Guillermo wins Challenge, spot in 2004 Olympic trials

Advertiser Staff

Wai'anae's Samson Guillermo won his second boxing title in two weeks yesterday — but what was significant was that he also won a spot in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Guillermo defeated Phoenix's Rafael Valenzuela in a tiebreaker to win the 119-pound championship of the U.S. Challenge at Colorado Springs, Colo., yesterday.

Guillermo, a 20-year-old junior at Northern Michigan, won the tiebreaker based on total punches, 47-37.

The contest was a rematch of last week's final in the U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships, which Guillermo won, 22-7.

This time it was much closer.

Guillermo led 2-1 after the first round, 5-3 after the second and 8-7 after the third before Valenzuela tied it at 11 at the end of the fourth and final round, according to Hawai'i's Bruce Kawano, who was selected by USA Boxing as one of the coaches at the Challenge.

The Challenge is the first of several qualifying tournaments leading to the Olympic team trials and box-offs in February 2004. Guillermo captured the first of eight spots in his weight class for the team trials.

He also qualified for the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic in August.

The 2004 Olympics is in Athens.