The First Women’s International Dual Series Set to Kick Off on Wednesday in Oxnard, California

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Twenty-one of the world’s top boxers from five different nations are convening in Oxnard, Calif., today in preparation for the first-ever Women’s International Dual Series at the Oxnard PAL Gym, November 17-20. Elite female boxers from the United States, Hungary, Poland, Canada and Spain will all face off in Oxnard.

The athletes will compete in the three newly named Olympic weight divisions of flyweight (112 lbs), lightweight (132 lbs), and middleweight (165 lbs) in four days of friendly dual competition. The unique event will provide valuable international experience for all of the competitors as they prepare for the Olympic debut of women’s boxing in 2012.

The Women’s International Dual Series participants are all arriving in Southern California today and will participate in an open workout for the media on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Oxnard PAL gym as well as attending the Oxnard Rising Stars Amateur Boxing Show at 6 p.m. Dual Series competition will begin on Wednesday at 6 p.m., and will continue with nine bouts per evening through Saturday. Full bout sheets detailing each night’s schedule are attached.

The United States will field four teams of athletes for the inaugural event, led by four-time national champion and 2010 Women’s World Championships lightweight bronze medalist Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.). Underwood is fresh off a highly-acclaimed performance at the World Championships in September in Barbados where she nearly upset multi-time world champion Katie Taylor in the semifinals of the event, dropping a two point decision in the final seconds of the bout. The 26-year-old made her lightweight debut at the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships after claiming three national titles at the light welterweight division. The Seattle firefighter dropped down to the lightweight division following the IOC’s decision to name it as one of the three women’s Olympic weight divisions.

Underwood is one of several world championships medalists competing in Oxnard, including two former world champions from the visiting delegations. Similar to Underwood, both foreign world champions have changed weight divisions to chase Olympic gold. Two-time Hungarian World Champion Maria Kovacs has moved down two weight divisions from heavyweight to middleweight in the hopes of competing in her first Olympic Games in London. She will be joined in Oxnard by 2008 Polish World Champion Karolina Michalczuk, a multi-time World Championships medalist. Michalczuk also altered her weight division after success internationally, moving down to the flyweight division after claiming world championships medals at the bantamweight class.

In addition to Underwood, two U.S. boxers are hoping to add to their international hardware as 2008 World Championships bronze medalists Cynthia Moreno (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Tiffanie Hearn (Louisville, Ky.) will represent Team USA in Oxnard as well.

Women’s International Dual Series tickets are only $10 per session for adults, $5 for children (ages 6-17), and a special ringside seat is available for purchase for $20. Kids five and under will be admitted free of charge to the event. Tickets can be purchased in advance through the Oxnard PAL website at www.oxnardpalboxing.com, via phone at (805) 385-8230, or in person at PAL office on 350 S. K Street, Oxnard, CA, 93030.

Women’s boxing legend Laila Ali will be meeting with the Women’s International Dual Series competitors during their time in Oxnard to provide encouragement to all of the participants as they prepare for the event and their journey to London.

The Women’s International Dual Series is taking place just two months after the largest Women’s World Championships in history with over 300 boxers from 75 countries vying for gold in Bridgetown, Barbados. The sport has grown throughout the world over the past decade following the first-ever Women’s World Championships event in 2001 in Scranton, Pa. The IOC made the historic decision to add women’s boxing to the Olympic Games in August of 2009 and 36 women in three different weight divisions will vie for Olympic gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London with Olympic qualifying tentatively slated to begin in early 2012.

Women’s International Dual Series Rosters

United State
Team Red 1:

112 lbs: Cristina Cruz, New York, N.Y.

132 lbs: Caroline Barry, Colorado Springs, Colo.

165 lbs: Lisbet Vargas, Portland, Ore.

Head Coach: Gloria Peek, Norfolk, Va.

Coach: Christy Halbert, Nashville, Tenn.

Team Manager: Melanie Ley, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Red 2:

112 lbs: Cynthia Moreno, Phoenix, Ariz.

132 lbs: Mikaela Mayer, Crest Hill, Calif.

165 lbs: Tiffanie Hearn, Louisville, Ky.

Head Coach: Bruce Kawano, Pearl City, Hawaii

Coach: Anthony Huizar, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Manager: Melanie Ley, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Blue 1:

112 lbs: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.

132 lbs: Stephanie Han, El Paso, Texas

165 lbs: Kalita Marsh, Smithfield, N.C.

Head Coach: Fausto De La Torre

Coach: Rocky Garza, Oxnard, Calif.

Team Manager: Delilah Rico, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Blue 2:

112 lbs: Alex Love, Monroe, Wash.

132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash.

165 lbs: Alyssa DeFazio, Phoenix, Ariz.

Head Coach: Mario L’Esperance, Sacramento, Calif.

Coach: Jose Banales, Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Manager: Delilah Rico, Los Angeles, Calif.

Poland

112 lbs: Karolina Michalczuk

132 lbs: Karolina Graczyk

165 lbs: Lidia Fidura

Coach: Leszek Piotrowski

Team Manager: Andrezej Filipek

Hungary

112 lbs: Vivien Mizsei

132 lbs: Mercédesz Pikács

165 lbs. Mária Kovács

Head Coach: Zsuzsanna Szuknai

Team Manager: Beatrix Faragó

Canada/Spain

112 lbs: Yasmina Musa Amakhtari (Spain)
132 lbs: Debbie Richards (Canada)
165 lbs: Tamara Fabiana Garcia Zaragoza (Spain)

Coach: Kathy Ure (Canada)

Coach: Jose Gutierrez Alonso (Spain)

About Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau – Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau (OCVB) is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, and tourism revenue opportunities through the promotion of Oxnard as a travel destination. Oxnard is an easy drive up the coast from Los Angeles or from the northern portions of California. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy Oxnard’s uncrowded beaches, open agricultural fields and explore the many diverse attractions and outdoor adventures that are unique to the area. A wide variety of hotel accommodations are available ranging from mid-priced rooms to oceanfront and seaside settings. For more information, call the California Welcome Center at 805-988-0717. To obtain tourism information on Oxnard, visit the website at www.visitoxnard.com

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).