Underwood, Love Survive to Fight Another Day - SWX Right Now-Sports for Spokane, CdA, Tri-Cities, WA

The two women from Washington state boxing for their Olympic lives in the U.S. Olympic trials this week fared as well as could be expected Monday night. Both Queen Underwood and Alex Love won their first fights at Northern Quest Resort & Casino at Airway Heights.

Underwood came out strong and took out Betha Aracil, from new York, in four rounds. She won the decision 22-12 and will face Mikaela Mayer, from Los Angeles, on Tuesday.

"The first fight is always the hardest fight for me – getting into the rhythm," said Underwood. "Tomorrow with the crowd coming out… this is an amazing event, so tomorrow I'll be more prepared."

Underwood said Mondays fight was a tense one for her. It was the first time she had fought with someone from her family in the audience.

"This is home, there's a lot of nerves," she said. "There's a lot outside of the ring that I'm doing – especially for this event. So, this is the first fight and I look forward to doing better."

Love's fight also went to four rounds. The flyweight fighter from Monroe, Wash. put Taversha Norwood, from Georgia, on the ropes and won the contest 24-15. She will fight Marlen Esparza, from Houston, on Tuesday.

"My nerves were crazy, exciting," said Love. "You try to calm down, but I settled in. It feels good. I got the warm-up fight out of the way."

The 24 women are vying for a shot at the international competition in China in May. That competition will be the qualifying tournament to get into the Olympics in London. The 2012 Summer Olympics will be the first time women's boxing will be included in the games.