, and I would go [to war] without
thinking about it."

"Everybody in our program realizes and has some torn feelings that other
people are in a much more dangerous situation and they feel very fortunate
to be in this program," Hagen said. "But while they're here, they're going
to focus on their mission of doing well in their sport, realizing that at
any time they could be called to serve themselves."

Following a one-year hiatus to Las Vegas, the Everlast U.S. Men's Amateur
Boxing Championships return to Colorado Springs and the U.S. Olympic
Complex March 24-28. As always, the field of over 215 boxers set to
compete in the 115th showing of the U.S. Championships is teeming with
interesting stories and exciting subplots.

Not only is a coveted national title at stake, so to are the four slots in
each of the 11 weight classes for the 2003 U.S. Challenge, which will be
contested the week following the U.S. Championships, also in Colorado
Springs. The U.S. Challenge is the first U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier for
USA Boxing and will determine participants for both the 2003 World
Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, July 4-14 and the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 1-17.

The competition will be fierce from start to finish as 11 of the 12
National Champions will be returning to defend their titles from the
previous year. The Everlast Men's U.S. Boxing Championships have been held annually since 1888, making it the longest running boxing tournament in the United States. Twenty U.S. champions including Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali went on to earn gold medals at the Olympic Games.

2003 Everlast U.S. Championships

Dates: March 24-28
Sessions:

Preliminary Bouts (two sessions) - March 24-25 (12 noon & 6 p.m. MT)
Quarterfinal Bouts (two sessions) - March 26 (12 noon & 6 p.m. MT)
Semifinal Bouts - March 27 (6 p.m. MT)
Finals - March 28 (7 p.m. MT) Admission for finals only - $10

CREDENTIALS
To request credentials for the 2003 Everlast U.S. Championships, please
contact Heather Wilson of USA Boxing at (719) 866-2303 or by e-mail at
hwilson@usaboxing.org.

USA Boxing, as the National Governing Body (NGB) for Olympic-style boxing,
is the United States' member organization of the International Amateur
Boxing Association (AIBA). As the NGB, USA Boxing is responsible for the
administration, development and promotion of Olympic-style boxing in the
United States. Headquartered at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, Colo., USA Boxing oversees a host of programs - from developing
the sport and its athletes at the local, regional and national levels, to
sponsoring national and international dual competitions and selecting teams
for international events, including the Olympic Games, World Championships
and Pan American Games. USA Boxing thanks its sponsors: Everlast, Adidas
and Tanita, for their continued support of USA Boxing and its athletes.