New Orleans Boxer Michael Angeletti's Inspiring Path to 2020 Olympic Trials in Lake Charles
Michael Angeletti's journey to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Boxing Trials and National Championships, held December 7-15 in Lake Charles, was far from predestined. As the 23-year-old New Orleanian now based in Texas recounts, it almost never happened.
"I was always a fighter, getting into trouble in school," Angeletti says. "In middle school, I played basketball. One day at practice in the sports complex, I wandered into a boxing gym. The coach noticed me watching and invited me in to train. When my mom picked me up after basketball, I told her I was a boxer now. She said if I wanted to box, I had to stay out of trouble."
Angeletti has certainly made the most of that serendipitous encounter. The trials take place at the Lake Charles Civic Center, with finals at the Golden Nugget Casino Hotel Lake Charles. The top two boxers in each weight class advance to a training camp at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, leading to the 13 boxers selected for the 2020 Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
Currently peaking in the flyweight division—112 pounds or less—Angeletti ranked first at the 2018 U.S. Elite National Championships.
Despite his love for Louisiana favorites like deep-fried beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans and étouffée-topped pistolettes at Steamboat Bill’s in Lake Charles, Angeletti cuts up to 15% of his body weight before fights. His secret? "Just focus."
Always small-framed, Angeletti was overlooked in football despite earning an athletic scholarship. "I got tired of coaches favoring bigger teammates," he admits.
Boxing fits his independent spirit perfectly: "It's just me in the ring—no favoritism, all I depend on is myself."
That focus has fueled impressive wins and global travels. In 2019 alone, he competed in Russia, the UK, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, and Nicaragua. This Louisiana homecoming feels especially meaningful.
"Coming home... a lot of people I know have wanted to see me fight for years. It's special," Angeletti says.
