Christopher Downs (born November 5, 1974) is a US-American amateur

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom *Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe eel, ...

who won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games 2007.

Career

A member of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's World Class Athlete Program, Sergeant Christopher Downs only took up boxing in 2003 at an advanced age. He had to put it on hold when he served in

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

in Iraq from January 2004 to March 2005. Downs was a member of a 16-man platoon of which 11 men were wounded and received

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s, including four under his direct command. He says "Anybody that sees their friends and superiors put their lives on the line, knowing what can happen to you any second of the day,it changes your perspective. It opens your eyes to a lot of things and opens your mind to a lot of things you probably wouldn't try." He's still on active duty, but the military will allow him to dedicate all of his time training for Beijing. The aggressive puncher lost 2005 in the semifinal but became 2006 and 2007 US light-heavyweight champion. He won bronze at the 2007 PanAm Games where he lost to Cuban Yusiel Napoles. At the World Championships 2007 he upset Ukrainian

Ismail Sillakh Ismail Sillakh (born February 9, 1985 in Zaporizhia) is a Ukrainian professional boxer who has medaled in important international tournaments as an amateur. Amateur career Ismail Sillakh was born in Zaporizhia, then he moved with his ...

but lost to Brit

Tony Jeffries Tony David Jeffries (born 2 March 1985) is an English former professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, an undefeated Jeffries was forced to retire due to hand injuries. Life and career Jeffries was born ...

. At the first Olympic qualifier of the Americas he upset highly touted Cuban champion Julio de la Cruz, but lost to Venezuelan

Luis Gonzalez Luis Gonzalez or González may refer to: Academics *Luis González y González (1925–2003), Mexican historian * Luis A. Gonzalez (judge) (fl. 1978–2015), American judge Arts and Entertainment * Luis "Checho" González (born 1928), Chilean folk ...

, at the second qualifier he was eliminated by

Julio Castillo Julio César Castillo Torres (born 10 May 1988) is an Ecuadorian amateur boxer. He won two medals at the Pan American Games: a bronze in 2007 and a silver in 2011. Career At the 2006 South American Games, Castillo lost to Hamilton Ventura in t ...

External links

ESPN articleChristopher Downs Amateur Boxing Record
1974 births Sportspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee Light-heavyweight boxers African-American boxers Living people Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers Boxers at the 2007 Pan American Games American male boxers Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in boxing Boxers from Tennessee Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-boxing-bio-stub