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The State Of Connecticut in years gone by has had its share of top ten rated amateur boxers (in both the open and JO classes), some of whom you know and some you don't. In recent years there have been kids like Greg Cuyler, Sammy Vega (Sammy was #1 in the USA in the J.O 95 pound class in 1997. The most highly decorated junior olympic boxer in state history), Brian Macy and Jaidon Codrington.
Mike-Mike Oliver was maybe the most experienced Connecticut amateur ever in terms of sheer number of bouts and time invested (he was in the gym, literally, since he was just two years old). He began boxing at the Bellevue Square Boys Club in Hartford as a tyke and by the time he was twenty-years old it was estimated that he had about 300 amateur bouts including matches against highly accomplished amateurs like Jose Aquiniga, Tiger Allen, Clarence Vinson, Gabriel Elizondo, Gerald Tucker, Broderick Harper, "Steamin" Josh Beeman, Sammy Vega, Carney Bowman, Roberto Benitez, Aaron Garcia, Angel Torres, Rashiem Jefferson, Dat Nguyen, Eric ***an, and Felix Cruz. In 2000 capped his long amateur career by becoming one of the few boxers from Connecticut to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials (along with myself in 1988 and Lawrence Clay-Bey in 1996).
Back in the 1980's you had myself along with Lenny Gargagliano, the flashy Italian southpaw from Stamford, and that kid with a TON of potential from Bridgeport I mentioned earlier, Joey Negron. You had Marlon Starling in the 70's and two time national heavyweight champion Jimmy Blythe in the late 1950's come through as accomplished amateur boxers. Clay-Bey was the USA Olympic Team captain in 1996, the last in a long line of solid Connecticut heavyweights over the years. Blythe, Herbie Cox, Harold Rice, Kelvin D. Anderson, U.S. Army Champion Hassan Shabazz, and Earl "Terminator" Anderson and then Clay-Bey all made names for themselves as big men from Hartford "that could fight."
Kelvin Anderson was a fast moving and flashy USA team member and a guy that is still often talked about with great respect by guys that knew him well like Troy Wortham and Marlon Starling. He won the 1979 National Sports Festival in the heavyweight class and as a teenager fought a memorable (albeit losing) fight on ABC Wide World of Sports, with Howard Cosell calling the action, against legendary Cuban Sixto Soria. Sadly, Kelvin perished in the 1980 plane crash that took the lives of an entire national boxing team that was competing in a dual meet in Poland.
Joseph Pemberton, originally from down in the New London/Groton area of Connecticut, was a U.S. Marine that won the light heavyweight title at the 1987 Eastern U.S. Olympic Trials, beating amateur star Loren Ross along the way. Pemberton also placed second on two occasions at the U.S. National championships, losing in the 1987 finals at 201 to future WBO champion Mike Bent and, back down at 178 pounds a year later, he lost to future gold medalist Andrew Maynard in the 1988 finals.
In New England's other five states (besides Connecticut, for those non-geography majors out there, you have Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire) you have had good kids crack the amateur U.S. top 10 over the year like Joey Gamache (#1 for a time at 132 pounds), "Sucra" Ray Olivera, Vinny Paz (also #1 at 132 pounds and a gold medalist at the 1981 Sports Festival), Harold "Bubba" Souther, Marty Foley, Matt Godfrey, Bobby Harris, James Johnson, Peter Manfredo Jr., Eric "The Energizer" ***an (***an holds the distinction of being the very first amateur boxer EVER to defeat future Olympian Brian Viloria), Josh Beeman, Dave Lawhorn, Rashad Minor, David Gauvin, and Andre McCoy.
McCoy, along with Kelvin Anderson, was an accomplished national level boxer who went down in the 1980 U.S. Team plane crash in Poland that took the lives of an entire American amateur boxing team.
