Jimmy's Last Fight

Jimmy Holmes has his last professional boxing match tonight at the Radisson in Merrillville, Indiana. He's been fighting either amateur or professional for 17 years and it's time to hang up the gloves. He's looking for his 20th win tonight against 3 losses. All of us here at the club wish Coach Jimmy all the best tonight and in the future.

We're Still Here

I haven't posted for almost a year but the club is alive and well. Seems like everyone goes to Facebook now for info so I haven't been posting. I checked out the stats the other day and we still get some traffic here, so I figured I'd post a little something.

We've got guys going to the Gloves this year and we're having a little fundraiser this evening. Coach Jimmy is scheduled to fight on March 30th and then he'll be retiring from the pro ranks. It's been a great time and you might want to get a ticket for the Rumble at the Radisson to see his last bout. Call the gym for ticket info.

Jimmy and I went to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall fo Fame this last September and spent a week training at the same place John L.Sullivan trained for the last bare knuckle championship fight. Lots of fun and the people of Belfast, New York treated us like royalty. We're going back in July.

That's it for now but I'll try and throw a little something up in the future a little more often. 

Roberto and Coach Mengel after Roberto's Golden Gloves fight.

We're back on our regular Monday, Thursday, Saturday schedule now that the Golden Gloves is over. Coach Jimmy is training hard for his upcoming fight and we have several fighters who hope to be fighting in Terre Haute soon.

The National Golden Gloves tourney starts this week in Indy. It's your chance to see the best amateur fighters in the country close to home.

The weather is finally starting to look like Spring. Time to get outside and do some roadwork. There are lots of 5K runs in our area. Pick one and start training. If you're only going to do one thing besides what you do here in the gym, it should be running. All that it requires is a good pair of shoes and you're all set. Mix up some distance and sprint training and it'll improve your boxing game as well as your overall conditioning. It helps keep the weight down as well.

Roberto

Roberto made the web site for the Indy paper: http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/12530?odyssey=mod|lateststories. Photos 21 &22.

He fought a good fight but lost the decision. His opponent was taller and quicker. He would stick and move and Roberto would give chase. Roberto had him figured out by the third round as was able to corner him and land some good shots but it was too little, too late.

The Gloves was a little bit disappointing this year. We didn't have near the competitors or near the results that we've had in the past. That's an issue that needs to be addressed for the club to continue. The economy certainly has played a part but we need to start actively recruiting it appears to keep things moving forward. The numbers at the Golden Gloves were down this year, so it's not just here, but . . . .

The Nationals are going to be in Indy at the end of the month. If you're looking to see some top-notch boxing action, this will be the place to be. I've been to the Nationals a couple of times and the action is always great. We might be putting a group outing together. Let us know if you're interested.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated this year in the Gloves. Keep up the good work.

Golden Gloves Tonight

Roberto fights tonight in the Golden Gloves for the championship. He's ready - looking real tough in fact. Biscuit fought last week and lost a tough decision.

We've been batting .500 since the club started but we'll be a little shy of that this year. Several of our better fighters either moved away, entered the Army or just quit showing up. That's always a problem with a small club. It's hard to keep guys in the gym. They graduate, get jobs, start families or just reach their goal and move on to other things. We've had some real good fighters come through the club and we've got several in the pipeline right now. One of the fighters I worked with before the club started is planning on coming back in. It'll be nice to have him around again - he's a title holder as well.

Coach Jimmy is back in training again. He's scheduled to fight May 20th. I'll update you as soon as I get a few more details.

Fight Recap

Photo From Here:

The fundraiser Friday night went extremely well. We had quite a few of the young fighters on the card and they all looked pretty good considering that this was their first outing. Tim and Roberto sparred in the main event and they both looked really good, providing the crowd with some great action. Both of these guys are getting to be excellent fighters. Tim wore "The Cage" for the bout - I think this was the first time he's fought on one of the shows that he didn't end up bleeding.

There was also a "Professional" wrestling match between Coach Jimmy and "Peaches" Grady. I'm not sure how it all came about but it was pretty entertaining. I don't think we should make it a regular part of the show but if you were there, I'm sure you'll remember it.

In addition to the great boxing action we also did a Ten Count for the recently departed Charles Wheet. Charles won a Golden Gloves title our first year we participated as a club. Rest in Peace, "Chuckles".

Thanks to all our sponsors and a big thank you, as always, goes to our excellent announcer, Chris Guzman.

Friday Night Fights

We'll be having an in-house show this Friday. We've got nine bouts scheduled including a special bout featuring Jimmy and "Peaches". Doors open at 6:00, fights start at 7:00. Tickets are $8.00. Come out and support all of our fighters.

Steve "The Biscuit" is fighting tomorrow night at Indianapolis in the Golden Gloves and Roberto fights next week.