SALT LAKE CITY - One of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects has ties to Utah's boxing community.
26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police on Thursday night.
Four years ago, he was part of a New England team competing for the national Golden Gloves Boxing Championships. The event brings in the best young boxers from around the United States for a week of matches in all weight classes.
In May 2009, then-22-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev fought in the heavyweight class. Trainer and Golden Gloves official Rick Montoya has been involved in Utah boxing for nearly 30 years, including the 2009 event.
Montoya doesn't remember Tsarnaev but says the New England area always turns out good fighters.
"For the kid to have been here in '09, through that regional, he probably was a pretty talented kid. A lot of their fighters they get a long way in the tournament, they got some real polished teams, real high end teams," Montoya said.
Tsarnaev was defeated by a boxer from Chicago in his first fight of the competition.
Troy Fullmer, the head of officials for the 2009 Golden Gloves, says that he doesn't remember Tsarnaev, either, but he's surprised that Tsarnaev apparently took a turn for the worse after leaving a sport that tends to help many kids get their lives on track.
"Kinda heartsick to think he's involved in boxing because usually you find the kids who had a troubled youth growing up and boxing is the sport that sorta steers them in the right direction," Fullmer said.
Tsarnaev had aspirations to box for the U.S. Olympic team, according toa report on foxnews.com.