Kilbert "Junior" Pierce was one of the best and most highly decorated heavyweight amateurs ever to come out of New England - along with other top big men like Chris McDonald, Blythe, Clay-Bey and 2004 USA Olympian Jason Estrada. Pierce was also one of the first amateur boxers (along with guys like Ray Bright, Jeff Leaks, and Joey Gamache) who I looked up to when I was just making my way into the open class as a middleweight. I remember my first big tournament, the 1985 New England Golden Gloves in Lowell, and Pierce was there like the Muhammad Ali of the tournament, getting into a war of words at ringside and in the newspapers on the day of the finals with his championship night opponent, Alan Yassen of Vermont. Seeing those two go back and forth outside the ring on the night of the semi fnals made "Junior" one of the first amateurs who made me feel like the amateurs could really be like the pros in that an amateur boxer could gain recognition for more than just his boxing ability. He had a certain flair about him, Kilbert did, a certain outward display of confidence and bravado that I had never really seen before in an amateur boxer up to that point and that was impressive, especially when you consider he was a guy who weighed well over 220 pounds but could get up on his toes and dance and punch in combination, sort of like a cross between Ali and Greg Page.
In 1987 Pierce lost a very disputed decision to Rid**** Bowe in the Eastern Olympic Festival. He also was a #3 rated amateur who defeated one of the top Russians, Alexei Prianichnikov, in a 1985 USA-RUSSIA duel meet in Atlantic City. Interestingly enough, his main claim to fame here might be from the fact that, in only his tenth amateur fight ever, Pierce boxed at Freeport Hall in Dorcester, Massachusetts one night back in 1982 in a match that saw him go head to head with a sixteen year old former junior champion named Mike Tyson, losing a three round decision to the future undisputed world champ.
The boxing world is so small and crazy sometimes. On June 11, 2005 famed Massachusetts trainer Goody Petronelli worked the corner for his fight Kevin McBride in the fight that will more than likely go down in history as the final match of Mike Tyson's career as Tyson stayed sitting upright on the floor up against the ropes, refusing to get up, thereby losing the fight on a technical knockout.
As a trainer, Goody never got the chance to have one of his boxers face the prime (young and ferocious) Tyson but that's not to say he was never in the opposite corner when Mike was in his younger days. It is crazy for me to think how you would have to rewind all the way back to the middle of 1982 (twenty-four years!) to see the first time Tyson stood across the ring from Goody at the Region One USA/ABF (aka the AAU) tournament where Goody's boxer (Pierce) lost that decision to Tyson in just his tenth match.
In the 70's and 80's you had the Massachusetts brother combinations of The Devoll, Roach and Attardo brothers. Joey and Tommy were before me but I went to the 1987 nationals with 132 pound Kevin DeVoll. And the very tough Roach brothers, Pepper and Joey, saw their equally tough brother, Freddy, go on to become one of today's most respected trainers. At the 1981 Ohio State Fair out in Columbus, South Boston's David Attardo -one member of the fighting Attardo family- won a final round decision over future National Junior Olympic champion Marcell Triplett of Jackson, Tennessee to grab the 125 pound championship. 1983 saw another one of those Earl Manigault types, Jose Arias of Providence, win the 132 National Junior Olympic title. Arias was definitely one of the most talented New England amateur boxers in years, a guy with sharp skills and debilitating power, but at the end of the day he eventually made it less further than many who had half his talent, potential and skills.
In 1996 a rough and tough intermediate (13 and 14 year old division) boxer out of Worcester, Massachusetts named Javier Colon captured a National Silver Gloves title at 80 pounds by defeating future (Mexican) Olympian (and hot pro prospect) Francisco Bojado on a decision. You also had Rhode Island's "Sugar" Ray Healey capture a title at 156 pounds at the 1990 National PAL (in the Junior Olympic class) championships.
At one time in New England in the late 1990's there was a gym in Rhode Island (Manfredo's Boxing Gym) that boasted an unprecedented FOUR top ten rated amateurs at the same time: Peter Manfredo (165), Eric ***an (119), Matt Godfrey (165) and Jason Estrada (201) were all among the best in their respective weight classes and they all trained daily at the gym that later would become more well known than ever with the emergence of young Peter after his turn on the first "Contender" show.
