By Dana Williams
Amateur boxers traded jabs, hooks and counterpunches in the ring, while their coaches and trainers sat at ringside giving them pointers. The Kennedy Park gymnasium was also filled with more than 100 boxing fans, who were supporting their favorite amateur pugilist by yelling ³Throw your jab,² and ³Stick and move,² among other popular sayings of the sport.
West Hempstead resident Michael Carryl, who is a coach at the boxing gym at Kennedy Park, helped to organize and promote the tournament. Last year, organizers of the tournament were only able to get boxers from New York to participate in the event, Carryl said. This year, however, they were able to get more than 200 boxers to register for the tournament, with 99 visiting from other states in the northeast region.
³The tournament went very well, and we¹re getting excellent reviews from participants about how well the tournament went,² Carryl said. ³The tournament was the first of its kind around here in Long Island ... and we have already started to plan for next year¹s tournament.²
The four-day event, which also had international amateur boxers visiting from places as far away as Jamaica, featured male and female pugilists fighting in weight classes ranging from Flyweight to Super Heavyweight. ³I came to this tournament to help prepare myself for the Olympics World Games,² explained Nicholas Walters, 21, a Featherweight boxer from Jamaica who competed in the tournament. ³It feels good to be a part of this tournament with other boxers, and this is a good competition.²
Many of the boxers said they used the Hempstead Boxing Club¹s tournament to gain more experience. ³I¹ve been boxing for almost two years, and to win at this tournament feels great,² said Jose Rivera, 19, who was crowned the champion of the Flyweight open division at the tournament.
Rivera¹s next step is to compete in the Golden Gloves and eventually turn professional. ³This tournament was great because it helped me get another fight under my belt,² he said, while holding his championship belt.
One of the highlights of the tournament was the matches between the Junior Olympic contenders. The young boxers were able to show those in attendance that a powerful hook and swift footwork can come from a boxer no matter the age and height. Joseph Leon, 13, was one of the Junior Olympic contenders who competed in the tournament. The young pugilist said that he has been training everyday for the past two years, with hopes of becoming a professional boxer in the future.
³Ever since I was little, I loved to watch boxing because it was just fascinating to me,² Leon said, while taking pictures with the championship trophy that he won at the tournament. ³I hope to be in the pro ring one day because boxing is what I love to do.²
Lincoln ³Link² Sanders, a Valley Stream resident and coach at Kennedy Park¹s boxing gym, said he expects to see his fighter Nicholas Whittingham continue his success. ³Nick is very fast and he¹s not afraid of anything,² Sanders said, ³so if he keeps working hard, he will be a better boxer.²
Whittingham, 25, fought in the Heavyweight class for the Hempstead Boxing Club in the tournament. After his first victory on Sept. 28, he said that being an efficient boxer takes a lot of sacrifice, but he plans to make the effort in order to reach the professional boxing level. ³I¹ve been fighting for two years now ... and I come to the gym at Kennedy Park to train at least three times a week,² he said. ³ŒLink¹ is my mentor, and he¹s teaching me how to be a real boxer and a warrior.²
Coaches at the Hempstead Boxing Club were also able to see their boxer, Marcus Beckford, claim a victory at the event. Beckford, 14, fought in the Welterweight class.
³I came out here tonight to really execute in my fight, and go home with the win,² Beckford said. ³I¹ve been boxing for six years ... and tournaments like this are really helping me to become a better boxer.²
Many boxing fans said at the event that the young boxers learn more than just about fighting by participating in the tournaments. ³The boxing clubs and tournaments like this are a great place for these kids,² Beckford¹s father Henry Beckford said. ³These kids are staying out of trouble and boxing gives them the inner discipline, which they can use in life in general.²
Ernie Di Raffaele was ring announcer for the tournament and added this thoughts. ³Amateur boxing needs to get more recognition because it teaches these kids to be confident and about discipline ... and they become better citizens,² he said. ³These amateurs are learning about life through boxing ... and it¹s really great to watch them in a tournament like this one.²
For more information about the 2008 Amateur Boxing Tournament at Kennedy Park, call (516) 478-6247.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
