|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Fight Show Tomorrow Night in Troy, MO |
2/3/2012 By Marc C. |
| There's a fight show tomorrow night in at the VFW Hall in Troy, MO (444 Hwy J, Troy, MO). From our club, Cole Londoff, Gavin Londoff, Chance Posey and Jeremy McDaniels will all be competing. All have been training hard and are ready to roll. The show starts at 7:00 PM. Arrive early to get the best seats. Or call 314-403-5428 to reserve your seats. Ringside seats are $20 each, and general admission is $15. Come on out and support amatuer boxing and cheer Cole, Gavin, Chance and Jeremy on. |
| return to top |
| No Training This Sunday, 2/5 |
2/3/2012 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Sunday, 2/5. Enjoy your Super Bowl parties and be ready to get back to work on Tuesday! |
| return to top |
| Jeremy McDaniels in Golden Gloves Semi Finals Tonight |
1/28/2012 By Marc C. |
| Jeremy McDaniels will be representing St Peters Boxing Club this evening in the semi finals of the novice Golden Gloves tournament at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 7th Boulevard, St. Louis, MO). The show starts at 7:30, doors open at 6:30. Tickets are just $10. Come out and support amateur boxing and root Jeremy on to the finals. |
| return to top |
| No Training Tuesday, Thursday This Week, Special Training Session Wednesday |
1/23/2012 By Marc C. |
There will be no training this Tuesday and Thursday due to the Golden Gloves tournament. We will hold a special Wednesday training session this week, and will run at our normal time. Those who are scheduled to fight on 2/4 but are not in Golden Gloves should make every effort to attend training on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday of this week, the novice Golden Gloves tournament prelims will be taking place at South Broadway Athletic Club. From our club, Jeremy McDaniels will be competing in the 132 pound weight class. I will post information on his first match once it becomes available. Come down and cheer him on and support local amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| Updated Training Schedule for New Year's Weekend |
12/30/2011 By Marc C. |
Please see below for a detailed look at our training schedule over the New Year's weekend. Our regular training session on Sunday is canceled for this week. However, we will be providing a special open gym for our members (or prospective members who would like to start a trial) on Saturday morning.
Schedule:
Saturday, 12/31 - Open Gym from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Sunday, 1/1 - NO TRAINING
The regular training schedule will resume on Tuesday, 1/3. |
| return to top |
| Merry Christmas to everyone from St. Peters Boxing Club! |
12/25/2011 By Marc C. |
| Of course there will be no training this evening. There will also be no formal training next Sunday on New Year's Day. However, Coach John may host an open gym that day, so stay tuned for info on that. |
| return to top |
| Updated Training Schedule for Thanksgiving Weekend |
11/23/2011 By Marc C. |
Please see below for a detailed look at our training schedule over the Thanksgiving weekend. Our regular training sessions on Thursday and Sunday are canceled for this week. However, we will be providing a special open gym for our members (or prospective members who would like to start a trial) on Friday morning. We'll keep the format loose to allow for time to answer questions from any guests that stop in. If we have the right match ups, we'll also do some sparring during this time.
Schedule:
Thursday, 11/24 - NO TRAINING
Friday, 11/25 - Open Gym from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Sunday, 11/27 - NO TRAINING
The regular training schedule will resume on Tuesday, 11/29. |
| return to top |
| Chance Looked Good, But Came Up Short in Belleville |
11/18/2011 By Marc C. |
| This past Monday, Chance Posey had a fight on Belleville Boxing Club's show at the Belle-clair Fairgrounds in Belleville, IL. Chance was matched up against a hard punching lefty, and that is never an easy assignment. Chance has had very limited exposure to lefties in training, so we spent a lot of our warm up time discussing the game plan. He soaked it all in and stepped in the ring ready. From the opening bell, Chance did a great job of keeping himself in a position where he could deliver his right while not being in danger of his opponent's left hand. He had a couple of moments in the first round where he got caught standing right in front of him, but he quickly righted the ship and continued boxing beautifully. It was clear from a great opening round that Chance had listened, and as importantly, understood the game plan. In the second round, his opponent rushed out looking to force Chance to stand toe to toe rather than box from good position. Chance is never one to back down, so he got pulled out of his game plan a bit in this round. They stood toe to toe exchanging leather. Chance's opponent was a little taller with a little better reach, so more of his punches were reaching the target. The third and final round brought a little more of a mixed bag. Chance had his moments where he kept himself in good position, but his opponent also had his moments where he successfully turned it into a brawl. Chance acquitted himself real even though he came up a little short. It was a bit of a trial by fire in learning how to deal with a southpaw in a fight, and Chance did a great job and learned a ton. At the end of the day, win or lose, every fight should be a learning experience, and I'm glad to say that Chance definitely learned some things in that fight. He even relishes the opportunity to get another crack at a southpaw. Not a lot of conventional boxers make such a statement after dealing with a lefty for the first time! |
| return to top |
| Brad Steinmeyer Victorious at Heart of St. Charles |
11/6/2011 By Marc C. |
| Brad Steinmeyer was our only participant at the fight show this past Thursday at Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Brad was disappointed that his fight was unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute the week before, so he was eager to get back down to business. As the first round got underway, Brad was looking to establish his jab and control the distance. But his opponent did a nice job of countering Brad's jab and initiating his own action. It wasn't quite the opening round Brad had in mind, but their was plenty of time left to work around that. Brad came out the second round looking to be a little more assertive and press the pace a little more. He successfully put his opponent more on the defensive this round. With one round a piece to each boxer, the outcome would hang in the balance of the final round. Brad had the fire in his eye as the bell to start the third round rang. He pressed the pace for the entire round as the clear aggressor. It was a good, close and competitive bout, but in the end, Brad wanted it more and it showed. He controlled the final two rounds to come out with the victory. Coach John and I were both very proud and excited for Brad when his arm was raised. |
| return to top |
| Fight show Tonight at Heart of St Charles |
11/3/2011 By Marc C. |
Come join us this evening for a fun night of amateur boxing at Heart of St Charles Banquet Center. From our club, we'll have Brad Steinmeyer competing this evening. We also have Jeremy McDaniels on standby (have a potential match for him, and we're hoping to get him on the show). Tickets are available at the door ranging from $10-$20, and the show is scheduled to start at 7:30. Come out and support amateur boxing.