Mike-Mike Oliver was maybe the most experienced Connecticut amateur ever in terms of sheer number of bouts and time invested (he was in the gym, literally, since he was just two years old). He began boxing at the Bellevue Square Boys Club in Hartford as a tyke and by the time he was twenty-years old it was estimated that he had about 300 amateur bouts including matches against highly accomplished amateurs like Jose Aquiniga, Tiger Allen, Clarence Vinson, Gabriel Elizondo, Gerald Tucker, Broderick Harper, "Steamin" Josh Beeman, Sammy Vega, Carney Bowman, Roberto Benitez, Aaron Garcia, Angel Torres, Rashiem Jefferson, Dat Nguyen, Eric ***an, and Felix Cruz. In 2000 capped his long amateur career by becoming one of the few boxers from Connecticut to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials (along with myself in 1988 and Lawrence Clay-Bey in 1996).
Back in the 1980's you had myself along with Lenny Gargagliano, the flashy Italian southpaw from Stamford, and that kid with a TON of potential from Bridgeport I mentioned earlier, Joey Negron. You had Marlon Starling in the 70's and two time national heavyweight champion Jimmy Blythe in the late 1950's come through as accomplished amateur boxers. Clay-Bey was the USA Olympic Team captain in 1996, the last in a long line of solid Connecticut heavyweights over the years. Blythe, Herbie Cox, Harold Rice, Kelvin D. Anderson, U.S. Army Champion Hassan Shabazz, and Earl "Terminator" Anderson and then Clay-Bey all made names for themselves as big men from Hartford "that could fight."
Kelvin Anderson was a fast moving and flashy USA team member and a guy that is still often talked about with great respect by guys that knew him well like Troy Wortham and Marlon Starling. He won the 1979 National Sports Festival in the heavyweight class and as a teenager fought a memorable (albeit losing) fight on ABC Wide World of Sports, with Howard Cosell calling the action, against legendary Cuban Sixto Soria. Sadly, Kelvin perished in the 1980 plane crash that took the lives of an entire national boxing team that was competing in a dual meet in Poland.
Joseph Pemberton, originally from down in the New London/Groton area of Connecticut, was a U.S. Marine that won the light heavyweight title at the 1987 Eastern U.S. Olympic Trials, beating amateur star Loren Ross along the way. Pemberton also placed second on two occasions at the U.S. National championships, losing in the 1987 finals at 201 to future WBO champion Mike Bent and, back down at 178 pounds a year later, he lost to future gold medalist Andrew Maynard in the 1988 finals.
In New England's other five states (besides Connecticut, for those non-geography majors out there, you have Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire) you have had good kids crack the amateur U.S. top 10 over the year like Joey Gamache (#1 for a time at 132 pounds), "Sucra" Ray Olivera, Vinny Paz (also #1 at 132 pounds and a gold medalist at the 1981 Sports Festival), Harold "Bubba" Souther, Marty Foley, Matt Godfrey, Bobby Harris, James Johnson, Peter Manfredo Jr., Eric "The Energizer" ***an (***an holds the distinction of being the very first amateur boxer EVER to defeat future Olympian Brian Viloria), Josh Beeman, Dave Lawhorn, Rashad Minor, David Gauvin, and Andre McCoy.
McCoy, along with Kelvin Anderson, was an accomplished national level boxer who went down in the 1980 U.S. Team plane crash in Poland that took the lives of an entire American amateur boxing team.
