Golden Gloves boxing invaded Central Pennsylvania

This past Saturday night Golden Gloves boxing invaded Central Pennsylvania as the Western Pennsylvania Athletic League (WPAL) in association with OAG management held an eventful 11 bout fight card at the DuBois Country Club in DuBois, Pennsylvania.

It was the first Golden Gloves event to be held in Dubois in quite some time if ever and it did not disappoint. While all 11 bouts went the distance the packed house was more than appreciative of the young men who stepped in-between the ropes from the 1st fight to the very end the night, cheers and applause were plenty and often.

In bouts where the fights only last 3 to 4 rounds these young men gave it their all for 6-8 minutes. While no knockdowns were recorded it did little to deter the fighters from going toe to toe and giving every ounce of effort their bodies could muster. Add that the weights ranged from 95lbs to 201lb and fight fans got to see fighters give and take some heavy shots while others such as Mike Withrow and Calvin Taylor were more technicians, battling toe to toe, slipping, cutting the ring off and each one trying to impose their game plan on the other fighter. In the end, Taylor would come out the victor.

Afterward Taylor said that his hope is to make the 2016 Olympic team. His father who also is his trainer was planning on heading the 1980 USA Olympic boxing trails however that was derailed due to the USA boycotting the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, his Olympic dreams never came to fruition. However, with his son, in a few years they both have an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of amateur boxing. When asked the senior Taylor about not only being a coach of a fighter but also the parent and how he handles watching his son get hit, he simply explained “you know when you need to turn off being a coach and become the parent” and the same goes when his son is in the ring. Getting punched is one of the hazards of boxing and when he is the trainer in the corner, giving his fighter instructions on how to slip punches and keep the hands up is the most important part of being in the corner, parent or not.

While Clavin Taylor may have had 36 amateur bouts under his belt, some fighters were getting into the ring for their very first fight. This happened to be the case for Parish Bowman and J.W.(John) Denis. Both fighters were getting in the ring for their first official fight and while typically fighters just getting in the ring for the first time show signs of being new to the squared circle, these two men fit right in, especially Denis. Denis displayed good technique, cutting off the ring when Bowman chose to run at times and showed great consistency on how he threw his punches, he sat on his hooks, kept his chin tucked and overall was a trainers dream in his first fight out. His trainer Josh McIntyer stated “he was never more proud of someone” as he was with Denis. Denis stated that he had been in the gym training for almost a year and a half and it felt “great” getting his first fight out of the way. While the length of training without a fight may seem a bit long, it is also great to hear that trainers are taking time with their fighters and making sure that they are trained properly, as Josh McIntyer also stated that he has other fighters training but none that he feels is ready to fight. Hats off to a trainer that is willing to put in the time to get his fighters ready and if Saturday night was an indication of what Denis and his trainer McIntyer are hoping to improve on then it looks as if they have prepared the right way at this stage of the fight game.

Overall it was a good night of amateur boxing, the crowd was into the fights and as one fighter stated “ I could get used to this kind of crowd” and Dubois, Pa and the surrounding area may be getting more of these shows as the WPAL and director Jimmy Cvetic announced that they are preparing to set up a gym in DuBois that would also house other activities such as weight-lifting, music and other extra curricular activities to help the area youth as well as adults.

The WPAL is a non profit organization that while it can become difficult to keep these types of organizations afloat, one of the fighters Jerrell Brackett believes that these types of places are great for the community. When asked how he would inform people that are not familiar with WPAL or other community driven projects he states “physical fitness and health is one of the primary things individuals should be aware of for themselves, it cuts down on medical bills and it’s a great stress reliever better then any cigarette or marijuana” and he couldn’t be any more accurate.

A gym and all that comes with it in the DuBois area may be in the infancy stages of becoming a reality but the support is already there. The area fans proved that Saturday night and if Jimmy Cvetic words hold true, this time next year local area fight fans will be cheering on some local homegrown talent in the ring along with all the fighters who have traveled from Pittsburgh, Johnstown and other places to showcase their talents and that is a fight worth waiting for.