Note: There will be no training this evening due to the fight show. |
| return to top |
| Strange Night in Cedar Hill Last Saturday |
11/2/2011 By Marc C. |
It was a strange night of miscommunications for our club this past Saturday evening in Cedar Hill. We had expected to have five fighters on the show, however, when we arrived, we found that Gavin Londoff and Brad Steinmeyer were absent from the bout sheet. With Brad, we learned that his opponent had backed out due to injury at the last minute. And with Gavin, we just had a miscommunication with the other coach.
With those early miscommunications out of the way, we were ready to press forward with our three remaining fighters: Cole Londoff, Isaac Pape and Jeremy McDaniels. Cole was up first, and we knew going in that he was going to be giving up a few pounds. His opponent was extremely strong for his age, but Cole held his own with him in the first round. Cole got pressed hard, but he showed a lot of heart and refused to back down. Between rounds, the next bit of miscommunication came in as we were alerted by the officials that there was a 14 pound weight difference between the fighters. Cole had apparently weighed in several pounds lighter than we were expecting. The officials declared that the weight difference was too great and ruled it a no contest. Cole held his own with a very tough, strong and bigger fighter, but this was probably a wise decision.
As Isaac entered the ring in preparation for a rematch of his first bout last month, we learned some new shocking news. Apparently Isaac had weighed in a few pounds heavier than expected, so there was another discussion amongst the officials. In this case, the weight difference was 9 pounds, and 9 pounds between 140 pound guys is quite different than 14 pounds from 65-79 pounds. Everything got squared away, the coaches and officials agreed that it was a fair match up, and we were on our way. Isaac came out this time looking to be much more aggressive than in his previous match. And wouldn't you know it, his opponent had the same idea. Both looked good in an evenly contested first round. Isaac landed several very good straight rights, and his opponent, a southpaw, landed some pretty good straight lefts. As the fight continued in the second and third rounds, both fighters had their moments. Each landed some good punches on the other. In the end, I thought Isaac landed a lot of really good right hands that really got his opponent's attention. Unfortunately, his opponent landed just a few straight lefts. All in all, it was a performance Isaac should be proud of.
Last up for us was Jeremy McDaniels. No miscommunications here, and the fight got started with zero controversy this time. We'd been telling Jeremy for some time now that at some point he would run into an opponent who would rush him and try to smother him. This would be the night. Immediately upon the opening bell, his opponent rushed him like a mad man. Jeremy started by using his fast feet and excellent lateral movement to simply avoid his opponent, frustrating him in the process. Then he started to add some light punches along with his movement. Then when he got comfortable, he got ready to start sitting down on his punches and countering with authority. The first time he did so resulted in a knock down from a right hook near the end of the first round. The second round continued in similar fashion. His opponent attempted to rush, and Jeremy avoided while looking for good counter punching opportunities. Near the end of the round, Jeremy caught him with a good, short shot and moved away as his opponent stumbled forward into the ropes. The referee cautioned him for turning his back as he seemed unaware of the shot he had taken. Once he looked into his eyes, he realized that this was a hurt fighter who had been held up by the ropes and administered a standing 8 count. The bell rang upon conclusion of the 8 count ending the second round. The third round went much like the first two, and once again, Jeremy landed another clean shot that knocked his opponent down. In the end, while his opponent showed a ton of guts, Jeremy was clearly just too skilled for him as he won by decision.
Strange circumstances or not, all of our fighters that stepped in the ring on Saturday acquitted themselves well and should be proud of themselves. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show this Saturday, 10/29 at VFW Hall in Cedar Hill |
10/26/2011 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Saturday night, 10/29, at the VFW Hall in Cedar Hill, MO (1 Lynn Lane, Cedar Hill, MO). The show starts at 7:00 PM, and tickets are available at the door. Our club is set with a bunch of fighters on this show. Cole Londoff, Gavin Londoff, Isaac Pape, Jeremy McDaniels and Brad Steinmeyer are all scheduled to be on the show. I know it's a bit of a hike, but we hope all can make it down there to support our fighters. |
| return to top |
| Cole Londoff and Jeremy McDaniels Victorious in Wentzville |
10/11/2011 By Marc C. |
Two members of our club were in action this past weekend at the UAW Hall in Wentzville, and each made it a night to remember. Cole was the first bout of the evening, and he was excited to get under way. He's been training with us for a few months now, and he's liked it so much that his older brother has since joined the club as well. Cole started out the first round feeling out his opponent a bit. His opponent was a little taller, so Cole had to take a little time to figure out how to deal with that. He did a fantastic job in the early going with subtle footwork that got him in and out of range. As the round went on, he really started figuring out his distance and started landed some good shots. In the second round, Cole started to press the action a little more. A double jab to close the distance followed by a good straight right hand became his go to combination, and he started to get his opponent on the run. In the third round, Cole continued to keep his opponent on the run as he had continued success with that jab-jab-right combination. He even started trying to put some hooks on the end of it. It was Cole's first fight, but the way he stayed disciplined, kept his hands up, and threw good straight punches, you wouldn't have guessed it. Cole was rewarded for his efforts with a unanimous decision as his friends and family cheered him on.
A couple of bouts later, Jeremy was up and looking to erase his bad feelings of a couple weeks ago. In Jeremy's first fight on 9/29, he lost a controversial decision. We felt he had won, but the judges disagreed. This time, Jeremy was eager to be a little more convincing and come out with the victory. He worked hard in the gym to make the necessary improvements, and Saturday was the time to put it to the test. He fought a mirror image of himself...a slick, fast, southpaw. This would surely make things more difficult as it's a style he's not used to being up against, but he was prepared for the task at hand. The first round was mostly a chess match as each tried to figure out how to get to the other. During the second round, Jeremy started finding his range a little more and started landing the cleaner punches. Once he found his range, he started throwing more combinations in an effort to not get out worked. It was a close fight between two talented fighters, but in the end, Jeremy was awarded the victory as he landed more clean punches than his opponent.
