THE British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) has announced a new competition to identify the best male and female amateur boxers in Great Britain and create an opportunity for those that are not in the GB Boxing squad to force their way into contention for the London 2012 Games.
The GB Amateur Boxing Championship will be the biggest amateur boxing event to be staged in Great Britain for over a decade and will pit the best boxers from Scotland, England and Wales – as selected by their respective Amateur Boxing Associations (ABAs) – against members of GB Boxing’s Men and Women’s Podium Squads.
If a boxer that is not currently part of the GB Boxing squad wins the Championship they will have an automatic right to join the squad as a funded athlete for an assessment period and have the opportunity to stake a claim to be selected for 2012.
6,000 tickets will be made available for the finals and semi-finals of the Championship which will be held at the Echo Arena Liverpool on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th November 2010.
GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken said: “This will be a high quality competition that will provide a real test for the existing GB boxers and have an influence on the make-up of the Olympic squad as we move into 2011. It is an opportunity for all of the competitors to showcase their skills and stake a claim to be part of the team for 2012.”
John Moore, Echo Arena Sports Manager, said: “We are delighted to bring this event to Liverpool. The city of Liverpool has a great passion for boxing and I am sure the Liverpool audience will welcome the opportunity to see Britain’s best amateur talent compete for the GB Championship and the opportunity to break into the GB Boxing squads for London 2012. Liverpool has a rich sporting tradition and has produced many champion boxers over the years and we hope this event provides the platform to continue that success.”
Tickets for the event are priced from £10 to £30 and will be subject to a booking and handling fee. Tickets will go on sale from 0900 on Friday 6th August 2010. They can be purchased in person from the Echo Arena Liverpool box office, online at www.echoarena.com or by calling 0844 8000 400.