Azalea Festival features Boxing Tourney in Wilmington

Wilmington Convention Center (Photo by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey)

The North Carolina Azalea Festival Boxing Tournament, presented by the US Army and sanctioned by USA Boxing, was held in Wilmington on Saturday April 11th and Sunday April 12th. The tournament has been part of the annual Azalea Festival since 1978, and features both national and international boxers, including youth boxers, across various weight and age classes – ages 8-16, 17-34, and 35+ with 12 weight classes for men and 11 weight classes for women. This year’s tournament was held at the Wilmington Convention Center, which fronts the Cape Fear River.

Highlighting this year’s group of winners was Juan Echeverry from Team Inmortales, who won the 132-pound category, and Emiliano from Hills Training, who took home the top prize in the 142-pound category. Juan earned his first championship at the Azalea Festival after winning what was described as a “chess match” against a local rival, while Emiliano garnered a unanimous decision after five rounds.

As part of the festivities, the championship matches were attended by this year’s Queen Azalea, Elaine Hendrix, the actress who played Meredith Blake in the 1998 Disney remake of The Parent Trap movie. As part of her queenly duties, Hendrix made a ceremonial visit to the boxing tournament to present the championship belts to the winners in each division.

In addition to the US Army and USA Boxing, the tournament is sponsored by Friends of Boxing, Inc. (a local non-profit), as well as TD Bank (a commercial financial institution), the National Guard (a branch of the US military), and Ringside (a national boxing equipment manufacturer that provides gear for the participants). The tournament was historically hosted by a Wilmington-area middle school, but moved to the convention center in 2019, and has been held there ever since.