In all, it was a great night for our club, and we look forward to the next one. Jeremy and Cole are eager to get back in there, and their performance inspired others in our gym. Well done guys! |
| return to top |
| Reminder: New Start Time Effective Tomorrow, 10/9 |
10/8/2011 By Marc C. |
| As a reminder, our start time for Sundays will be moved up one hour effective immediately. Sparring will run from 5:00-6:00 PM. Conditioning, drills, bag work, etc, will run from 6:00 until around 7:30. Please see the Training Schedule page for the breakdown. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show This Saturday, 10/8, at UAW Hall in Wentzville |
10/6/2011 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Saturday evening, 10/8, and our club will be a part of it. After a disappointing decision loss, Jeremy McDaniels will look to be more convincing this time around and score his first victory. Also, we'll have nine year old Cole Londoff making his debut. We're still hoping to get Cole's older brother Gavin on the show, so maybe that will be a surprise late entry. The show is at 1395 E. Pearce Blvd, Wentzville, Mo. The show starts at 7:30 PM, and tickets range from $15-$20 each. Please come out and support Jeremy and Cole and enjoy a fun evening of amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| Jeremy McDaniels Puts on Great Performance in First Fight |
9/30/2011 By Marc C. |
Jeremy had his first fight last night at the Knights of Columbus hall in St. Paul, MO. He's been itching to have his first match for a while now, so he was excited to be able to be included on this card.
He fought a tough opponent from St. Charles MMA who was a little more experienced (he'd had one boxing match and a couple of MMA matches), but Jeremy was still up to the task. Jeremy started out relaxed and taking his time...looking more like a ring veteran than a first time fighter. Once he started getting comfortable in his groove, he started letting his hands go.
As is usually the case with Jeremy in sparring, he was elusive and difficult to hit most of the time. And when he threw combinations - especially from behind his jab - he landed often. There were some exchanges where his opponent threw a lot of punches, but I felt like Jeremy took most of them off his gloves and arms.
In the end, I thought Jeremy left it a little closer than I'd have liked, but I still felt like he had clearly done enough to earn the victory. Unfortunately, three of the five judges did not see the fight the same way I did. The tiny bit of solace in that is that numerous coaches expressed their disbelief over the decision. It doesn't change the outcome, but at least it lets me know that I wasn't the only one that saw it the way I did. As I've said many times in the past, the judges are human, and they are just as capable of making mistakes as the rest of us. I think they got it wrong this time, but that's just the way things go sometimes.
What's more important is how we handle it from here. Every match is good experience, win or lose. It's important to focus on learning from the experience rather than dwelling on the official result. Jeremy will be back. And he'll be even better next time. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Thursday, 9/29 at Knights of Columbus |
9/27/2011 By Marc C. |
There is a fight show this Thursday night, 9/29, at the Knights of Columbus hall in O'Fallon, MO (1270 Church Rd, O'Fallon, MO - near St. Paul). The fight show starts at 7:00, and tickets are available at the door. I don't have the price details, but usually they are $10-$20. So far, we have Jeremy McDaniels confirmed on the card. This will be his first fight, and he's eager to get in there. We also may have Gavin Londoff on the show as well. We're still awaiting confirmation on him, but we're hopeful. Come on out and enjoy a fun evening of amateur boxing and cheer on Jeremy and hopefully Gavin as well!
Note: There will be no training this Thursday due to the fight show. |
| return to top |
| No Training this Sunday for Labor Day |
9/2/2011 By Marc C. |
| Have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend, and be ready to get back to work on Tuesday. |
| return to top |
| Great Performances, Disappointing Results Mark Our Run This Year at the Ringside World Tournament |
8/20/2011 By Marc C. |
For the second straight year, we traveled to KC, fought well, but couldn't quite get over the hump to advance in the tournament. While we were disappointed to come away without any wins, we couldn't be disappointed in the performances of our boxers. And win, lose or draw, the Ringside World Tournament is an amazing event every single year, and I look forward to being able to take our newcomers to this tournament next year.
On the first day of the tournament, Chance was up for us. Chance was right at the borderline on weight, so it made sense for us to keep him in the lower weight class which meant for the first time, he had to watch his weight. When he got up on the first morning, he weighed himself on the trial scale before it was his time to weigh in. He got a shock to find out he was a pound overweight. So for the first time in his life, Chance would have to go sweat off some weight in order to compete. So he donned a few layers of t-shirts and a hoodie and started running laps around the parking lot.
To say that he didn't enjoy this would be an understatement. But he had a choice. He could stop now, take his chances on the scale, and be eliminated without fighting if he came in overweight, or he could keep pushing, make weight, and take his chances in the ring that night. Miserable as he was, he opted for the latter. when he hopped on the scale, he was right on the money...70 pounds. You'd have thought he was an old pro at this!
