The 132-pound division at the Tacoma Golden Gloves is arguably the most storied weight division at the annual local amateur boxing tournament.
Highlighting the impressive list of former champions are Sugar Ray Seales (1970) and Eloy Perez (2004).
Seales went on to earn an Olympic gold medal in 1972 before going on to a highly successful professional career that included a draw in 1974 against future world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler.
Perez, a Rainier High School graduate who is 23-0 as a professional, is one of the sport’s rising stars. Currently ranked among the top five super featherweights in the world, he will fight for the World Boxing Organization crown later this month.
Jerrell Barbour hopes to add his name to that select fraternity at the 64th annual Tacoma Golden Gloves, which kicks off today at 7 p.m. with preliminary bouts at the Al Davies Boys and Girls Club in Tacoma.
Winners advance to the finals, which are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.
The 132-pound division drew the largest of all the 10 male weight divisions with 10 participants.
Despite the competition, Barbour anticipates he will be there at the end.
“It’s definitely a tough weight division,” said Barbour, a four-time Tacoma Golden Gloves champion, “but it’s where I belong.”
Barbour, a 2009 Stadium High School graduate who fought the past two years in the 123-pound division, made the jump up to 132 just two weeks ago.
“It just felt right going up to that weight class. I walk around at about 135 so it was an easy adjustment,” said Barbour, whose brother, Cordell, won three consecutive 132-pound Tacoma Golden Gloves titles between 2001-03. “I feel stronger and faster at that weight. It’s just a good fit for me.”
Last year Barbour lost to Oregon’s Corey Hill in the 123-pound final – stopping his streak of four years in a row with Tacoma Golden Gloves titles (2007-08 at 119 pounds, 2009 at 125 and 2010 at 123).
He was trying to become just the sixth boxer to win five straight Tacoma Golden Gloves.
“There haven’t seen too many boxers win five titles at this tournament,” Barbour said. “That’s been the driving force.”
Barbour rebounded from the defeat, however, and went on to win the West Region Golden Gloves championship to advance to the national tournament.
Barbour will be one of seven Tacoma Boxing Club boxers entered into the tournament – a lighter than normal turnout for the team which has captured five consecutive and 10 out of the past 11 team titles.
“In terms of numbers we might be a little down this year,” said Tacoma Boxing Club coach Tom Mustin. “But I think the overall quality has stayed the same. We have a number of boxers who can take home titles this year.”
In addition to Barbour, Mustin also trains participants Hector Rendon (123), Elijah Peters (132), Nick Jefferson (141), Jaime Sandoval (152), RaSean Charles (152) and John Peak (165).
Jefferson won the 132-pound division the past two years before moving up a classification.
Peak, meanwhile, missed last year’s tournament because of an injury. He won the 152-pound title in 2008.
Winners will advance to regional competition in March in Las Vegas. The national tournament will be held April 29-May 5 in Mesquite, Nev.
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