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15 bouts on tap for Roth show
By Joe Scalzo
campbell
This week, the beating comes before the eating.
Youngstown featherweight Alejandro “Popo” Salinas, the nation’s top-ranked amateur in the 15-16 age division, will headline the fourth-annual Bob Roth Memorial Boxing Tournament on Wednesday night at St. Lucy’s.
Salinas will meet Lavall Briggs, who defeated Pittsburgh’s Matt Conway in the Ringside world tournament in July. Conway lost to Salinas in the championship bout of October’s National Police Athletic League tournament.
“It’s a very, very tough fight, especially for this being in [Salinas’] hometown,” said Southside Boxing Club owner Jack Loew, who trains Salinas. “We have 15 bouts and there are teams coming in from all over Ohio and West Virginia. They will be very competitive bouts, which is the way I like it.”
Loew said people can expect a lot of Olympic-style boxing, since many of the amateurs will be trying to qualify for next year’s Olympic trials.
“Is it a long shot? Absolutely,” Loew said. “But they all have a chance.”
The event honors Roth, a longtime boxing aficionado who died of stomach cancer in 2006 at age 72. The show serves as the main fund-raiser for the SBC, helping amateurs such as Salinas pay for out-of-town tournaments.
“Bob Roth did a lot for Jack Loew,” Loew said. “Years ago, when boxing was dying around here, he helped bring it back.”
“Naming this show after him is the least I can do.”