Olympic Hopeful Needs U.S. Citizenship to Box for U.S.

Photo Courtest of Sports Summary.com

An immigrant from Mexico, Erick De Leon, an amateur boxer, won the national Police Athletic League championship in the 132-pound weight class in 2009, along with the national Golden Gloves titles in 2009 and 2010. The N.Y. Times reports that, in an Olympic qualifying year, noncitizens are prohibited from fighting in national championships. De Leon and his coaches are scrambling this summer to expedite his citizenship application. “De Leon must have his citizenship by the end of this year to compete in qualifying for the 2012 Olympics — and fighting in the Olympics has been his goal for years.”

KJ