When his fight time rolled around that evening, he was ready to go and to make all that work worthwhile. In the first round of his bout, his opponent came out quickly with fast combinations. But Chance wasn't deterred. He stayed in the pocket, used good defense and counter punching to continue to be the aggressor. After one round, his opponent was flashier, but I thought Chance was just as effective. In the second round, his opponent came out fast again, however, he wouldn't be able to keep it up for the entire round. As the round wore on, Chance started to chase him around the ring landing punches. To his opponent's credit, he kept throwing the occassional flurry, but I felt that Chance blocked most of them. Near the end of the second round Chance had his opponent pressed against the ropes with Chance throwing combinations. Heading into the final round, Chance had that fire in his eyes. He knew that the outcome hung in the balance of this final round, and he was prepared to go do whatever it took to secure the victory. Once again, his opponent started strong, but once again he faded. And this time he faded worse and quicker than before. Chance spent the balance of the round chasing him around the ring and landing good shots that popped his head back. In the last 20 seconds, Chance started cutting off the ring effectively and really started to get some good work in. At the end, I was convinced that Chance had done enough to earn advancement in the tournament. I was shocked when his opponent's had was raised, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
Brad was up next on Thursday, and he was anxious to get in the ring. He was a bit shocked and disappointed that he didn't compete on the first day of the tournament, so he was glad to be assigned the early session so he could get underway earlier in the day. This was Brad's last shot at being a novice, and he didn't want it to go to waste. He looked very sharp warming up, and we had a good feeling going into this one. His opponent was a little bit taller, so Brad knew that he would need to press him and make him uncomfortable. He pressed the pace through the first two rounds and was definitely the aggressor. He also landed a number of effective punches. He landed numerous crunching right hands to the chin that I couldn't believe didn't at least buckle his opponent's knees. And he also landed a number of thudding hooks to the body. I have to really tip my cap to his opponent, because after every one of these crushing shots, he started firing back. His punches didn't have the same pop that Brad's did, but in the amateurs, that doesn't matter as every punch counts the same. Heading into the third round, much like Chance, Brad knew that the outcome hung in the balance. For the second straight day, we sent our boxer out knowing that the third and final round would determine the outcome. And for the second straight day, the opponent was up for the task as well. Brad came out strong and really pressed his foe in the early part of the round. But once again, though Brad landed the harder punches, his opponent always flurried with something in return. We kept hoping Brad's hard punches would break him down and make him start covering up. And then it finally happened. Brad landed a hard right hand that made his opponent back up to the ropes and cover up. Brad moved in to try to close the show. Seeing his opponent's hands high, Brad ripped a hard left hook to the body that made his opponent cringe. Brad had finally broken him down a bit. And then, just as Brad was looking for the opening for his next big shot, the bell rang to end the contest. We knew this one was going to be close. Brad had been the aggressor for most of the bout, and he had clearly landed the harder more effective punches. But his opponent threw more punches on the whole, so this one really could go either way. Hoping hard for a close one to finally go our way, John and I huddled in the corner. But as the announcement was made, we learned we had come up just short once again. One thing Brad can hang is hat on...his opponent certainly knew he had been in a fight. I'd imagine he's still feeling sore from what Brad put him through. That's not as nice as a victory, but it will have to do.
All in all, we had a couple of disappointing outcomes, but that's just the way it goes. It's a single elimination tournament with 1200-1500 participants every year, so a whole lot of people are going to come up short. We can't control the outcome, so we as coaches really only ask for a few things. One, work hard in training so you can come in prepared. Two, compete your hardest and show the skills you've learned in training. And three, listen to us during the fight and especially between rounds so we can help you make the necessary adjustments. Do these things, and display good sportsmanship, and you'll always represent us well and make us proud. Mission most certainly accomplished this week from Chance and Brad. We couldn't be more proud of their efforts. |
| return to top |
| No Sparring Tonight or Thursday, Start at 7:00 PM |
8/16/2011 By Marc C. |
| There will be no sparring tonight (8/16) or Thursday night (8/18) as the two coaches will be in Kansas City for the Ringside World Championships. So the start time for these two sessions will be 7:00, and they will be run by James and/or Ben. Check back before Sunday to find out about that session. We will make a decision later in the week on whether we will train this Sunday. Best of luck to Brad and Chance in their quest to bring home belts! |
| return to top |
| Fight Show This Saturday Night - 7/30 |
7/26/2011 By Marc C. |
| Realm Boxing Club is putting on a fight show Saturday night at the VFW Hall in Cedar Hill (1 Lynn Ln, Cedar Hill, MO). The show starts at 7:00, and tickets are $10 for students and $15 for general admission. Our club will be represented by Brad Steinmeyer, Ben Kirchner and newcomer Isaac Pape making his debut. All have been working hard and are eager to step in the ring. Hope to see everyone there in support of our club and amateur boxing! |
| return to top |
| No Training Sunday, 7/3 |
6/30/2011 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Sunday, 7/3 due to the holiday weekend. The normal training schedule will resume on Tuesday, 7/5. |
| return to top |
| No Training This Sunday, 6/19 |
6/17/2011 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Sunday, 6/19 due to Father's Day. The normal training schedule will resume on Tuesday, 6/21. |
| return to top |
| No Training This Sunday, 5/29 |
5/26/2011 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Sunday, 5/29 due to Memorial Day. The normal training schedule will resume on Tuesday, 5/31. |
| return to top |
| Great Performances, Mixed Results From Our Club in Realm Fight Show This Weekend |
4/25/2011 By Marc C. |
Our club turned in three great performances on Saturday night on the Realm Fight Show in Cedar Hill, MO. Unfortunately, our efforts only translated into a single victory. James Fawcett, Chance Posey and Taylor Fawcett each competed on the show, and all of them did a fantastic job.
James finished the show for us with a great performace. He had been out of the gym a bit recently, but getting this fight on a few weeks notice lit the fire he needed to get back to training. James had been working hard in the gym on sticking to his combinations and staying on balance. He's had a tendency at times to get sucked into a brawl, but he knew that with limited training time for conditioning that it would be in his best interest to stick to boxing. And stick to boxing he did. James controlled the fight with a ton of jabs, some great straight rights and some occasional hooks and uppercuts for good measure. He got sucked into trading on a couple of occasions, but he was able to quickly get back to the game plan. He controlled the fight and deterred his opponent every time he got a little aggressive. James landed an emphatic combination just before the bell to seal the deal. This was a great performance from James.
Earlier in the evening, we had great performances also from Chance and Taylor. Chance was first up, and he was fired up and ready to get things started. Chance came out aggressive from the opening bell and landed some great punches. He was calm and relaxed in the pocket as he slipped and blocked punches while throwing his own. He was fighting a tough little guy out of Gamble who just wouldn't back down. Both fighters fought their hearts out, and both had their moments of success. Chance displayed some slick skill in spinnining off the ropes then immediately going on the offensive himself. Upon the final bell, I thought Chance had done enough to win, however, I thought it was far too close to be overly confident. Unfortunately, only one of the three judges saw it our way, so Chance lost on a close split decision. But he can hold his head high knowing that he fought well and displayed a lot of skill and heart.
