Lowell Sun Charities is hosting the 79th annual Golden Gloves at Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Thursdays until March 5 and local people involved in the boxing tournament tout it as a chance to give kids a positive path to follow and uphold the city’s grand boxing tradition.
It’s billed as “Champions helping charities” as some of the proceeds go to Lowell Sun Charities, which helps local families in need.
The website bills the amateur boxing fights as “one of the longest-standing New England sports traditions, as the best amateur boxers from the area battle it out across the weeks to see who will be crowned champion. Thursday Night is Fight Night at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium!”
The Golden Gloves boxing tournament goes for nine weeks overall, with some novice fights and some with fighters associated with various boxing clubs in elite classes. Boxers must be at least 18 years old to fight.
Bob Russo
“The Golden Gloves is really the best-known brand in boxing,” said Bob Russo, the executive director of the New England Golden Gloves and the national president of the Golden Gloves of America.
Elite boxers must have at least 10 bouts experience. In the open class you get a regional champion, and eventually a national champion, for both men and women. This year, the nationals will be held in Tulsa, Okla., but next year the nationals will be held in Lowell, Russo said. The Golden Gloves also serves as a Olympic Trial in years when there is a summer Olympics.
“We started back in January and we do nine events in Lowell, but there’s 22 events throughout New England,” Russo said.
He said there has been a lot of excitement for the matches so far, with them getting 1,600 fans for one of the events.
“It’s such a great program. We deal with a lot of at-risk kids, not all of them, a lot without fathers, without direction, those types of kids, from the tougher neighborhoods. … And this is a great way to get them on the right path.”
“Plus, it’s in the dead of winter in Lowell where nothing is going on, so it’s a good thing for businesses as well. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
“It’s a sport that you get involved with … you have something that keeps these kids away from drugs, away from gang activity … in those critical ages. We save lives. … We get them on the right track in the most critical years of their lives.”
“Sports are great for kids in general, but boxing is even more crucial for those at-risk kids. We do a great service for the community.”
“You keep the kids in the gym and off the streets and on to a better path.”
Tickets prices for the Golden Gloves range from $23 to $38, and he noted that online entities selling the tickets for $100 or more are essentially scams.
Micky Ward
Boxer Micky Ward of Lowell is often seen as a symbol of Lowell’s fighting spirit. He boxed from 1985 to 2003 and was a three-time New England Golden Gloves champion as an amateur and held the WBU light welterweight title in 2000 as a professional boxer. He was portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the 2010 film, “The Fighter.” In the movie, Ward rises to prominence prodded in part by a give-and-take with his older half-brother and former boxer Dicky Eklund, portrayed by Christian Bale. Amy Adams also starred as Ward’s girlfriend, Charlene Fleming.
“He’s there every night,” said Russo, noting that the Golden Gloves acknowledged Ward in the ring at one of the recent Thursday night matches. “He takes pictures, signs autographs. People love him, he’s a great guy.”
Youth Services Boxing Program
The Lowell Police Department has a Youth Services Boxing Program for city kids, up to age 17, so none of them are old enough to box in the Golden Gloves, but one recent graduate of the program, Jayden Chhea, boxed this year and got high praise from his friends back in the boxing program.
Several kids went to see Chhea box, through tickets donated by sponsors.
Sgt. Mike Marshall, who helps run the Lowell Police Youth Services Boxing Program, said it was a great night all around.
“The kids loved it. They’re boxing with us in the afterschool program, and one of the kids from our program (Jayden Chhea) did an exhibition.”
“It’s been a work in the making, providing a place where kids can go after school and learn the sport of boxing and learn discipline … and these are the kids who are not into mainstream sports.”
“Around here, the Golden Gloves is like the Super Bowl,” he said, describing the excitement level.
“It was really good because all the kids got to see him there and saw the potential of them possibly doing it.”
“I think it was great to see a kid from Lowell, from the program, participating, and he did a great job. Unfortunately he didn’t win but just to have the courage to do it was awesome.”
“And just to have all his friends see it, was great.”
Keith ‘Kiki’ Rudy
Keith “Kiki” Rudy has been around boxing since he was a kid. Now volunteering with Lowell Sun Charities to help coordinate certain aspects of the Golden Gloves, he said anything he can do to promote the sport and get kids involved is a labor of love.
“I got involved in boxing in the early ’60s. I had six older brothers and all of them boxed.”
