United States Boxers are Primed and Ready for the Opening Day of Women’s International Dual Series Action

(OXNARD, CALIF.) – The Women’s International Dual Series will kick off competition today in Oxnard, Calif., with 18 boxers from five different nations facing off in elite boxing action at the Oxnard PAL Gym.

Women’s boxing trailblazer Lucia Rijker visited with the women yesterday to help inspire the ladies before they kick off competition tonight at 6 p.m. PT. Women’s International Dual Series action will be web streamed live nightly on USA Boxing’s website at www.usaboxing.org/live.

Nine U.S. women will compete in the first day of competition this evening and several American boxers shared their thoughts on the unique competition yesterday at the official event open workout. Four-time national champion and 2010 Women’s World Championships bronze medalist Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) will open event action against Hungary’s Pikacs Mercedesz on Wednesday evening. “I am happy to be here hosting the first women’s international dual series,” Underwood said. “I am ready to gain experience, learn and bring it back home with me to prepare for 2012.”

Fellow Washingtonian, flyweight Alex Love (Monroe, Wash.) will be competing in her first major international event in Oxnard and she is looking forward to her debut bout on Wednesday against Hungary’s Vivien Mizsei. “This is the first time that I have realized the opportunity that we have been given and how important this moment in history is for female boxers and women in general,” Love said.

2010 National PAL Champion Kalita Marsh (Smithfield, N.C.) will kick off her dual action on Wednesday night, facing Poland’s Lidia Fidura. “This event gives USA Boxing the opportunity to be seen and get exposure. It will bring more support and more young girls to the sport,” Marsh said. “Listening to Lucia Rijker made me realize the duty we have to the sport. We need to do a good job as boxers and athletes for the sport and those who come after us.”

Lightweight Mikaela Mayer begins tournament action with a Polish foe as well as she battles Poland’s Karolina Graczyk on Wednesday night. “I am really glad they have put together this round robin event to give us more experience,” Mayer said. “This kind of event is beneficial to our growth as boxers.”

Lightweight Stephanie Han (El Paso, Texas) has traveled to Oxnard just one month after her hard-fought victory at the National PAL Championships in October and hopes to add more key victories to her resume when she takes the ring on Thursday to face Canada’s Debbie Richards. “I am excited to be here and compete, to gain international experience, learn, grow and become a better boxer,” Han said.

Elite amateur boxing coach Gloria Peek (Norfolk, Va.) will serve as one of the U.S. coaches for the international event, and she sees a bright future for both the sport of women’s boxing and events such as the Women’s International Dual Series. “I see this program becoming pivotal in women’s boxing, not only for the USA but for other European countries,” Peek said. “For the U.S. women, this is a key element in their development and the next step of making it to the Olympics. We need to be a force to be reckoned with. It is not enough to make the Olympic Games, I believe the women will shine and could help save the sport of boxing. These women can bring back the prestige and credibility of our sport.”

The event participants all arrived in Oxnard on Monday and took part in an open workout on Tuesday prior to the Oxnard Rising Stars Amateur Boxing Show. United States middleweight Tiffanie Hearn (Louisville, Ky.) was forced to withdraw from the event due to illness so each U.S. middleweight will compete all four days of the tournament. Updated bout sheets are attached.

The Women’s International Dual Series will showcase nine bouts per night at 6 p.m. through Saturday with three contests in each of the women’s Olympic weight classes of flyweight, lightweight and middleweight. The competitors will enjoy a second special visitor on Wednesday as women’s boxing legend Laila Ali travels to Oxnard to meet and encourage all of the competitors.

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 will make its Olympic debut at the 2012 Olympic Games in London as well as its first appearance at the Pan American Games in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The largest Women’s World Championships in the history of the sport took place in September with over 300 boxers from 75 nations competing in the event in Bridgetown, Barbados. 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.

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).