CL resident to compete in boxing championships

Tony, the second youngest of nine children, said he is proud of taking after his great-cousin Joey Masin, a 1940s professional boxer. Photo provided by Steve Harriman

Canyon Lake’s Riverside County Boxing Club announced that eleven-year-old Canyon Lake resident Tony Siragusa will be competing in the Southern California State Amateur Boxing Championships this weekend, June 22  through June 24, in the basketball gymnasium at the Menifee Valley-Wide Park and Recreation Center, 28545 La Piedra Rd., Menifee

Tony is the second youngest of nine children. He is being raised by his aunt and uncle, Pat and Dave Chambers.

“Tony is a great kid and works really hard,” said coach Steve Harriman. He’s got the knuckles of an 18-year-old.”

Tony said he is proud of taking after his great-cousin Joey Masin, a 1940s professional boxer.

Tony will be leading the Riverside County Boxing Club crew to the SoCal State Amateur Boxing Championships, including 10-year-old Antonio Villegas, 12-year-old Marisa Gonzalez, nine-year-old Nicolas Gonzalez and 23-year-old Sammy Lopez. Coach Steve, coach Vinnie Villegas and assistant coach Brianna Gonzalez will lead their team to victory.

Friday night boxing begins at 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at noon. Tickets are sold at the door. “Our boxers will not disappoint,” said Steve. “Young boxers compete with passion and determination and exhibit exhilarating talent for the awe-inspired crowd.”

The Southern California State Amateur Boxing Championships and the Riverside County Boxing Club promote neighborhood sport boxing events. Since 2009, the committee has successfully held three Riverside County Boxing shows, six State Championship Boxing Tournaments, and in Temecula, hosted Friday Night Fight and Bike Night on St. Patricks’ Day weekend at the Harley Davidson Dealership.

The Riverside Boxing Club, located in the Canyon Lake Towne Center for the past 40 years, is a non-profit 501-C3 organization, which enables it to not only facilitate boxers with events but also to raise money for charities and organizations. Its goals are to provide amateur boxers with the stepping stone to compete in the Olympics through competing in USA Boxing events.

Young boxers begin competing at age eight with the dreams of boxing for their country as did Mohammed Ali, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield and other great boxers.

Because the Southern California State Amateur Boxing Championships event is a non-profit organization, USA Boxing sanctions boxing shows to register boxing clubs. Riverside County Boxing Club has hosted the So-Cal State Amateur Boxing Championships for the past eight years, gaining great success and popularity. “Our tournament was the biggest three-day boxing event in the U.S. in June 2017 with 360 boxers competing in Menifee,” said Steve. “Our tournament also attracts 2,000 spectators during the three-day event. It aims to give amateur boxers a place to practice and train their skills while raising money to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.”

The goal this year is to host a successful boxing tournament, encourage the community to come and support the young boxers and to surpass prior charitable donations. The event will raise funds to benefit the local VFW in Lake Elsinore and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.




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