HANFORD -- Shawn Estrada was welcomed to his former hometown like a conquering hero on Wednesday night, and rightly so. Estrada is, after all, a member of the United States Olympic boxing team.

A fundraising event held in Estrada's honor brought scores of fans, family, friends and well-wishers to the banquet hall of the La Fiesta restaurant, and a lengthy line formed to attain autographs from the boxer, and pose with him for photographs.

Estrada, who lives in Los Angeles, gained a spot on the Olympic team last spring in Guatemala City, Guatemala, during the second of two Americas Qualifiers.

The middleweight put together a big finish and won a 12-7 decision over Brazil's Yamaguchi Florentine in the semifinals April 30. That locked up at least a fourth-place finish, and a ticket to Beijing.

But the former Hanford West High student took things another step and captured the gold medal with a 4-1 paper-scoring decision over Ezequiel Maderna of Argentina.

Yet even before that, Estrada had enjoyed a distinguished career that brought him to the top of USA Boxing's 165-pound rankings.

Known as a hard hitter and a strong finisher, Estrada is ranked fifth in the Americas Region by the Amateur Boxing Association. He was 1-1 at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago, with the loss being a tight decision to Germany's Konstantin Buga.

In addition to a first-place finish in the 2007 U.S. Olympic Trials -- an event in which he twice defeated tough New Yorker Daniel Jacobs -- he scored victories in duals with China and Australia that same year.

The 23-year-old, though, is just the second member of his family to land a berth on an Olympic team.

His father, Juan Estrada, was a member of Mexico's Olympic team. His uncle, Adan Estrada, boxed professionally.

On the USA Boxing Web site, Shawn Estrada tells a humorous story of how he got involved in boxing.

"When I was young my dad and my uncle would go to the gym and would never take us,'' he said. "One day, my brother and I snuck in the car and went. I have loved boxing since I first walked into the gym that day.''

A festive event at La Fiesta included music, food, beverages, a gift giveaway and a silent auction, as well as an appearance by cheerleaders from Hanford West -- where Estrada once played football.

Estrada is one of nine U.S. boxers who gained berths for Beijing, although the recent dismissal of light flyweight Luis Yanes from the team could leave Team USA with its smallest Olympic boxing team in 60 years.

The Olympic boxing program is scheduled for Aug. 9-24.

(July 3, 2008)