Chicago will showcase its hospitality and cultural diversity when it hosts the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships from October 23 - November 3, at the University of Illinois Chicago Pavilion. The AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur), the governing body for amateur boxing worldwide, holds the championships (an opening qualification tournament for the 2008 Olympic Games) every two years.

The world's top amateur boxers will provide a sneak preview for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to an estimated 40,000 spectators in Chicago during the competition. With nearly 700 boxers from more than 120 countries, this eleven-day event will be the largest World Boxing Championships in history. 

Demonstrating Chicago's corporate leadership and support, USG Corporation recently announced that it will be the presenting sponsor for the AIBA World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007. USG is a Chicago-based Fortune 500 manufacturer and distributor of high-performance building systems.

"Chicago is a sports town, and this adds a new dimension to world-class sporting events held here," said James S. Metcalf, president and chief operating officer, USG Corporation. "USG is proud to further the long history of the AIBA World Boxing Championships and support these amazing athletes," he added.

"USG's sponsorship is a testament to the strong relationship among the City of Chicago, the Chicago business community and the residents of this great city who are joining together to host this major sporting event," said Robert (Bob) Pickens, vice president of the Board of Commissioners for the Chicago Park District.  

Previous AIBA World Boxing Championships helped launch the careers of several well-known Olympic boxers including Floyd Patterson, Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar de la Hoya.

"We hope that Chicagoans will support this important Olympic qualifier and the development of boxing around the world," said Jack Sandner, chairman of the Organizing Committee for the AIBA World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007. "By attending the event, as a fan or as a volunteer, every Chicagoan can play a positive role in the Olympic Movement."

Throughout the tournament, volunteers will be relied upon to fill many roles at the competition, training and hotel venues. Volunteers are currently needed for jobs across a variety of locations; if interested in volunteering, please call 312.616.5400 or email volunteer@worldboxingchicago.org.

"We know that Chicago has a great boxing tradition and we are excited about the opportunity of showcasing our sport in such an important American City," said AIBA President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, upon awarding the opportunity to host the Championships to Chicago last May.

"Chicago has always given great support to the sport of boxing, not only in the U.S., but for boxers worldwide... the City is fully equipped and ready to put on a wonderful spectacle," added USA Boxing President Tom Virgets.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 866.WBC.TIX1 or through Ticketmaster at 312.559.1212 or www.ticketmaster.com. The Championship bouts on November 3 will be broadcasted on Fox Sports. Internationally, fans in an estimated 120 countries will see the tournament.

The event is organized by AIBA (boxing's international federation), USA Boxing (the national governing body) and World Sports Chicago (the local organizing committee).

SAVEUR magazine's editors have confirmed what we've all known for so long -- just how serious Chicago is about its food.

When it comes to food, says SAVEUR, few cities have traveled farther and faster, and few can match Chicago for its panoply of tastes and traditions. They run the gamut from the city's justly famous and lavishly topped hot dogs and decadent deep dish pizza to its myriad immigrant cuisines, legendary soul food, and the pioneering cooking of endlessly creative chefs.

Available at newsstands now, SAVEUR's special October issue was devoted entirely to a single city for the first time in the magazine's 13-year history. Its Editor-in-Chief even admits, "we'd taken into consideration Paris, Rome, London, Hong Kong, and, yes, San Francisco -- cities whose culinary reputations are widely known... but there was something about big-shouldered Chicago that really grabbed our attention."

SAVEUR is published 9 times per year with a circulation of more than 375,000.  Its readers are smart, sophisticated and informed connoisseurs, and their high level of wealth allows them to pursue their passions. They are an influential audience who are willing to pay more for quality products, services and experiences, and are key targets for the luxury market.

Read on for a roadmap to Chicago's greatest food and rich culinary culture, from fine dining to street food and everything in between:

Tomorrowland
What do Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Chicago's most cutting-edge restaurants have in common? A personal essay from New York Times contributor Peter Meehan examines the phenomenon of "chemical gastronomy" and explores the causal connection linking Chicago's long-established industrial food culture (the city is home to Quaker Oats, Sara Lee, McDonald's, and Kraft) to the imaginative cuisine of restaurants like Alinea and Moto. 

*Includes an illustrated sidebar of Chicago inventions over the past 150 years that revolutionized the ways food is made and eaten at home and in restaurants.

City of Pork
Deputy editor Dana Bowen heads deep into hog heaven -- the delis, supermarkets, and sausage shops where Chicago's Polish-American butchers have elevated the humble pig to a smoked and cured art form. 

A Chef's Journey
The food at the highly acclaimed restaurant North Pond has been called "seasonal American" and "modern French". In this first-person account, chef Bruce Sherman explains how it is really a direct expression of where he comes from and the product of a decades-long journey that starts and ends in Chicago, his beloved hometown.

South Side Soul
More than just places to find some of the best authentic Southern cooking anywhere, the soul food restaurants flourishing on Chicago's South Side have managed to preserve not only Southern foodways but also a century's worth of history. Historian Tracy Poe tells how they've served as both community centers and cultural conduits for a generation of black Chicagoans.

A Place at the Table
No issue of SAVEUR would be complete without a visit to the kitchen of some passionate local home cooks. Meet Chicago's Campo family, for whom "gravy" is a silky, slow-simmered meat and tomato sauce, not something served on Thanksgiving in a boat.