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Muhammad Ali Cup, International Amateur Boxing Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville, Ky., welcomed home its most beloved son to kick off an international amateur boxing tournament that bears his name.
Slowly, Muhammad Ali rose, smiled and rang the ringside bell three times to signal the opening of the inaugural Muhammad Ali Cup International Amateur Boxing Challenge at the Commonwealth Convention Center.
Members of the 21 countries represented in the event marched into the arena bearing the flags of their home nations. The event is expected to raise more than $1 million for a planned Ali museum and education center in Louisville and several USA Boxing youth programs. It will also help determine members of the United States team that will compete at the world championships in Budapest next month.
Nearly 100 boxers from more than 20 nations are to compete in the tournament, including the United States team's top-ranked boxers in 11 of 12 weight classes. The exception is the lightweight class, where the top-ranked boxer did not participate in the training camp. The week was capped by a star-studded tribute to amateur boxing, featuring the first appearance of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield together since their June fight in which Tyson was disqualified for twice biting Holyfield on the ear.(NYT) |