Plus, his “two sisters knew how to box pretty well. I think it was my sister that gave me my first black eye, so I decided i better learn how to fight.”
Two of his older brothers won Golden Gloves championships and “I did pretty well,” Rudy said.
Kiki Rudy won several Golden Gloves championships, including in 1976, which qualified him for the Olympic Trials.
But, he broke his nose in his last fight and was unable to compete in the trials for what would become one of Olympic boxing’s greatest years, 1976, led by the likes of Leon Spinks and other great U.S. boxers.
Back then, there was a great tradition of boxing in Lowell, and he said there were four working gyms in the city including the old Boys Club on Dutton Street.
“That’s why your Golden Gloves used to be sold out every night, because of your inner-city competition.”
He was following in his brothers’ and sisters’ footsteps, but he said he enjoyed it the whole time.
“I think for me, that it disciplined me a lot, I had some good coaches … it meant a lot to me as a kid, learning discipline and taking care of your body. I think it rounds people up … it encourages them to be strong individuals, at least for me.”
He credits the Lowell Sun Charities and the Lowell Police Youth Services for keeping the love of boxing alive and giving kids today the chance to learn how to box, and eventually try out their skills in the Golden Gloves.
There aren’t as many boxing gyms anymore, he said, pointing out that in the local area there is The Lowell Boxing Club in Tyngsboro and Underground Boxing in Dracut, with Micky Ward’s gym in Westford and McNally Boxing Gym in North Reading keeping the sport alive.
Rudy said he was about 14 years old when he first saw a 9-year-old Micky Ward box.
“You knew he was something special. He such a humble guy and Lowell is lucky to have a champion like Micky Ward, as through his charity he gives so much back to the community.”
“I can teach anybody how to box in four to six weeks, what I can’t give you is heart and conditioning.” He saw right off that Ward had what it took.
He said, “Seventy-five percent (of training) is road work (running outside to build stamina). You have to have something left when there’s 30 seconds left (in the bout).”
He said when he was a teen, he’d go out running at 5:30 in the morning before school to build up his endurance.
And he said it’s good to see that some kids today are still interested in learning those key boxing skills, and growing up to display them in the Golden Gloves.
“I think introducing the kids to the sport of boxing … you let them know this is what it takes and rather than telling them, (at the Golden Gloves) they get to see it firsthand.”
Rudy later ran The Acre youth organization for 25 years, and is now coordinating some sponsorships with the Lowell Sun Charities, helping give free tickets to 12 area youths per match so they can watch the bouts. He said the same organization that sponsored him as a boxer, the Kaitlin A. Kazanjian Foundation, is paying for the kids’ tickets.
“They’re just an amazing foundation to work with,” Rudy said.
On different weeks, a different set of kids are offered the tickets, including from the Lowell Boys & Girls Club, the Lowell Police Youth Boxing program, Youth Build and other groups.
“Basically we try to work with the kids in maybe hoping that these kids can see this and get in a gym … anybody should be able to learn how to defend themselves in an emergency situation, with a family member being attacked. Learning how to defend yourself is a good thing.”
But, for those who take it further and wind up doing much boxing, he said the conditioning is above that you’d get in any other sport. “Once you learn that, the discipline of taking care of your body, it’s forever.”
He said the sport has evolved over the years, with concern over chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has led to the use of helmets, which he didn’t have in his day, heavier gloves and referees that jump in the stop the fight “if a kid gets hit with a good blow” to check to see if they are OK.
“I think we’ve improved the game of boxing.”
And he credits Russo for making sure the matches are all between boxers of equal level, so it’s always a fair fight.
He said he’s still involved because he wants to give back to the community and enjoys the aspect of offering a chance to teach the sport to kids who may not see a clear path in life.
“You take that wild kid in the corner, no one wants to deal with (teach them how to box for about six months), and now they’re such a gentleman. Sometimes they just need a little attention.”
Plus for many youngsters, he said, their fathers or grandfathers competed and they want to continue the tradition.
He encourages people to come out on Thursday night and take it all in at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, which is the same auditorium he boxed in years ago.
“There’s nothing like fighting in the Lowell Auditorium, the way it is enclosed, it’s just a great boxing (venue) and the fans are great.”
And he points to all the excitement building up to next year, when in addition to hosting the usual Lowell Golden Gloves competition, Lowell will also host the national Golden Gloves competition, in what will again be an Olympic Trials qualifier.
“It just shows you the great tradition we have in Lowell, hosting the national Golden Gloves.”