Sauk Rapids Hosts Amateur Boxing Tournament [VIDEO]

SAUK RAPIDS - Some of the best amateur boxers in the state gathered in Sauk Rapids this evening to compete for a chance to advance to the state championships.

Many of the boxers are at the top of their age groups. Saun O'Connor, the state coordinator for the silver gloves tournament says many of the participants have had experience in national competitions.

"On the list tonight, at least eight of them that have made it to national competitions," O'Connor says.

A wide variety of age groups took part in the tournament in separate divisions. Boxers as young as eight-years-old were able to enter.

Hundreds gathered at the Sauk Rapids Fire Department building to watch the tournament, a clear sign of increasing popularity in the sport.

"I've been in boxing for four generations, we had its heyday in the 70's, I love the fact that it's coming back," O'Connor says.

Many