Team USA wins five medals at the Aliyev Cup in Baku

Featherweight Hylon Williams (Houston, Texas) and light heavyweight Keith Tapia (New York, N.Y.) won gold at the international event for cadet athletes. Bantamweight Roberto Marroquin (Dallas, Texas) and pinweight Armond Burbanks (Cincinnati, Ohio) advanced to final round action, winning silver medals.. Flyweight Wade Bolton (Charlotte, N.C.) rounded out the medal count with a bronze medal in his first international event. In addition to the five medals, Keith Tapia was named Outstanding Boxer of the event and Team USA won the second place team trophy.

Williams recorded five victories en route to his gold, his first ever international hardware while Tapia grabbed three wins on his way to the top of the medal podium. The Aliyev Cup provides critical international experience for cadet boxers, ages 15 and 16, and was the first major international event for Tapia, Burbanks and Bolton. More than ten countries, including amateur boxing powerhouses Russia and Kazakhstan competed in the elite international event.

In addition to the five medal winners, light flyweight Robert Rodriguez (Evans, Colo.); light bantamweight Samuel DiPace (Las Cruces, N.M.); lightweight Hector Vasquez (Irving, Texas); light middleweight Dante Moore (S. Euclid, Ohio); middleweight Issac Atencio (Denver, Colo.); and heavyweight Joseph Dawjeko (Philadelphia, Pa.) all represented the United States in Azerbaijan.

Coaches Alvin Simpson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ted Palac (Hamtramck, Mich.) led Team USA and Richard Trindle (Mercer, Pa.) served as Team Manager for the event. Officials James McNally and Debbie Holmes (Garland, Texas) and physician Robin Goodfellow (Albion, Mich.) rounded out the United States delegation.

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