News - Local
Louisiana Golden Gloves Coming Back to Lafayette
Posted: Mar 10, 2010 4:15 PM by Hugh Keeton
The city of Lafayette and the Ragin’ Cajun Amateur Boxing Club, in conjunction with the Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, will host the annual Louisiana Golden Gloves amateur boxing championships March 26-28 at the N.P. Moss Middle School Gymnasium.
And the event could be a preview of bigger things to come, according to Ragin’ Cajun Club coach and tournament coordinator Beau Williford.
The Lafayette entities will be making a bid in April to host the 2012 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, one of the nation’s oldest and most esteemed amateur sporting events, and Williford said that a good showing at this year’s state tournament could help with that proposal.
“Our national president, Ray Rodgers, is coming in for our state tournament,” Williford said. “He’s here to basically make sure we know what we’re doing before we go about bidding on the national event, but he also wants to see if we have good public response and support, what kind of support we’ll have for the state tournament … they don’t want a national Golden Gloves championship with nobody there.”
“We feel really good that we’ll get the bid, and he (Rodgers) is high on our chances, but we still have to make a good showing here.”
The state event, dubbed the “Take Dat” Golden Gloves, is being held for the fourth consecutive year in Lafayette. The three-day championships was scheduled for the Lafayette High gym, but has been moved to N.P. Moss due to the March 27 special election. The LHS gym is a polling place.
“We’re lucky that N.P. Moss is one of the few schools that isn’t a polling place,” Williford said. “It’s a great facility for this event.”
The state event will feature 11 weight classes from 106 pounds up to the over-201 pounds in the open division, and will also have divisions for youths age eight and up as well as a masters division for amateurs age 35 and over. Williford said the younger classes and the masters’ events are traditionally among the most popular with fans.
Winners of state titles will advance to the Mid-South Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, to be held April 8-10 in Little Rock, Ark. This year’s National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions is also scheduled for Little Rock, May 3-8, and the local committee will be making their bid for the 2012 nationals on May 6. The 2011 nationals will be held in Indianapolis.
Williford said that every USA Boxing-certified club in Louisiana, 42 in all, will be represented in the state championships and that well over 200 amateur fighters are scheduled to take part. Qualifying bouts are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 26-27, beginning at 6 p.m. each day, with the finals beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 28.
In addition to the in-ring action, four prominent boxing figures will be honored as Louisiana Golden Gloves Living Legends during the finals. Among those honorees are two locals, John Stutes of Carencro and Lester Hebert of Crowley.
Tickets for the event are $15 for general admission on Friday and Saturday and $20 for Sunday, and three-day passes are available for $45. Children 12 and under are admitted for $5 each day with a three-day pass available for $10. A limited number of VIP tables with eight seats for all three sessions are also available.
Tickets are available at Musso’s Shoe Repair, Southside Bakery, Baja Sports Grill and T-Coon’s Restaurant in Lafayette, and will also be available at the door until the gym’s 1500-capacity is reached. Information on VIP tables is available from Williford at (337) 257-3501.
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