BALAZS BOXING PRESS RELEASE

ALLENTOWN, PA; December 11, 2001 - The finals of the first-ever Women's Amateur Boxing World Championships will air this Sunday, December 16, at 8:00 am and 5:00 pm EST on Oxygen Sports on the Oxygen Network. These championship bouts feature the world's best athletes from 12 countries including China, Russia, Canada, Sweden, Turkey, France, Italy, Jamaica and the United States. The Oxygen Network is a 24-hour cable television network with programming focused on "releasing the energy of women to do great things."

The Championship finals are the culmination of a 6-day Olympic-style boxing tournament featuring over 120 individual bouts. Held in Scranton, PA from November 26th to December 2nd, this event attracted over 150 elite boxers from national teams representing more than 35 countries.

This World Championship event is a necessary precursor for women's boxing to join the ranks of Olympic sports. To date, boxing is the only non-coeducational sport on the Olympic roster. The Championships advance the sport of Women's Boxing one step closer to achieving Olympic status.

Media personnel from around the world noted the significance of this historic event. Press crews from the United States, France, Israel, New Zealand and other locales covered the event. The magazine, Sports Illustrated-Women, is scheduled to do a story detailing a day in the life of the championship athletes.

Women's amateur boxing is expanding its audience and participation around the world. The president of AIBA, the international governing association for amateur and Olympic boxing, stated, during the conclusion of the tournament, that amateur women's boxing is growing at a rate significantly faster than men's boxing, and it has the capability to surpass amateur men's boxing in terms of popularity and participation in the future. AIBA is a strong supporter of women's boxing and its hopes for future glory.

For more information on the telecast, go to www.Oxygen.com and click on Oxygen Sports.

Visit www.usaboxing.org, www.aiba.net and www.180022welcome.com/boxing/ for more information on women's boxing.

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