A test of true character, heart
Franklin Square resident Casey Ericson, 17, is preparing for the amateur 2012 New York Golden Gloves tournament
Franklin Square native Casey Ericson began fighting when he was only 5 years old at Long Island Tae Kwon Do and Body Arts, owned by local resident Tom Festa and located on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square. When Ericson turned 8, his father, Russell, bought him the “Rocky” movie series as a Christmas gift.
It was all over from there — he’s been training as an amateur boxer ever since.
At 8 years old, Ericson began training under Chris Padilla, a local ex-boxer who trained for years out of his home basement before becoming a trainer at the Westbury Boxing Club a little over a year ago. During his early years of training with Padilla, Ericson often sparred at Kid Kelly’s Gym in Brooklyn with kids from city neighborhoods, under Padilla’s watch. At that time, he was a mere 50 pounds.
Ericson finally reached a muscular 55-pound build in 2003 — a difficult feat for a 9-year-old — and in 2007, at 85 pounds, he experienced his first real fight in the Long Island Championship, against Bronx boxer Christian Bermudez. Ericson lost by a small point margin. It was devastating, but it didn’t stop him.
Four months later, in a Suffolk County tournament, Ericson was pinned against Bermudez again, and took the win by several points. In 2008, he entered and almost won the amateur Long Island Championship. He was frustrated, but wasn’t going to let the loss deter him, so he stayed focused, and trained harder.
“I knew I wasn’t going to give up,” Ericson remembered. It was a good strategy.
In 2009, at 95 pounds, Ericson won his first junior tournament title — by doctor's stoppage, in the third round — at the Metropolitan Junior Olympic Championships, held in Newburgh. It was an incredible feeling, he said, and it fueled his passion for boxing more than ever before.
The following summer, in 2010, after winning a qualifying match at the Freeport PAL Boxing Gym, at 119 pounds, Ericson became part of the Long Island Boxing team — along with Elmont boxers Titus Williams and Herve Duroseau. The team fought at the Empire State Games and Ericson, who fought at 119 pounds in the tournament, stopped his opponent during the first round, after one minute and 19 seconds. Ericson and Duroseau took home gold medals, and Williams took home a silver medal.
