AIBA holds first Olympic qualification round in American countries

(BEIJING, March 11) -- The first AIBA Americas Olympic Qualification Tournament kicked off on Wednesday in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, with 163 boxers from more than 25 countries and areas vying for 23 seats for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The tournament in Port of Spain is the fifth of ten AIBA Olympic qualifying competitions and will be followed by the second and final Americas qualifying event in Guatemala from April 24 to 29.

Boxing powerhouse Cuba will send a full line-up of eleven boxers to the tournament after missing the first qualification event -- the 2007 World Championships in Chicago.

Brazil and Ecuador are expected to be the only other two nations to also boast a full complement of boxers.

Among the eleven weight categories, the 60kg category is expected to be the toughest, with big boxing names such as Hernandez Yordanis Ugas of Cuba, the 2005 world champion and 2007 Pan American Games winner, and Everton Lopez of Brazil and Jose Pedraza Puerto Rico, the 2007 PanAm Games silver and bronze winners.