Right after Chance, Taylor took his crack at turning things around. He was matched up with a tough little fighter out of Belleville Boxing Club. Taylor had fought this kid several months ago, and he didn't have much luck in losing a pretty clear decision. So he was eager to get back in there and show that he was just as good as this kid. At the opening bell, Taylor's opponent looked to pick up where he left off in the last fight as he came right out throwing bombs. What he didn't count on was Taylor holding his ground and throwing some bombs of his own. Taylor earned a new found respect from his opponent from those early moments on as this turned into a very competitive fight. I thought Taylor clearly got the better of it in the first round. The second round was a bit of a toss up as both fighters had their moments. With the outcome in the balance, Taylor's opponent was just a little busier in the final round to secure the close decision.
Despite the official results, I think all three of our fighters put in their finest performances to date. All displayed the skills that we've been working on lately, and all had success with those skills. James, Chance and Taylor should all be very proud of their efforts this weekend. |
| return to top |
| No Training Easter Sunday - 4/24 |
4/22/2011 By Marc C. |
| We will have no training this Sunday, 4/24, due to Easter. Come out to the fight show Saturday night, enjoy the night off on Sunday, then be ready to hit it again on Tuesday! |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Tomorrow Night - 4/23 |
4/22/2011 By Marc C. |
| Realm Boxing Club is putting on a fight show tomorrow evening at the VFW Hall in Cedar Hill (1 Lynn Ln, Cedar Hill, MO). The show starts at 7:30, and tickets are $10 for students and $15 for general admission. Our club will be represented by James Fawcett, Taylor Fawcett and Chance Posey. All have been working hard and are eager to be back in action. Hope to see everyone come out and support our club! |
| return to top |
| Ben Kirchner Suffers Tough Defeat in Barn Burner |
3/27/2011 By Marc C. |
Ben Kirchner was back in action this past Thursday at the Knights of Columbus hall in St. Paul, MO. Ben was matched up with Damon Absheer of St. Charles Boxing Club in a rematch of their fight last summer. Ben won a close decision last summer, and we knew this would be a close one as well.
Ben has been wanting to fight the longer three minute rounds of an open match, and on this night, he finally got his wish. With the longer rounds, Ben started out looking to remain patient. Unfortunately, I think his patience allowed his opponent to appear to be the aggressor. It wasn't quite what Ben had in mind with his first round approach, but he spent the next two rounds working to turn that around. Ben spent the final two rounds as the aggressor, and that led to some great back and forth action. Both fighters did some great work in one of the best fights of the evening.
In the end, the solid finish was not quite enough to overcome the slow start, and Ben lost on a close decision. With each of them having won a close decision over the other over the last 8 months, I'm sure we'll be looking to stage the rubber match somewhere down the road. In fact, these two make for such a great contest that we may be able to do it three or four more times and still come out with great fights each time.
Also on the card was Zach Freeman who trained with us a little once upon a time back at our original gym. Zach's true passion is MMA, but he's starting to dabble in boxing a bit again. Zach had a tough fight with a lot of give and take before he stopped his opponent in impressive fashion. Zach will be turning pro in MMA this summer and we wish him the best. Tip of the cap to Zach for a good showing last week. |
| return to top |
| Reminder: No Training Tonight, 3/24 |
3/24/2011 By Marc C. |
| Reminder - No training tonight due to the fight show. Come out and support Ben! Info on the show below. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Thursday, 3/24 at Knights of Columbus |
3/20/2011 By Marc C. |
Ben Kirchner will be fighting this Thursday night, 3/24, at the Knights of Columbus hall in O'Fallon, MO (1270 Church Rd, O'Fallon, MO - near St. Paul). The fight show starts at 7:30, and tickets are available at the door for $10 and $15. Ben has been working hard and steadily improving since his last fight, so he's eager to get back in the ring. Come on out and cheer Ben on!
Note: There will be no training this Thursday due to the fight show. |
| return to top |
| Reminder: No Training This Sunday, 2/6 |
2/5/2011 By Marc C. |
| This is just a reminder that there will be no training tomorrow night due to the Super Bowl. Enjoy your parties and get ready to get back to work on Tuesday. |
| return to top |
| No Training Tonight (Tuesday, 2/1) |
2/1/2011 By Marc C. |
| Mid Rivers Mall is closed due to inclement weather, so there will be no training this evening. I expect that we'll be back up and running for Thursday's training, but check back to be sure. |
| return to top |
| Congratulations to Carrie Ellis on Her Golden Gloves Victory |
1/29/2011 By Marc C. |
Well, we didn't have anyone representing our club at the Golden Gloves finals last night, but we did have Carrie Ellis competing. Carrie trains with us regularly although she's actually a member of Hammack Brothers Boxing. Last night was Carrie's first fight, but you'd never guess it by watching her. She used her superior height, reach and speed to control the fight from start to finish. If you were going to make a video to demonstrate how to take advantage of a height and reach advantage, Carrie's fight last night would be the feature. Carrie established her jab from the opening bell and controlled the distance throughout the first round. In the second round, her opponent attempted to press her a little more to get inside. She found a little success, but everytime she got close, Carrie shortened up her punches, landed a few counters, and spun back out to the open ring where she could utilize her jab once again. By the third round, she was cruising toward a convincing victory. Carrie was all smiles at the end of the fight as her hand was raised in victory. It was an impressive performance, and she should be very proud.
On another note from last night, congratulations to the Fairview Heights Boxing Gym. Reggie and his fighters only missed out on the team championship by one point despite only having four fighters in the tournament. They had an impressive run, and I was happy for them. |
| return to top |
| Brad Loses a Tough One |
1/13/2011 By Marc C. |
Brad Steinmeyer competed last night in the first round of the 2011 Novice Golden Gloves tournament. Brad has been working hard and showing tremendous improvement lately, so we had high hopes for him coming into the tournament. Regardless of the outcome, Brad certainly lived up to our expectations.
