Published: April 29, 2008 11:49 pm            

Golden Gloves turns into a hit

ASHLAND — Nearly 130 fighters from the Tri-State area turned out for 60 bouts and put on a three-day show this past weekend in the regional Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament at the Ashland Armory.

“Everything turned out fantastic,” regional Golden Gloves franchise owner Charlie Hanshaw said. “Everything’s coming together and I’m tickled to death our team will be at the nationals with 30 other teams.”

A team of 10 local fighters have advanced to the national Golden Gloves tournament, to be held in Grand Rapids, Mich., next week. Proceeds from last weekend’s event are going toward travel and tournament expenses for the fighters, according to Hanshaw.

“Tri-State Building and Construction Trades Council came through with the sponsorship and Enterprise rental helped us with two vans to go on the trip,” Hanshaw said.

Around 1,500 people showed up over the three days to watch the fights, which pleased Hanshaw, who is trying to rebuild the interest in the sport in the Ashland area. He also said he didn’t hear a single complaint.

“I think this is the right step in the right direction to go forth,” Hanshaw said. “I think it’s been in a stand-still going to the other states. The people we know are the ones that are going to support us and the Westwood Boys and Girls Club is the foundation of it all.”

The Tri-State event began in the Ashland area in the mid 1990s but has been held in Huntington and Columbus, Ohio, in recent years.

“The good thing about it was that we had two local teams competing against each other,” Hanshaw said.

About 25 fighters who train at the Westwood Boys and Girls Club participated in the event, as well as 10 fighters from the Ringside Brothers Gym in Ashland. The two clubs helped to co-host the tournament.

Hanshaw believes the tournament will remain in Ashland in the near future, but he’s also hoping to expand.

“Our goal is to put a boxing show in the Ashland Regatta but this event will help us as far as getting Golden Gloves boxing back in Ashland,” he said.

For right now, however, the attention is turned to the national stage where the 10 local fighters will compete next.

“All the open fighters did a really, really good job and every single one of them have a chance to win nationals next week,” Noah Kirk, chief official and Westwood volunteer coach, said.

Boxers from the Westwood club will also compete in the state Junior Olympic competition on May 17 and 18 in Richmond. Those winners will advance to a the Regional Olympics in Zainesville, Ohio.

        

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