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Catskill’s ready to rumble
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| Anasta Boxing Club’s Luis Lopez, left, hits the focus mitts as trainer Todd Smith works on combinations last week during a training session at the Moose Lodge in Hudson. (Brian Radewitz/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
By Brian Radewitz
CATSKILL — Back in the early-to-mid 1990s some of the best young boxers made their way to Catskill and tested their skills and wills in the ring. The likes of Lou Savarese (46-7), Regilio Turr (46-4), Tracy Harris Patterson (63-8), Raymond Joval (37-5), Junior Jones (50-6), Arturo Gatti (40-9) and Kevin Kelley (60-10) climbed between the ropes and earned victories on the professional level.
Even former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs (48-5) made his professional debut on July 24, 1992 in Catskill, with a spectacular first-round KO of John Basil Jackson.
Now, almost exactly 17 years later, boxing returns to the area and some of the most skillful young local boxers will have a chance to showcase their talents in their own backyard.
The event, dubbed “Rumble in the Catskills”, takes place in the confines of Catskill High School on Saturday with doors opening at 6 p.m. and fights kicking off at 7.
As an added bonus for fans, Cus D’Amato’s KO Boxing Gym trainer Westbrooke stated that former Catskill resident and heavyweight superstar Mike Tyson may be appearing at the event, although the trainer had not received confirmation as of Thursday.
“This is your chance to see stars in the making,” said Cus D’Amato trainer Lenord Pierre. “The fans should expect to see things that they have never seen before in a boxing match.”
Pierre and Westbrooke have five athletes participating in Saturday’s event as T.J Karcher, Saville Jenkins, Edwin McLucas, Jason Proffit and Islam Jenkins are fighting.
Each of the five fighters have improved by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks in anticipation of their first hometown event.
“The guys are training so hard. We have prepared them to do two things: fight every minute of every round and if they get hit, respond immediately,” said Westbrooke.
Across the river in Hudson, four members of the Anasta Boxing Club are also pumped up and ready for Saturday’s showcase: Luis Lopez, Josh Lopez, Dave Tomaso and Mike Black are all slated to compete in front of the local crowd.
“Over the past three weeks the kids have turned it up a couple notches,” said trainer Todd Smith. “They know how to box, now they are becoming students of the game and it’s a great thing to see. Everyone here is excited to be fighting in front of their friends and family for the first time in their careers.”
Pierre and Westbrooke expect great things from the Catskill boxers this weekend. McLucas sparred 10 hard rounds Monday afternoon before doing a series of weight training exercises, and Islam Jenkins has been sparring with guys twice his size.
“Islam and Saville Jenkins are so good,” stated Pierre. “They both have great hand speed and amazing footwork. They can fight from either side (right or southpaw) and are very hard to hit.”
The two trainers also look forward to a big night from Proffit and Karcher, both of whom have gained confidence, stamina and power in the past few weeks.
“T.J Karcher is a big heavyweight but he can really move when he wants to,” said Pierre. “He has the speed, we just needed to bring it out of him. Proffit needed to work on his stamina and he has it at a great level now. Both guys are going to be very tough to beat.”
As all trainers can attest, the mental aspect of the fight game is just as — if not more — important than the physical aspect. It is evident that all of the athletes from both gyms are mentally ready for a “Rumble in the Catskills” this weekend.
“It’s unbelievable how mentally tough the guys are becoming,” stated Smith, who noted that it is hard to get his fighters to leave the gym some nights. “I get calls at all hours of the night from the guys wanting to train more. Since this event is so close to home, it has really motivated them to be better than ever.”
Tomaso is so motivated he sparred 21 rounds last week before running a mile home.
And It isn’t just the fighters and trainers that are excited about the event.
“We’ve sold about half of the ringside seats already,” said Westbrooke Monday. “We hope to sell out and I encourage people to purchase tickets on the Web site prior to the event.”
Tickets are $25 for ringside seats and $15 for general admission. They can be purchased at the door or at www.rumbleinthecatskills.com/.
