USA Boxing to Hold the Historic Last Chance Qualifier, July 4-9, in Cincinnati, Ohio

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Elite Olympic-style boxing will return to Cincinnati, Ohio, July 4-9, for a key stop on the road to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Last Chance Qualifier. The tournament will provide a final opportunity for all of the male Olympic hopefuls who have not previously qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing. USA Boxing will once again work with Cincinnati’s R & R Promotions to put on a first-class event. The week of exciting Olympic-style boxing action will take place at the Taft Masonic Center.

“The Last Chance Qualifier will be one of the most exciting tournaments we host this year,” USA Boxing Executive Director Anthony Bartkowski said. “The stakes couldn’t’ be any higher with the final 10 Olympic Trials berths on the line. Cincinnati is the perfect host city for an event of this caliber. Andrew Williams and the R & R Promotions’ team have put on several top-notch events over the past few years and this tournament will be no different.”

In the past, USA Boxing has held multiple open qualifying tournaments, broken up by geographical region to determine the final U.S. Olympic Team Trials slots, but will hold only the Last Chance Qualifier as a final opportunity for hundreds of Olympic hopefuls throughout the United States in 2011. The open tournament will showcase high-level Olympic-style boxing action and tremendous drama as hundreds of male boxers chase their dreams of competing in London.

Cincinnati has played host to several key USA Boxing events over the past several years, including the Midwestern Trials in 2007 and the 2010 Under 19 National Championships in February of 2010. The city enjoys an outstanding boxing history with seven Cincinnati boxers competing in the Olympic Games over the past 20 years. The Queen City’s own Rau’shee Warren is currently seeking his own spot in the record books by becoming the first U.S. boxer in history by competing in three Olympic Games.

“R&R Promotions is excited that USA Boxing has chosen to return to Cincinnati for a key stop in the qualifying process,” R&R Promotions CEO Andrew Williams said. “We look forward to showcasing the city’s tremendous boxing heritage and are hopeful that our own back-to-back Olympian Rau’shee Warren will earn his third Olympic appearance and showcase the boxing talent we have here in Cincinnati.”

U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Men’s Boxing qualifying began at the 2010 National PAL Championships and will include victors from the Armed Forces Championships, National Golden Gloves Championships, the top four finishers from the USA Boxing National Championships as well as the Last Chance Qualifier champions.

While women’s boxing will make its Olympic debut in 2012, the Last Chance Qualifier tournament will feature solely men’s boxing due to the differing Olympic qualification schedules. As women’s international qualifying will not begin until the Spring of 2012, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for women’s boxing are slated to take place in early 2012.

Full Last Chance Qualifier schedule and ticket information as well as competitor lists will be released over the summer.

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).