Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who the FBI are calling suspect one in the Boston Marathon bombing, was an aspiring amateur boxer who hoped to one day try out for the United States Olympic boxing team.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who the FBI is calling suspect one in the Boston Marathon bombing, was an aspiring amateur boxer who hoped to one day try out for the United States Olympic boxing team.
Tsarnaev came to the United States in 2003 from Chechnya, won a Golden Gloves novice fight in January 2004, fighting in the 178-pound weight division.
According to multiple media reports Tsarnaev continued his boxing career, fighting in a number of regional bouts, including winning the Rocky Marciano trophy as the New England heavyweight champ a number of years after his Golden Gloves win in 2004.
The Gold Gloves website states, Tsarnaev competed in the 201-pound division in 2009 but lost to Lamar Fenner of Chicago by judges decision.
The Lowell Sun reported, Tsarnaev loved this United States and was happy with the number of jobs the US had to offer, something Russia doesn’t have. He talked about if you worked hard, you have the ability to make a lot of money. However, in a photo essay leading up to his Gold Gloves bouts, he stated that he wasn’t completely comfortable in the US, “I don’t have a single American friend, I don’t understand them.”
The FBI identified Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar on Thursday afternoon as the lead suspects in the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday. The FBI released photos of the two brothers, asking for the help of the public.
Tsarnaev passed away on Thursday night during a shootout with police, while his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escaped and is currently still at large.
Something big must have happened to Tsarnaev over the past year to change his view on being here in the United States. Something must have triggered him to stop his pursuit of a boxing career and commit these awful acts of violence.
A promising amateur boxer turned terrorist, how did this happen? Likely something we may never know.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Boston, Mass.
Justin Soderberg is a Boston Red Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, ”Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
