Golden Gloves Finals in L.A.!

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Amateur boxing at its best in District Tournament

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The Golden Gloves District Tournament Finals are here! Tonight’s semi-final bouts take place at 7 p.m. with the victors going on to compete tomorrow night at the Lincoln Park Rec Center in Lincoln Park, California.

Last weekend’s weigh-in and registration brought out hundreds of fighters from the surrounding L.A. area. After four nights of elimination bouts, you now have a chance to see the future stars of boxing in the final championship rounds.

For fans not familiar with amateur boxing, you will not be disappointed with the action inside the ropes. And heavy action does take place in not just one, but TWO rings set up inside the gym. This only ensures constant battling and non-stop excitement for the crowd during this District Tournament Final.

Without the luxury of million-dollar contracts or fat PPV deals, the young amateur boxers give it their all and make the most out of their two-minute rounds. Shows and tournaments like these may not offer any riches, but the fighters gain experience, confidence and clout while on their way to the Olympics and the pros.

John Hardin, California Golden Gloves Franchise President, is enthusiastic about this year’s crop of talent and the big crowd that’s been showing up, “We’ve had the best crowd in years–it’s great for boxing!”

“Everyone says that a crowd like this hasn’t happened in years, since 2002. It’s such a good turnout–I’m lovin’ it!” echoes Liberty Maxwell, Lincoln Park Recreation Assistant. “All these kids are hungry for it; they can go on for a shot in the Utah finals and the Olympics. There are great fights taking place here.”

L.A. has become a hotbed of talent so it’s no surprise that many familiar faces and pro fighters have been coming out to support amateur boxing during this tournament. Many come out to see the next generation of superstars and to also represent their gyms, stablemates, or old coaches, while several others are involved as trainers.

vanesSeen this week cheering for the amateurs were Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola and his trainer Henry Ramirez, Jack Mosley with 18-year-old Shane Mosley Jr. (who fought during the tournament), Alfredo “Perro” Angulo with trainer Clemente Medina and plenty of Maywood boxers, Vanes Martiryosan (whose younger brother Vatche fought), female fighter Jennifer “The Razor” Barber, former heavyweights Larry “The Legend” Donald, Al “Ice” Cole, Stan Ward, veteran cutman Joe Chavez, former WBC Champion Simon Brown, Kronk Gym’s Prentiss Byrd, and trainer Pepe Correa (Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis).

Both Byrd and Correa were there with The Rock Gym and have been working hard in turning out the next great heavyweight contenders. Keeping a watchful eye as their fighter Justin Goslee won his bout, earning a spot in the finals, Correa tells me with excitement, “Wait ’til you see him in six months! We’re gonna stay busy and he’s only gonna get better.” The 300-pound boxer–nicknamed “Kane”–had an impressive performance so you just may hear more about him in months to come.

anguloFor Prentiss Byrd (manager of Tommy Hearns), the tournament has been a success for his able group of heavyweights. But this success has also brought on a new situation for The Rock stable. “Two of our fighters, Chris “Bama” Harris and “Kane” will be going against each other in the finals. They’re teammates and we knew down the road that this could happen. But we really build a team-type atmosphere and it’s hard. I prefer to jump and cheer when our fighters win but now they’re fighting each other.” So who will Byrd be rooting for? “Both are my guys and I truly don’t have one favorite guy!” he says.

Some of the best trainers and gyms like The Rock are taking part in this year’s Golden Gloves including Wild Card, Norwalk, Commerce, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, La Habra, L.A.Y.A.C., Lion Power, U.S. Navy, Maciel, De La Hoya, Eddie Heredia, and Warzone.

While protected by headgear and wearing tank tops, amateur style of fighting can be just as exciting as the pros. The age range spans from 17-34 years old, and lacing up 10 ounce and 12 ounce gloves, they can bang with the best of them. Since Tuesday, the tournament has featured up to 17 bouts a night in both rings with everyone from 119 pounders to 201 plus slugging it out. “Novice” fighters box for three two-minute rounds and “Open” fighters go four two-minute rounds with USA Boxing’s Dick Jones keeping an organized watch on the matchup board. Tomorrow evening’s bouts will feature both novice and open final rounds.

The tournament is a stepping stone for the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions held in Salt Lake City, Utah at the beginning of May with the National Junior Golden Gloves Tournament will then taking place in July in Mesquite, Nevada.

There are a lot of local amateur shows in the area that lead up to the legendary Golden Gloves. joehectorThe “2009 Gold Rush” Amateur Boxing Show at the El Monte Expo Center is just one such show that may have helped paved the way for many of the young athletes who move on to the next round. “Gold Rush” Co-promoter and trainer Steve Harpst has attended the fights every night this week and has seen many boxers from his own show now participating in the Golden Gloves, “We had hundreds of gyms calling to get a fight at ‘The Gold Rush’ show. It was a great opportunity to get pre-Golden Gloves bouts, right before this tournament. There’s so much talent out there–it’s unbelievable how good the amateur fighters are.”

matchupsMany in attendance grew up around amateur boxing and continue to stay active in the circuit.
“My uncle Fernando “Tio” Serrano was a longtime trainer in L.A.,” says Tommy Osuna, who has been involved in both amateur and pros for thirty years. “I love the amateurs. I had a great experience as an amateur and now I can teach kids. It gives me a chance to give these kids a chance.” On Saturday night, Osuna will be in the corner with his boxer, Sal Trabullo, in the 165-pound division.

New pro fighters also enjoy coming out and reliving their own amateur careers. Ruben Rivera (1-0) first trained as an amateur with Clemente Medina when he was 13 years old, “Then I moved to Arizona and boxed there. I was ‘open’ after my third fight, and even though I had just 21 amateur fights I got a lot of experience. I won the World Championship in Coachella and then turned pro.” And how is the transition from amateur to pro been going for the fighter? “Everyone tells me that being pro is just about adjustment. It’s like moving into a new home. It’s still your home, you just have to learn to adjust.” Rivera looks to get his second pro bout soon and was there with Maywood stablemate Charles Huerta (10-0) to support trainer Medina and their amateur compadres fighting last night.

“We have some terrific coaches in L.A.,” Andy “The Hawk” Price tells me as we watch the activity in the two rings. “It makes for fantastic fights. This year’s tournament has been great.” The former pro (33-8-3, 13 KOs) now serves as the Rec Center’s Facility Director and enjoys working with the amateurs. Having fought against Sugar Ray Leonard, Pipino Cuevas, Carlos Palomino, and more, I ask Price if he ever misses being in the ring himself?  “Not even!” the welterweight quickly answers with a hearty laugh as we go back to watching the amateurs fight for a spot in the final competition.

If you’d like to attend the Golden Gloves Finals and catch some great action, they will be held tonight and tomorrow night, March 20 and March 21 at 7:00 p.m., Lincoln Park Rec Center, 3501 Valley Blvd., Los Angeles–Entrance fee is 10.00, Children under age 10 are free. For more information: 213-847-1727.

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Photos by Michele Chong: Faces from the Golden Gloves Tournament!

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Michele Chong has been involved in the sport of boxing for over a decade. Her “Chatter Box” column covers a variety of subjects in both professional and amateur boxing, and features exclusive one-on-one interviews, recaps of fight events, shows and tournaments, book/film reviews and much more. Inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, she is also a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Golden State Boxer’s Association and the Burbank Boxing Club. Michele is also involved in many non-profit and charitable organizations.

1 COMMENT

  1. my son is looking for a golden gloves boxing gym to qaulify and prepare for the olympics. san diego or el segundo , LAX area’s

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