Wasson Heads Off for First Int’l Competition
Posted: September 29, 2009

Casa De Boxeo’s Andrecia Wasson will leave later this week for Equador, for her first international competition.

The teenage Wasson joins nine other top U.S. female boxers at the 2009 Women’s Continental Competition that runs October 5-8 at the Abel Jimenez Parra Coliseum in Guayaquil, Equador.

Wasson, the current welterweight national champ at 152 pounds, was formerly trained by Mickey Goodwin at his River Rouge Boxing Club until his death earlier this year. Now she is trained by Casa De Boxeo’s Rene Muniz, who told Sportssummary Friday that he offered to pay his own way to Equador to assist Wasson but was told by USA Boxing that he would not be allowed even to work her corner. Such is common when USA Boxing fields a national team but the practice of excluding a boxer’s coach has drawn sharp criticism in recent years and even blame for poor performance of U.S. boxers at the Olympics and other international events.

According to USA Boxing, more than a dozen countries are expected to compete in the event, which will feature the best female athletes from North, Central and South America. The U.S. team includes nine reigning number one ranked national champions and one number two ranked athlete, according to the organization’s website.

Wasson’s teammates for the competition include:

Light Flyweight National Champion Laura Ramirez (Bronx, N.Y.), Flyweight National Champion Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas); Bantamweight National Champion Seniesa Estrada (Los Angeles, Calif.); US National Championship featherweight bronze medalist Liz Leddy (Portland, Maine); Lightweight National Champion Patricia Manuel (Gardena, Calif.); Light Welterweight National Champion Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.); Middleweight National Champion Alyssa Defazio (Peoria, Ariz.); Light Heavyweight National Champion Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh, Pa.); and Heavyweight Traynora Locke (Lexington-Fayette, Ky.).

(c) 2009, Sportssummary.com