Promoter Lou DiBella announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the San Francisco Giants will sponsor Eden Williams, the 11 year-old daughter of former light heavyweight Thomas Williams Jr., as she competes in the 2024 USA Boxing National Championships. Rated #1 in the female 11-12 year-old division at 80 pounds, Eden will compete in her first National Championships tournament, taking place at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, in Richmond, Virginia. Eden is from Laurel, Maryland.
 
Thomas Williams was 20-4 and unsuccesfully challenged Adonis Stevenson for the WBC 175-pound title. Thanks to her father, Eden has been around boxing her entire life and began competing herself at age eight. Thus far, Eden has built an amateur record of 23-2, winning the Silver Gloves three times, Junior Olympics twice, National Qualifiers tournament twice as well as the National Open tournament.
 
Before her first match tomorrow, Eden and her parents spent some time with the Richmond Flying Squirrels at The Diamond ballpark, getting to meet the team’s front office and their mascot, Nutzy. “It’s not easy for women in boxing even if you’re a little girl and an amateur. It’s expensive to compete and pay the expenses for a family with a championship caliber daughter,” said DiBella, president of both the Richmond Flying Squirrels and DiBella Entertainment. “Thomas was a helluva fighter and he’s an old friend, and Eden is a little boxing phenom. It was nice that I could combine my two loves of boxing and baseball here to help her out. The Squirrels are proud that we were able to enable Eden to compete. She fights at 12:00 pm [Tuesday] if any Squirrels fans would like to go and see her."
 
“I want to thank Lou DiBella and the Richmond Flying Squirrels so much for their hospitality and generosity in sponsoring Eden,” said Williams Jr. “After our original sponsor fell out at the last minute, I made one phone call to Lou and he got it done within 24 hours. Eden had a blast meeting everyone at the ballpark and especially Nutzy the mascot. This tournament will be dedicated to the Richmond Flying Squirrels and DiBella Entertainment.”