DETROIT – For a city with a rich boxing history, it’s fitting that the best amateur boxers from around the country will descend on Detroit for the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions for the first time in 24 years.
The Metro Detroit Golden Gloves and the Downtown Boxing Gym (DBG) will host the 2024 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, May 13-18 at Huntington Place.
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The event will feature over 300 boxers from 30 Golden Gloves franchises across the United States. Male and female boxers, ages 18-42, will compete across 20 weight classes for the title of National Golden Gloves Champion.
Huntington Place will be transformed into a boxing arena featuring four rings. Over the six days of the tournament, more than 200 bouts will be held, and one man and one woman will be chosen as winners.
The Metro Detroit Golden Gloves partnered with the Downtown Boxing Gym and the Detroit Sports Commission to help bring the annual event back to Detroit, winning a bid from dozens of cities vying to host the big event.
Metro Detroit Golden Gloves President Ansel Stewart says the city of Detroit itself was the selling point.
“When we put in the bid, Detroit was at the forefront,” said Stewart. “We’re selling Detroit, and everybody was excited. They want to come back to Detroit because they’ve heard good things about Detroit.”
“It’s a great way for people to come and enjoy the city of Detroit,” Stewart said. “We’re doing some things different with the golden gloves this year because we want people to go out and enjoy this city. "
Stewart’s long-term goal was to bring the National Golden Gloves tournament to Detroit. Collaborating with Khali Sweeney, CEO of Downtown Boxing Gym, helped him turn that dream into reality.
“This has been a dream of theirs a long time, and so if there’s any type of way that we can help them support that, support the local fighters and the kids in our community, it was a no-brainer for me to just jump on board,” said Sweeney. “We put our whole team to work with his team, and we made it happen together jointly.”
“It was a dream to bring the national golden gloves to Detroit, but we couldn’t accomplish that dream without the help of Downtown Boxing because they know what they’re doing when it comes to putting on events,” Stewart said.
With the national tournament taking place downtown, Metro Detroit boxers will have the opportunity to compete while having the support of the hometown crowd. The city of Detroit will also have a chance to showcase its businesses to people from all over the country, as they did recently during the 2024 NFL draft.
“Detroit has some of the best boxers in the country, but when it’s time to go to national tournaments, they are often held far away, and people may not have the resources to travel and compete,” Sweeney said. “Now, the national tournament will be right here in our city. I want the whole city to come out and support our fighters from Detroit. This is also a great opportunity for local businesses to get national exposure.”
The Golden Gloves began in 1923 and continues to be the most highly regarded championship for amateur boxers in the United States.
Many Golden Gloves champions became professional world champions, including Joe Louis, Thomas Hearns, and Muhammad Ali.
Tickets for the week of boxing are available online and at the door.