The Golden Gloves boxing tourney in Utah for first time 40 years

Alex Canez allowed his weight to climb to about 245 pounds his senior year of high school. He was, after all, going to Mesa Community College to play football.

But once he got there, the scholarship he'd been promised didn't quite cover all of his expenses. So he came back to Utah, got a full-time job and decided to take up boxing just to get into better shape.

"After high school, I was just looking to take up another sport. I never thought I would be good at it," said the 178-pound fighter. "I was very overweight; I'm only 5-9 so I thought I was too short and my arms were too short."

More than 65 pounds lighter, Canez is one of four local boxers who will compete in this week's National Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Tournament at the Salt Palace beginning Monday and running through Saturday. The tournament will feature the top 300 amateur fighters in three rings over six nights of fights. Competitors will square off in first-round fights on Monday and Tuesday with the championship rounds scheduled for Saturday. Tuesday's event also will feature a Cinco de Mayo festival at 4 p.m. at the Salt Palace.

Canez and the other Utahns will have the chance to compete in an event that hasn't been to Utah for more than 40 years.

"The last time it was here was 1968," said Hud Fullmer, the media relations director for the event. His brother, Larry Fullmer, put together a bid committee that went to Michigan to convince organizers that Utah should host the event again.

"We'd been trying to get them to bring it to Utah for more than a year," said Larry Fullmer, the tournament director. "After we answered some of those questions, like 'Can you get a drink in Utah? How many wives do you have?' it wasn't a hard sell at all. A lot of people just have a weird perception of Utah, but everyone who has arrived (this weekend) has commented on how beautiful it is."

Larry and Hud were born into a boxing family as their uncle, Gene Fullmer, is a former middleweight world champion and started a boxing gym in Utah. His name and success helped the sport grow three decades ago, and the younger generation is hoping that by bringing the Golden Gloves tournament back to Utah the sports' popularity will again increase.

"The No. 1 reason to bring (the event) here was to give amateur boxing in Utah a spark," said Hud Fullmer. "Any of the money raised goes to the local boxing clubs."