Bradley Belt fights for the 2026 Golden Gloves championship

TULSA, OKLA. – Bradley Belt took the runner-up medal at the National Golden Gloves Boxing Championships. Disappointed he didn’t win the title, he is proud of the fact he was the first from Alabama to fight in the finals of the heavyweight division since former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in 2007.

“I’m blessed and very thankful I made it to the finals,” said Belt, the 27-year old former two-sport athlete at James Clemens High. “One thing is for sure, the fighter I faced in the finals, he now knows my name.”

Fighting out of Rocket City Boxing in Huntsville, both Belt and Sydney Houston advanced to the national spotlight by winning their divisions at the Regional Golden Gloves Tournament held in April in Homewood as each posted unanimous decisions victories to move onto the National Golden Gloves Boxing Championships held in Tulsa, Okla. Houston, the 30-year old mother of two children, won her first bout with a dominating unanimous decision against an opponent from Kansas City, but had to drop out of the competition prior to her second fight due to severe migraine headaches causing her to temporarily lose vision in her right eye.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Belt made his way to the finals with three eliminating bouts with three victories.

In his first scheduled encounter, Belt took on Mack Palzer of Buffalo, N.Y., but came out slow losing the first round of the scheduled three-round bout. “I came out slow as Palzer was an awkward southpaw fighter. In the second round I adjusted and dominated until the end and won by decision,” said Belt.

In his second encounter, against Munachi Anosike listed as from New England, Belt had to contend with his opponent who stood 6-foot-6, but Belt went into the ring with a different game plan and presented his opponent with lots of energy with a barrage of punches from both hands to set the tone. He added, “I stuck to my game plan as I kept using my jab as he tried to come close to me so I used some combinations to offset him, winning the bout 5-0 and all three rounds. This was a good win.”

In his third fight, which was the semi-finals of the heavyweight division, Belt gave his opponent two standing eight-counts after losing the first round to Xavier Freeman of Texas. “Freeman was known to knocking out folks,” said Belt. “He, too, stood 6-6 and a southpaw and my game plan was the same as the earlier fight. He won the first round, so I began to really press him in the next two rounds and had him frustrated giving him two eight-counts by the referee. I want to thank my teammate, Lance Holloway, who I spared with in training as he has long arms and helped me train for such a fight.”

In the championship fight, Belt faced Brooklyn’s Isaac Parker who knocked out two of his opponents on his way to the title bout.

“I was ranked No. 5 in the U.S. for two years and many thought he would run over me. We both started slow as he was awarded the first round,” said Belt.

In the second round, Belt pressed Parker frustrating the favorite and even cut his eye with a good right hand. “I got to him as he was used to bullying fighters, but the judges game him the round in scoring” added Belt. “In the final round, I went all out and took it to him. I soon made him tired, but just couldn’t knock him out. He now knows my name.”

Belt said he still needs to cleanup his fighting a little more and should be a little sharper in some of his techniques as he will be participating in the upcoming USA Nationals set for June 20-27 in Wichita, Kan.

“With my Golden Gloves performance I should be ranked No. 2 going into the USA Nationals,” said Belt, who just opened his own gym-workout facility in Madison called B-Boxing & Fitness. “I could possibly go pro later this year.”

For Houston, it was a disappointing venture to Tulsa, as she felt confident and proud of herself dominating her one fight. She opened the fight using her left jab, which opened everything else for the 5-foot-7, 119-pound boxer. She picked up the pace in the second and third rounds where her opponent could not keep up with Houston’s high-energy onslaught of punches putting her at 8-3 in total fights.

“I am disappointed, but at the end of the day, it was the right decision to not go into the second fight,” said Houston, who is scheduled to fight again on June 6 in Riverdale, Ga. “I’m happy to be a part of the great experience at the Golden Gloves.”