From the opening bell, Brad did a great job of controlling distance while stalking his opponent. And on the few occassions where his opponent got inside, Brad was quick to counter and get back to his preferred range. Brad controlled the first round rather handily with some good jabs and well timed right hands. In the second round, his opponent made some adjustments and brought the fight back a little closer. We knew Brad would need a solid final round to ensure a victory, and I felt he gave us just that. As the round went on, Brad starting doubling up his jab while occasionally adding a right hand behind it and looked to be comfortably in control.
We felt good about Brad's chances heading to the decision, but unfortunately, the judges did not see it the same way we did. Sadly, that's just how it goes sometimes. Brad had some chances to be a little more dominating, and that's what we'll go back to the drawing board to work on for his next fight. All in all, Brad put in an excellent performance and did himself and our club proud. |
| return to top |
| Brad Slated to Fight in First Night of Golden Gloves - Wednesday, Jan 12th |
1/11/2011 By Marc C. |
| Brad will be competing tomorrow evening, January 12th, on the first evening of the 2011 Novice Golden Gloves tournament. The event will be taking place at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S 7th St, St Louis, MO 63104). Tickets are available at the door for just $10. We hope you can come out Wednesday night to cheer on Brad! |
| return to top |
| No Training Thursday, 1/13 |
1/9/2011 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Thursday evening due to Golden Gloves. Hope everyone can make it down to South Broadway to enjoy the evening of fights. |
| return to top |
| 2011 Novice Golden Gloves Info |
1/9/2011 By Marc C. |
The preliminary rounds of the 2011 Novice Golden Gloves tournament will take place on Thursday and Friday this week at South Broadway Athletic club. If needed, a night of bouts will be added on Wednesday. Doors open at 6:30 with boxing scheduled to begin at 7:30 each evening of competition. Reserved seats for the preliminary rounds can be purchased in advance by calling 636-561-2380. General admission tickets are available at the door each night. All tickets during the preliminary rounds are just $10!
From our club, Brad Steinmeyer will be the only one competing this year. Mike Benedict was eager to enter, however, his service to our country prevented it this time around. We thank Mike for his service and look forward to getting him back in the ring soon. We may not know until as late as Tuesday when Brad's first bout will be, so check back here for more info as the week moves on. We hope you can make it out to cheer Brad on! |
| return to top |
| Passbook Renewal Time Is Upon Us |
1/2/2011 By Marc C. |
| Reminder: With the new year, everyone who is sparring needs to renew their passbooks with USA Boxing. I will have everything you need to renew at this evening's training. Note: You will NOT be allowed to spar until you have renewed your passbook. You will need a $48 check made out to USA Boxing. This will cover you for the entire calendar year of 2011. Please let me know if you have any questions. |
| return to top |
| New Sunday Format, Effective Sunday 1/2/2011 |
12/28/2010 By Marc C. |
Starting this Sunday, the mall will return to normal operating hours. As a result, the front doors will be closing at 6:00 PM on Sunday. This requires us to modify our Sunday evening format accordingly. Our new format is outlined on the Training Schedule page. In a nutshell, the open time/mitt work hour will swap places with the sparring hour.
If you cannot make it in by 6:00 on Sunday there are a couple of consequences:
First, you're cutting into your open time. This is your time to work on whatever you want and seek personal help from the coaches. Those who are on time will get more personal instruction.
Second, you may have to jump through some hoops to get access to the mall.
If the doors are locked when you arrive, you have a few options:
1. Try to contact one of us. If you reach us (no guarantee as we'll be working with those in attendance), we'll send someone out to open the door next to Borders.
2. I'm told that if you can find a security guard, they'll open the door for you with no trouble.
3. You may be able to enter through the movie entrance. I've heard conflicting info on this. I've been told by one person that the entrance leads to the mall which gets you in. Someone else has told me they think the entrance goes straight into the box office. So this option may work or it may not....I'm not entirely sure.
This new format takes effect this Sunday, 1/2/2011. |
| return to top |
| No Training Sunday, 12/26 |
12/23/2010 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training this Sunday, 12/26. I hope everyone has a happy holiday weekend, and we'll see everyone back in the gym next week. |
| return to top |
| Monthly Ringside Order |
12/19/2010 By Marc C. |
We'll be placing our monthly order with Ringside in about a week and a half. For those who don't know, we'll be placing a group order at the beginning of each month. The intent is to provide a convenience to our members and hopefully help them save a few bucks as well.
If you have anything you'd like to order, please let me know the following:
Item #
Description
Color (if applicable)
Size (if applicable)
The catalog is available online at www.ringside.com. |
| return to top |
| Training is ON for tonight!! |
12/5/2010 By Marc C. |
Big thanks to everyone that helped out this morning! Cheryl, Charlie, Roy, John, Racheal, Brad, Ben, Amy....we couldn't have set the whole thing up without everyone's help.
Please arrive 15 minutes early tonight (5:45 if you're sparring, 6:45 if you're not) to take care of the waivers/registration fee ($10, one time fee for existing members). The mall is open until 8:00 PM this evening, so there is no need to worry about being able to get in if you don't come for sparring.
We're located inside Bushido Dojo in Mid Rivers Mall. The dojo is directly across the mall from Borders on the first level. The best entrance is behind Chili's and next to Borders.
Photos of our efforts this morning can be found here. See everyone tonight! |
| return to top |
| First Training Session at New Location Scheduled for This Sunday, 12/5 |
12/3/2010 By Marc C. |
For those members that I don't have contact information for, we plan to start our training at the new location inside Bushido Dojo in Mid Rivers Mall this Sunday at our usual time. A new waiver will be required to be signed by all members, and a parent/guardian signature will be required for any members under 18 years of age.
Along with the new waiver, a low one time $10 registration fee will be required.
There is still much to be done to ensure our smooth transition, so please check the Facebook page on Sunday before heading out for the gym in case we have to unexpectedly cancel. If there is a cancellation, it will be posted there.