“We have to give Ernest Westbrooke, Lenord Pierre and (promoter) Bob Miller a ton of credit for bringing the sport back to the area. It’s great what they have been able to do,” stated both Smith and fellow Anasta trainer Carlos Santos.
Even former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs (48-5) made his professional debut on July 24, 1992 in Catskill, with a spectacular first-round KO of John Basil Jackson.
Now, almost exactly 17 years later, boxing returns to the area and some of the most skillful young local boxers will have a chance to showcase their talents in their own backyard.
The event, dubbed “Rumble in the Catskills”, takes place in the confines of Catskill High School on Saturday with doors opening at 6 p.m. and fights kicking off at 7.
As an added bonus for fans, Cus D’Amato’s KO Boxing Gym trainer Westbrooke stated that former Catskill resident and heavyweight superstar Mike Tyson may be appearing at the event, although the trainer had not received confirmation as of Thursday.
“This is your chance to see stars in the making,” said Cus D’Amato trainer Lenord Pierre. “The fans should expect to see things that they have never seen before in a boxing match.”
Pierre and Westbrooke have five athletes participating in Saturday’s event as T.J Karcher, Saville Jenkins, Edwin McLucas, Jason Proffit and Islam Jenkins are fighting.
Each of the five fighters have improved by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks in anticipation of their first hometown event.
“The guys are training so hard. We have prepared them to do two things: fight every minute of every round and if they get hit, respond immediately,” said Westbrooke.
Across the river in Hudson, four members of the Anasta Boxing Club are also pumped up and ready for Saturday’s showcase: Luis Lopez, Josh Lopez, Dave Tomaso and Mike Black are all slated to compete in front of the local crowd.
“Over the past three weeks the kids have turned it up a couple notches,” said trainer Todd Smith. “They know how to box, now they are becoming students of the game and it’s a great thing to see. Everyone here is excited to be fighting in front of their friends and family for the first time in their careers.”
Pierre and Westbrooke expect great things from the Catskill boxers this weekend. McLucas sparred 10 hard rounds Monday afternoon before doing a series of weight training exercises, and Islam Jenkins has been sparring with guys twice his size.
“Islam and Saville Jenkins are so good,” stated Pierre. “They both have great hand speed and amazing footwork. They can fight from either side (right or southpaw) and are very hard to hit.”
The two trainers also look forward to a big night from Proffit and Karcher, both of whom have gained confidence, stamina and power in the past few weeks.
“T.J Karcher is a big heavyweight but he can really move when he wants to,” said Pierre. “He has the speed, we just needed to bring it out of him. Proffit needed to work on his stamina and he has it at a great level now. Both guys are going to be very tough to beat.”
As all trainers can attest, the mental aspect of the fight game is just as — if not more — important than the physical aspect. It is evident that all of the athletes from both gyms are mentally ready for a “Rumble in the Catskills” this weekend.
“It’s unbelievable how mentally tough the guys are becoming,” stated Smith, who noted that it is hard to get his fighters to leave the gym some nights. “I get calls at all hours of the night from the guys wanting to train more. Since this event is so close to home, it has really motivated them to be better than ever.”
Tomaso is so motivated he sparred 21 rounds last week before running a mile home.
And It isn’t just the fighters and trainers that are excited about the event.
“We’ve sold about half of the ringside seats already,” said Westbrooke Monday. “We hope to sell out and I encourage people to purchase tickets on the Web site prior to the event.”
Tickets are $25 for ringside seats and $15 for general admission. They can be purchased at the door or at www.rumbleinthecatskills.com/.
“We have to give Ernest Westbrooke, Lenord Pierre and (promoter) Bob Miller a ton of credit for bringing the sport back to the area. It’s great what they have been able to do,” stated both Smith and fellow Anasta trainer Carlos Santos.
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YOCOTC wrote on Jul 24, 2009 6:34 AM:
Although I never turned pro what I learned there helped me through a nice amatuer career in the US Army eventually fighting (and losing to :) Ray Mercer.
Would be nice to see Mike come back to his roots, he was never as good as he was when Teddy, Kevin and Cus worked with him, and I think I still have the welts to prove it lol. "