FROM STAFF REPORTS

The best amateur boxers in the state will compete in 2012 Alabama State Golden Gloves Boxing Championships, which will be held Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. at American Fitness, 2650 Valleydale Road in Hoover.

Tickets, which will be available at door, are $10 for adults and $5 for children 8-and-under. Doors open at 1 p.m.

Heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa – a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the only U.S. boxer to win a medal – will meet and greet fans, pose for photos and sign autographs at the event.

The amateur boxers will compete in 11 weight classes and are grouped according to age and experience. The open class is for fighters who have at least 10 bouts to their credit.

The open-class winners in this event will advance to the regional Southern Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, which will be held in Knoxville, Tenn.

For more information, call tournament organizer Dave Godber of Round 1 Boxing in Birmingham at 907-1752 or American Fitness at 991-5591.