Olympic boxing hopefuls from the United States and China will fight next week in what could be a preview of some of the matchups in the 2012 London Games.
Longtime boxing promoter Dino Duva and his business partners have been working to help develop the Chinese national team for more than a year, part of an arrangement with the Chinese Boxing Federation that has included extended training camps in the United States.
Their first signature event happens Oct. 1 at Capitale, in the heart of New York City's Chinatown, when a U.S. team takes on its Chinese counterpart in a series of amateur bouts.
''I'm really excited about this event,'' said Duva's father, Hall of Fame trainer Lou Duva, who has watched the Chinese team work out. ''The Chinese team has excellent credentials, and reports are that America has an outstanding group of fighters who hope to restore Team USA.''
That includes 114-pound prospect Miguel Cartagena, the silver medalist at this year's national championships. Also on the U.S. team will be national silver medalists Diego Hurtado (108 pounds), Eric Flores (132), Alex Martin (152), Jesse Hart (165) and Danny Kelly (201).
''My expectation is to win,'' Cartagena said Thursday. ''I think it's a good experience for the Chinese boxers and I will draw as much from this experience as I can.''
There will be fights in 10 men's weight classes and three women's weight classes, which should also prove intriguing. After all, the International Olympic Committee added women's boxing to the program last summer, and they'll make their debut at the London Games.
While the Chinese team has not officially been announced, some of the fighters expected to take part in the exhibition include super middleweight Olympian Zhang Jianting and heavyweight Olympic silver medalist Zhang Zhilei, one of the top professional prospects in the world.
The Chinese duo spent time in New York City on Thursday, taking a tour of the Empire State Building and lunching in Chinatown, not far from where they will be competing.
''The Chinese boxers have already reached a good level. With hard work and good competition like this, we will work to get to a higher level,'' Zhang said through a translator. ''The coaches have been giving us good workouts and we will be ready for good competition.''
