Detroit to Host 2023 USA Boxing Qualifier

Detroit will be the center of the U.S. boxing scene next spring as the 2023 USA Boxing Qualifier will take place in Huntington Place from March 18–25.

The week-long tournament draws more than 1,000 boxers from ages 8–40. The event will also serve as the second qualifier to next December’s 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for boxers in the elite division.

“Detroit has an extremely proud boxing history and legends from Joe Louis to Thomas “Hitman” Hearns and more recently Tony Harrison have called the Motor City home,” said Dave Beachnau, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission. “We are incredibly excited and honored to host the 2023 USA Boxing National Qualifier, bringing more than 1,000 boxers from across the nation to Detroit, and this prestigious event will bring our community a sense of nostalgia and pride.”

Both Detroit as a city and Michigan as a state have a rich history of Olympic boxing, including Olympic gold medalists Eddie Crook Jr. (1960), Steve McCrory (1984) and Frank Tate (1984), as well as two-time Olympic women’s gold medalist Claressa Shields (2012 and 2016), who hails from Flint.

“Once the final decision was made, the entire USA Boxing staff embraced the opportunity to host a national qualifying event in an iconic city like Detroit that is on the move and a rising center of tech and mobility and a city that celebrates boxing and its proud local history,” said Michael Campbell, USA Boxing events and operations manager.

The event will be the first of five planned national tournaments for USA Boxing in 2023, the most since 2019.