COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO – Steve Geffrard has been named USA Boxing’s 2010 Male Athlete of the Year following his outstanding performances in 2010. Geffrard claimed gold medals in every major national championship in 2010, surprising many of the well-known names and defending champions along the way.
Geffrard, a student at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida, kicked off his phenomenal year at the 2010 National Golden Gloves Championships in Little Rock, Ark., in May. Geffrard defeated Under 19 National Champion Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) and defending national champion Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.) en route to his first national title of the year. Geffrard followed his May victory with a second gold medal at the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships in July at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Once again, Geffrard’s route to the top of the medal stand included wins over a string of former or current national champions. The Florida native repeated his Golden Gloves victories over both Shimmell and Temple to set up a championship bout match-up with former Golden Gloves national champion and 2008 Olympic Training Partner Sijuola Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.). Geffrard closed the event with a 15-6 decision over Shabazz to win his second straight national title in the heavyweight division.
The then 19-year-old earned the top spot in the nation with his victory at the USA Boxing National Championships to become the heavyweight representative on the U.S. squad at the 2010 European Challenge in England and Italy. He celebrated his 20th birthday on the trip prior to earning an 11-9 win over Italy’s Biagio Imbesi in the opening night of the USA vs. Italy Dual in Rome. Geffrard faced off with two-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Clemente Russo of Italy in the second bout of the event and dropped a close, two-point decision on Russo’s home soil, announcing his arrival on the international heavyweight scene.
Geffrard closed the year with his third straight national title at the 2010 National PAL Championships, the first qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He once again marched through the competition to sweep all three major national championship events in 2010 and punch his ticket for the Olympic Team Trials. He joined 2007 World Champion and two-time U.S. Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) as the only two boxers to complete the three-peat.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
