United States vs China: Eleven Amateur Bouts on Deck
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The United States squad has completed their week-long training camp and will test their skills against China tonight on Empires Collide, an international duel event in New York’s Chinatown. Due to injuries to the Chinese representatives in the flyweight and heavyweight divisions, there will be 11 bouts of action on Friday night’s card, including eight men’s bouts and three women’s contests.
The two bouts featuring Chinese Olympic medalists will headline Friday night’s event as the final two matches of the evening. Team USA’s light flyweight Santos Vaquez (Sun Valley, Nev.) will face 2008 Olympic Champion Zou Chiming of China and United States super heavyweight Danny Kelly (Washington DC) will battle China’s 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zhilei Zhang.
The U.S. team, which included flyweight Miguel Cartagena (Philadelphia, Pa.) and heavyweight Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) arrived in Bushkill, Pa., on Friday, September 24 for a short preparatory training camp and is now prepared for tonight’s action. They hosted an open workout for local press on Thursday afternoon at the Crunch Gym in Manhattan with the support of USA Boxing equipment and apparel sponsor, Everlast, and are now primed and ready for Friday’s event. While Cartagena and Temple don’t have opponents for tonight’s event, they will be on hand to support their U.S. teammates.
The U.S. coaches leading the team into action are Joe Higgins (New York, N.Y.), Don Givens (Linden, N.J.), and Gloria Peek (Norfolk, Va.). On the Chinese side, two well-known American coaches, Hall of Famer Lou Duva and 1996 U.S. Olympic Head Coach Al Mitchell, have been working with the Chinese team and they will partner up in the corner at the event.
Tickets for "Empires Collide" are priced at $120 for Ringside, $70 for Reserved and $25 for standing room/general admission. The Reserved and Ringside seats include two complimentary beverages. They may be ordered by calling 973-291-4529 or by email at tickets@empirescollide.com. For more information, fans can go to EmpiresCollide.com. Special VIP and sponsor packages are also available.