PB to host Silver Gloves matches
Pine Bluff will host the Arkansas State Silver Gloves championships for the second time this year.
Albert Brewer, organizer and coach of the local Gloves Not Guns youth boxing club, announced Friday the city will host 2021-22 edition of the state qualifier toward the national Silver Gloves tournament Dec. 17-18 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Silver Gloves is an annual tournament for boxers ages 8-16 held in the spirit of the Golden Gloves, considered the most prestigious amateur boxing championships in the U.S.
The Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission held a news conference Friday at its office at The ARTSpace on Main Street, where Brewer and commission Director Sheri Storie also talked about Gloves Not Guns’ plans to host a series of tournaments in 2022. The A&P earlier this month awarded $44,500 to Brewer’s club for the purpose of attracting qualifiers to national tournaments such as the USA Boxing Junior Olympics and Silver Gloves, as well as organizing local meets.
“This here is just a big step to attracting more tournaments and making them bigger,” Brewer said. “It’s a big boost for us, and as you can see, our kids are young. This is the future of Pine Bluff. These kids are 8-16. What this funding does is, it helps us to grow the program.”
Gloves Not Guns hosted the 2020-21 state Silver Gloves in June, after the event was held in the North Little Rock area for decades. The national Silver Gloves were postponed to the summer due to the pandemic.
The Arkansas Local Boxing Commission of USA Boxing originally awarded the Region 6 Silver Gloves tournament in July to Brewer’s organization, but a lack of funding forced the event to be moved to Searcy.
Brewer was relieved Pine Bluff would get a second chance to entertain the Silver Gloves brand, but he clarified the recent funding from A&P will not go toward December’s tournament because it is not held in 2022.
“The money is geared toward bringing tournaments to Pine Bluff,” Brewer said, adding the money will not be used toward operational expenses. “It’s not no secret that we want to make Pine Bluff the boxing capital of Arkansas.”
The A&P has funded Gloves Not Guns each year since 2018, Storie noted. She credited A&P commissioner William Moss, who successfully advocated for a grant awards cycle open to any applying organization that would qualify. Each grant presented is based on the potential A&P members feel that agency has to create an economic im
pact on Pine Bluff, Storie said in a previous article.
Events and programming must take place in Pine Bluff and focus on either visual arts, culinary arts, Delta heritage, performing arts and sports/recreation.
“It’s not an easy application process, as Coach Brewer knows,” Storie said. “So, every time Coach Brewer has an event, he has to provide follow-up reports and financial information following the event.”
Storie said Brewer’s first request to the A&P in 2018 was for $10,000, but added since then, he has attracted the number of events and number of people to Pine Bluff to dine, lodge, shop and purchase gas.
“That is exactly why we fund these events, to help the community grow in economic tourism and economic development,” she said.
Donations to assist Gloves Not Guns in operating the state Silver Gloves may be made via Cash App to #CoachBarksdale.