Looking forward to seeing everyone Sunday night! |
| return to top |
| Rough Night at Heart of St. Charles |
12/3/2010 By Marc C. |
It was a tough time for our fighters at last night's fight show at Heart of St. Charles. Taylor Fawcett and Mike Benedict both competed last night. Both did some things well, but both also came up short. Taylor was up first, and he was matched up with a tough little lefty. His opponent came out very aggressively throwing heavy punches which caught Taylor a little off guard. Having limited exposure to southpaws, he appeared a little confused as to where some of the punches were coming from. Between rounds, I pointed out that he was fighting a lefty, which was news to him! His reaction after his initial surprise was something along the lines of "that explains a lot!" In the second round, Taylor started moving to his left a little more to keep away from his opponent's big left hand. Taylor had his best round in the second as he was able to land some good shots. His opponent came out strong again in the third, though, and took control of the fight. Taylor gave it his best shot, but he came up a little short losing by decision.
Next up was Mike Benedict, and he was matched up with a tough, strong brawler. His opponent came out immediately looking to land heavy punches, and Mike stood his ground and returned fire. Both fighters got a little wide with their punches. When Mike was able to keep his punches straight, he landed some good shots on his foe. Unfortunately, he got sucked into his opponent's game a little too much. Late in the third round, Mike was caught with a good shot that buckled his knees and resulted in a standing eight count. Upon the end of the count, Mike moved back in towards his opponent, but he kept his hands just a little low. His opponent threw a quick punch while Mike's hands were a little low and popped his head up. With this happening so quickly after the standing eight count, that was all the referee needed to see as he stopped the fight. Mike made some improvements from his last fight, and he'll continue to get better. |
| return to top |
| Taylor Fawcett Added to Tomorrow Night's Fight Show |
12/1/2010 By Marc C. |
| We have a late addition to tomorrow night's fight show at Heart of St. Charles. Taylor Fawcett will be returning to the ring for the first time since the Ringside tournament in August. Doors open at 6:30 with fights scheduled to start at 7:30. Taylor will likely be ...one of the first fights, so get there early to cheer him on! |
| return to top |
| Fight Show This Thursday, 12/2 at Heart of St. Charles |
11/28/2010 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Thursday evening at Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center at 7:00 PM. We have Mike Benedict from our club on the show. This will be Mike's second fight, and he's excited to get back in the ring. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling Jim Howell at 636-561-2380. Come on out to cheer on Mike and enjoy some good amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| Reminder: Early Training Time on Sunday, 11/21 |
11/19/2010 By Marc C. |
| Please remember our early training time for this Sunday, 11/21. We will begin sparring at 4:00 PM with the remaining training starting at 5:00 PM. Immediately following, we'll be pulling all of the equipment out of the gym to prepare for our move to Bushido Dojo in Mid Rivers Mall. The exact move in date will be announced soon. During the week or so of transition time, The Boxing Gym Florissant has graciously offered to allow all of our members to train there. Many thanks to Brad and his staff for accommodating us during the transition. |
| return to top |
| No Training Sunday, 10/31 |
10/29/2010 By Marc C. |
| Reminder: There will be no training this Sunday due to Halloween. Have a good weekend and be ready to get back at it on Tuesday. |
| return to top |
| Ben Kirchner Suffers Tough Setback |
10/11/2010 By Marc C. |
| Ben Kirchner was back in action this past Saturday evening at the show to benefit the H.E.R.O.E.S. in Action program. Ben's opponent was a tall, talented boxer/puncher with good movement. Going in, we knew that Ben would have to work hard to trap his taller opponent in tight spaces. As expected, Ben's opponent came out looking to control the distance and keep Ben at bay behind a solid jab and quick feet. They mostly felt each other out for most of the first round when Ben made his move to try to push his opponent back to the ropes. As he got in close and looked to unleash some shots, his opponent landed a perfectly timed, perfectly placed counter right hand that dropped Ben. All in attendance were shocked at the sudden turn of events. Ben has no shortage of heart and toughness, so he beat the count and convinced the referee that he was able to continue. The ref motioned for him to go to a neutral corner to continue, but his legs still looked a little shaky to me. So in the interest of looking after the safety of my fighter, I stepped in and stopped the fight. Of course Ben was disappointed...he has the heart of a warrior and was eager to shake off the setback and continue battling. However, I didn't feel it was worth the risk of taking a second more damaging shot. Ben was feeling fine as of Sunday morning, and ever the fighter, feels that he could have continued. He's one heck of a tough guy. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Saturday, 10/9 at Motel 6 in Eureka |
10/5/2010 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Saturday at the Motel 6 in Eureka (15 Hilltop Village). Proceeds will benefit the H.E.R.O.E.S. in Action Program. Tickets are only $20, $15 and $10 and can be obtained by contacting Ray Amanat at 314-570-0243. Our club has one fighter, Ben Kirchner, on the show. Come on out and support a good cause while enjoying some entertaining amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| Update to Tuesday Training Schedule/Format |
9/12/2010 By Marc C. |
| As announced tonight at training, our Tuesday training is being updated to match our Sunday and Thursday schedule/format. The full practice will run from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Sparring from 6:00 - 7:00 with the rest of our team training from 7:00 - 9:00. We hope this will add better continuity to our training schedule by having the same times and format each night of training. This change is effective immediately. The training schedule page on this site will be updated to reflect the changes within the week. |
| return to top |
| No Fundamentals for Beginners Class Tomorrow, 9/7 |
9/6/2010 By Marc C. |
| Coach John has a prior commitment and won't be able to make it in to training tomorrow night. Therefore, there will be no beginners fundamentals class. Ben will run the remainder of the session as usual starting at 6:30. |
| return to top |
| No Training Sunday, 9/5 |
9/4/2010 By Marc C. |
| Due to the holiday weekend, there will be no training on Sunday, 9/5. Everybody enjoy your Labor Day weekend, and be ready get back to work on Tuesday! |
| return to top |
| Tough Loss by Amy is Final Nail in Coffin for our Tournament |
8/6/2010 By Marc C. |
Last year at this point in the tournament, we had suffered some tough losses and our remaining hopes rested on the shoulders of Amy Dennis and Melissa Petry. They were able to score big victories in the finals last year to let us finish up the tournament on a positive note. Last night, we were in a similar situation with Amy being our final competitor left in the tournament. Amy fought an extremely tough young lady from Canada last night, and she was just never really able to get into her groove. Her opponent was relentless in her attack and was incredibly determined. Amy landed some good shots and kept the bout close throughout; however, she was just never really able to get comfortable and start using her opponent's aggression against her. Knowing she needed a big final round to pull out the victory, Amy came out in the third round and pressed hard to try to pull ahead. But her opponent would not be deterred. She continued to battle through Amy's attack, and uncharacteristically, Amy ran out of gas. We all know that Amy could run a marathon tomorrow if she wanted to, so I know that conditioning is not the reason. It's likely that it was her opponent's relentless attack that emptied her gas tank. Amy gave it everything she had, but unfortunately it just wasn't her night. And now she'll do just as the rest of our team will do from here...bear down and hope to be better in her next fight.