Kilbert "Junior" Pierce was one of the best and most highly decorated heavyweight amateurs ever to come out of New England - along with other top big men like Chris McDonald, Blythe, Clay-Bey and 2004 USA Olympian Jason Estrada. Pierce was also one of the first amateur boxers (along with guys like Ray Bright, Jeff Leaks, and Joey Gamache) who I looked up to when I was just making my way into the open class as a middleweight. I remember my first big tournament, the 1985 New England Golden Gloves in Lowell, and Pierce was there like the Muhammad Ali of the tournament, getting into a war of words at ringside and in the newspapers on the day of the finals with his championship night opponent, Alan Yassen of Vermont. Seeing those two go back and forth outside the ring on the night of the semi fnals made "Junior" one of the first amateurs who made me feel like the amateurs could really be like the pros in that an amateur boxer could gain recognition for more than just his boxing ability. He had a certain flair about him, Kilbert did, a certain outward display of confidence and bravado that I had never really seen before in an amateur boxer up to that point and that was impressive, especially when you consider he was a guy who weighed well over 220 pounds but could get up on his toes and dance and punch in combination, sort of like a cross between Ali and Greg Page.
In 1987 Pierce lost a very disputed decision to Rid**** Bowe in the Eastern Olympic Festival. He also was a #3 rated amateur who defeated one of the top Russians, Alexei Prianichnikov, in a 1985 USA-RUSSIA duel meet in Atlantic City. Interestingly enough, his main claim to fame here might be from the fact that, in only his tenth amateur fight ever, Pierce boxed at Freeport Hall in Dorcester, Massachusetts one night back in 1982 in a match that saw him go head to head with a sixteen year old former junior champion named Mike Tyson, losing a three round decision to the future undisputed world champ.
The boxing world is so small and crazy sometimes. On June 11, 2005 famed Massachusetts trainer Goody Petronelli worked the corner for his fight Kevin McBride in the fight that will more than likely go down in history as the final match of Mike Tyson's career as Tyson stayed sitting upright on the floor up against the ropes, refusing to get up, thereby losing the fight on a technical knockout.
As a trainer, Goody never got the chance to have one of his boxers face the prime (young and ferocious) Tyson but that's not to say he was never in the opposite corner when Mike was in his younger days. It is crazy for me to think how you would have to rewind all the way back to the middle of 1982 (twenty-four years!) to see the first time Tyson stood across the ring from Goody at the Region One USA/ABF (aka the AAU) tournament where Goody's boxer (Pierce) lost that decision to Tyson in just his tenth match.
In the 70's and 80's you had the Massachusetts brother combinations of The Devoll, Roach and Attardo brothers. Joey and Tommy were before me but I went to the 1987 nationals with 132 pound Kevin DeVoll. And the very tough Roach brothers, Pepper and Joey, saw their equally tough brother, Freddy, go on to become one of today's most respected trainers. At the 1981 Ohio State Fair out in Columbus, South Boston's David Attardo -one member of the fighting Attardo family- won a final round decision over future National Junior Olympic champion Marcell Triplett of Jackson, Tennessee to grab the 125 pound championship. 1983 saw another one of those Earl Manigault types, Jose Arias of Providence, win the 132 National Junior Olympic title. Arias was definitely one of the most talented New England amateur boxers in years, a guy with sharp skills and debilitating power, but at the end of the day he eventually made it less further than many who had half his talent, potential and skills.
In 1996 a rough and tough intermediate (13 and 14 year old division) boxer out of Worcester, Massachusetts named Javier Colon captured a National Silver Gloves title at 80 pounds by defeating future (Mexican) Olympian (and hot pro prospect) Francisco Bojado on a decision. You also had Rhode Island's "Sugar" Ray Healey capture a title at 156 pounds at the 1990 National PAL (in the Junior Olympic class) championships.
At one time in New England in the late 1990's there was a gym in Rhode Island (Manfredo's Boxing Gym) that boasted an unprecedented FOUR top ten rated amateurs at the same time: Peter Manfredo (165), Eric ***an (119), Matt Godfrey (165) and Jason Estrada (201) were all among the best in their respective weight classes and they all trained daily at the gym that later would become more well known than ever with the emergence of young Peter after his turn on the first "Contender" show.
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