Ibarra, Mora Medal at 2021 Nationals in Shreveport
Five amateur boxers from Tulsa’s Engine Room Boxing Gym competed at the USA Boxing 2021 National Championships in Shreveport, La. last week, garnering a total of six wins at this prestigious tournament, Aaron Sloan owner and head coach of the Engine Room announced today. Twenty-seven-year-old reigning Golden Gloves National Champion Neida Ibarra reached the semi-finals in the Elite Women Division at 132 lbs, and twenty-three-year-old Angel Mora reached the semi-finals in the Elite Men Division at 139 lbs. Both returned home with a bronze medal.
“We’re very proud of Neida and Angel and of our overall accomplishments as a team at this tournament,” says Sloan. “Our boxers performed well during this national competition. We are proud to have them representing our gym, city, and state at this level. This is a grueling tournament, with some boxers fighting multiple days in a row and making weight each day. The success our Engine Room boxers achieved at this highly competitive level speaks to the physical and mental preparation of our fighters, coaches and program. I’d like to thank Coach Danny Skipper for training and preparing our team to compete in this high-level tournament.”
Angel Mora
The event took place Dec. 6-11 at the Shreveport Convention Center. It featured close to 1,500 bouts, with boxers from across the United States competing in Olympic/International Federation weight divisions in junior, youth, and elite age groups for their place on Team USA’s High-Performance teams. With approximately 3000 participants registered, it was the largest USA Boxing tournament in history.
The No 3-seeded Ibarra defeated Ashleigh Moore of Massachusetts before a loss to Florida’s Faith Mendez on Friday night. Mora defeated Ryan Lopez of New York and the No 6-seeded Dempsey Wooten (his Engine Room teammate) before losing to Dillan Nguyen of Utah in the semi-finals.
Other Engine Room boxers competing included Karlos Lizarraga (Elite Male 165 lbs) and Terrance Reed (Elite Male 132 lbs), who defeated Marcos Saucedo of Michigan before a loss to the No 6-seeded Jeremy Ortiz of Illinois. The No 6-seeded Dempsey Wooten (Elite Male 139 lbs) defeated Damon Bly of Missouri by stoppage before losing to Engine Room teammate Mora in the quarterfinals. Ibarra and Mora will gain additional national ranking points from the tournament.
