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Morris Park Boxing Club destroyed by fire.
This is the gym I go to and the same gym that Luis Resto was at for those of you who saw "Assault in the Ring". I still can't believe this **** 
Two Bronx families and hundreds of boxers suffered a Christmas tragedy Tuesday when a fire destroyed a 3-story building with a famed gym on the ground floor and two apartments above.
Morris Park Boxing Club and the two apartments above went up in flames just after 7 a.m. The residents ran outside in their pajamas and watched their home burn as they stood in the frigid cold. No injuries were reported.
"Everything is destroyed," said Elizabeth Prekali, 43, who lived on the second floor of the Van Nest building with her 34-year-old sister and 15-year-old daughter.
"Our Christmas gifts are gone," she said. "I can't believe this happened."
Prekali smelled smoke from her bed and jumped up to see what was happening.
"I looked out the window and saw the high flames. We just grabbed a few Christmas gifts we had under the tree," she said. "I ran upstairs to get my neighbor and her son to make sure they got out."
"It was the worst experience ever," said her sister, Lucy Cekaj. "I just ran out. I didn't even have shoes on."
The fire started on the first floor where the boxing club has been a community fixture since 1977. The legendary gym has turned out world champions like welterweight Aaron Davis and light heavyweight Lou DelValle.
"I was sleeping when I got the call," said gym owner Dex Pejcinovic, 40, of the Bronx. "I can't believe all this damage. This is going to be a tough Christmas for all of us."
Davis, who trains kids at the gym, arrived there Tuesday morning unaware that his home-away-from-home was destroyed.
Of the club's 150 members, 50 are kids starting at age six who they train for free.
"We take a lot of kids off the street," Pejcinovic said. "Some come from broken homes, gangs, and we give them an opportunity for a better life through boxing."
"A lot of these kids are training for the upcoming Golden Gloves fights in January," said Davis. "They train hard, every day. They're going to be heartbroken."
Former Golden Gloves champion Frankie Garriga, 21, of the Bronx, showed up at the gym around 9:30 a.m. for his daily workout.
"This is unreal," he said, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "We gotta find somewhere else to train, we're all in great shape and we can't lose that."
Louis Rosado, 37, a former National Boxing Association World Champion, was devastated when he turned up at the gym for morning training.
"It hurts to even look at it," he said. "It's like losing my second home."
Fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...#ixzz0aTQNRnVL
Two Bronx families and hundreds of boxers suffered a Christmas tragedy Tuesday when a fire destroyed a 3-story building with a famed gym on the ground floor and two apartments above.
Morris Park Boxing Club and the two apartments above went up in flames just after 7 a.m. The residents ran outside in their pajamas and watched their home burn as they stood in the frigid cold. No injuries were reported.
"Everything is destroyed," said Elizabeth Prekali, 43, who lived on the second floor of the Van Nest building with her 34-year-old sister and 15-year-old daughter.
"Our Christmas gifts are gone," she said. "I can't believe this happened."
Prekali smelled smoke from her bed and jumped up to see what was happening.
"I looked out the window and saw the high flames. We just grabbed a few Christmas gifts we had under the tree," she said. "I ran upstairs to get my neighbor and her son to make sure they got out."
"It was the worst experience ever," said her sister, Lucy Cekaj. "I just ran out. I didn't even have shoes on."
The fire started on the first floor where the boxing club has been a community fixture since 1977. The legendary gym has turned out world champions like welterweight Aaron Davis and light heavyweight Lou DelValle.
"I was sleeping when I got the call," said gym owner Dex Pejcinovic, 40, of the Bronx. "I can't believe all this damage. This is going to be a tough Christmas for all of us."
Davis, who trains kids at the gym, arrived there Tuesday morning unaware that his home-away-from-home was destroyed.
Of the club's 150 members, 50 are kids starting at age six who they train for free.
"We take a lot of kids off the street," Pejcinovic said. "Some come from broken homes, gangs, and we give them an opportunity for a better life through boxing."
"A lot of these kids are training for the upcoming Golden Gloves fights in January," said Davis. "They train hard, every day. They're going to be heartbroken."
Former Golden Gloves champion Frankie Garriga, 21, of the Bronx, showed up at the gym around 9:30 a.m. for his daily workout.
"This is unreal," he said, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "We gotta find somewhere else to train, we're all in great shape and we can't lose that."
Louis Rosado, 37, a former National Boxing Association World Champion, was devastated when he turned up at the gym for morning training.
"It hurts to even look at it," he said. "It's like losing my second home."
Fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...#ixzz0aTQNRnVL
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