Nationally, the stories around boxing often aren’t particularly positive these days. They’re about the sport’s ongoing decline in popularity, the divisions between boxing’s various governing bodies that lead to confusion over all the different title belts, fights being too expensive to watch, a lack of superstars, an increased awareness around concussions and what that means for the sport’s future.
The few true superstars boxing has had recently rarely actually fight each other. Most notably, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao never fought until both were past their primes. Mayweather, of course, brought along his own set of negative stories thanks to his history of domestic violence.
The heavyweight division, which has long been seen as in decline due to a lack of big names, finally seems to be making a little bit of a comeback with Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but in a familiar story, Joshua has yet to fight either Wilder or Fury. Wilder and Fury, for their part, will fight for a second time on Feb. 22.
Locally, however, the outlook is far from dire. Head out to the Golden Gloves at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on any Thursday night between now and March 5 and you’ll see a celebration of amateur boxing that, now in its 74th year, continues to draw energetic crowds, continues to raise lots of money for charity, and continues to add to Lowell’s legacy as a great boxing city.
The fights often still sell out, or come very close to it. This past Thursday, the auditorium wasn’t quite completely full, but you had to go to the back rows of the balcony to find any empty seats. Each of the night’s 12 fights (all of which are three rounds) was met with an enthusiastic ovation, both during the fight whenever there was a good flurry of punches and then at the end as a sign of appreciation for both fighters.
Getting dinner at a nearby restaurant before the event, you couldn’t help but overhear multiple conversations about “heading over to the fights,” and one regular patron noted how much busier it got on fight nights.
It’s that kind of excitement that reminds you why boxing still works in Lowell. Even people who aren’t from the area or aren’t boxing fans know the story of Micky Ward thanks to the 2010 movie The Fighter, and Ward is very much still THE hero in the local boxing community (and he’s still very much involved in the local boxing scene, including helping out with the Golden Gloves), but boxing was in Lowell’s blood before that and remains in it now.
It’s why even as Golden Gloves events around the country have ebbed and flowed with boxing as a whole, the organization’s president, Bob Russo, knows Lowell can always be counted on to deliver.
“We have 30 franchises and 50 sub-franchises, and some are stronger than others. New England is one of the strong ones, with New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Chicago. We’re right with those,” Russo said. “…As far as participation, we have plenty of kids, we’re not hurting for that. My gym is overwhelmed with kids, and most gyms are. We’re still there.”
That’s not to say everything’s been smooth and on cruise control in Lowell, though. There have been some dips in local interest at times over the years, but Russo says he thinks things are on an upswing right now.
There was also the death this past August of Arthur Ramalho, the longtime owner of Lowell’s iconic West End Gym and director of contestants for New England Golden Gloves. Russo says Ramalho organized more local boxing events than anyone, so trying to fill his shoes has been no small task.
Golden Gloves also needed new sponsorship for this year, but found it in Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 550 and Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669. They also ramped up some of their marketing and local outreach (full disclosure: part of that marketing includes advertising on WEEI).
Brian Dunn, business manager of Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669, said Golden Gloves was a natural fit for the union.
“It’s a good fit,” Dunn said. “Their organization is really focused on developing young folks, building them into good citizens. A lot of the criteria they expect out of their folks, as far as showing up, putting in the effort, are the same things we need out of folks in construction. So it was really a good marriage, trying to attract the same sort of audience for both organizations. We’re more than happy to sponsor them.”
As Dunn alludes to, the Golden Gloves are not just about entertainment or producing the next great local pro. They’re about improving lives. A lot of the boxers come from tough backgrounds, and Russo makes it a point for Golden Gloves to care about them as people far more than boxers.
“The Golden Gloves itself is such a great youth organization, because it’s a youth development organization,” Russo said. “We’re not hockey, we’re not gymnastics, we’re boxing. Boxing kids come from tough backgrounds, and sometimes broken homes. A lot of at-risk kids from tough neighborhoods. This is a way of getting them on the right path and getting them into a healthy lifestyle, teaching good dedication and work ethic.”
The Golden Gloves continue in Lowell every Thursday night through the New England finals on March 5. Tickets can be purchased here.