We do happen to have one fighter remaining in the tournament - Masters fighter Racheal Harris came in hopes of having her first bout. However, it appears that we won't be able to find a match up for her, and she'll be uncontested. After all of her hard work, I'm sure she's a bit disappointed. We'll find her a match up somewhere down the line, so hopefully she'll be able to return next year with some experience under her belt and a pool of potential opponents. The Masters division just seems to get bigger every year, so we have every hope that she'll have better luck next year. |
| return to top |
| Rough Start in the Morning is Followed by Even Rougher Evening |
8/4/2010 By Marc C. |
As posted earlier, Chance got the tournament started for us this morning. Despite perhaps his finest performance, we still started off on the wrong foot. In this evening's session, Taylor Fawcett, James Fawcett and Brad Steinmeyer were hoping to turn the tide in our favor. Taylor was up first, and he had a tall task in front of him. That tall task took the form of a much taller and more developed opponent. Much like Chance earlier, Taylor had perhaps his best fight even though the end result was not what he was looking for. This was the first time that Taylor has ever given up so much height and reach, but he handled it well. Taylor had moments where I definitely felt he was getting the better of the action. Unfortunately, there were also moments where he slowed down his pace and allowed his opponent to get the better of it. In the end, Taylor lost via decision.
Next up was James who was looking to correct the mistakes of his last match. In his last match, James got sucked into a slugfest by a wilder opponent. In tonight's match, James was determined to remain disciplined and out box his opponent. And in the first round, he was able to do just that. For nearly the entire round, James controlled the action with a stiff jab with some great 1-2 combinations mixed in. There were some moments where he let his opponent suck him into brawling with him, but these moments were kept to a minimum. In the second round James was well on his way to another convincing round when he ran into a couple of stiff jabs from his strong opponent that drew blood from James' nose. With the end of the second round nearing the end, the referee called time to have the ringside doctor check out James' nose. Fearing that there may be a fracture, the doctor recommended a halt to the bout. It was a disappointing ending to a fight that James had well in hand.
Brad was our final fight of the evening, and he was determined to not coast in a close fight when he could put his foot on the gas pedal. His opponent was a short, strong southpaw. His boxing experience was limited; however, he had considerable MMA experience. With his unorthodox style, he was able to catch Brad with some strong shots. He was even able to drop Brad with one wild left that Brad never saw coming. Given Brad's iron chin, this was a shocking development. Brad continued to fight his heart out and had his opponent in trouble several times in the final round. Unfortunately, he was unable to land enough significant punches to turn the tide in his favor. Both fighters left it all in the ring in a tough battle, but Brad fell by decision.
In all, the results of the day were disappointing. However, the improvements that all of our fighters showed today were impressive. I can't say how proud I was to see Chance shore up his defense while improving his offensive accuracy, Taylor punch and move well and never let himself get pressured to the ropes or corner, James use his boxing ability and not get sucked into a slugfest and Brad press the action from start to finish instead of letting his opponent dictate the pace. The poor results despite the great improvements are just a bitter reminder of how difficult this tournament is in this, the most difficult of sports. |
| return to top |
| Despite Excellent Performance, Chance Posey Eliminated from Ringside World Championships |
8/4/2010 By Marc C. |
| In what's hopefully not a continuation of some of our bad luck from last year, Chance had a tough draw to open the tournament. Last year, nearly every opponent that our fighter's lost to made it to the finals. It was amazing the bad luck we could have in the draw. This year, Chance once again had a difficult draw. The opponent that beat him last year ended up going to the finals, and the opponent from this morning appears to have the talent to go all the way as well. This was clearly the most talented opponent Chance has ever faced. The poise this kid showed combined with great reflexes, counter punching and ring smarts was truly impressive. That said, this was also Chance's best performance to date. Despite being matched up with the most talented fighter he's ever seen, Chance did a lot of things very well. In the process, he landed some great shots - some coming as a result of great counter punching and others just a matter of beating his opponent to the punch. Chance made such an impression on several coaches familiar with his opponent, that they went out of their way to find us and compliment us on Chance's performance. One thing that can definitely said about Chance is the kid has no quit in him. Although he hasn't always gotten the results he's looking for, never for a second has he quit making every effort to try to pull out the win. Boxing is a tough sport. The list of kids - and grown men for that matter - who have given in and given up in a fight is endless. That Chance has never once given in and stopped trying to win is a great testament to his character. We were all very proud of Chance's effort, and we know that he's going to break through and never look back soon. |
| return to top |
| No Formal Training This Week |
8/2/2010 By Marc C. |
| There will be no formal training this week due to the Ringside World Championships. As usual, as long as Domain MMA is there to open the doors, members are welcome to train on their own. Formal training will resume on Tuesday, 8/10. |
| return to top |
| Thanks again to all of our trivia night supporters! |
8/2/2010 By Marc C. |
| As we prepare to head over to Kansas City tomorrow for the Ringside World Championships, I want to give another big thanks to all of the supporters of our trivia night for making this trip possible for us. A sponsors page was recently added to our site to give a special thanks to all of our round sponsors (link is in the main navigation beneath our logo). Please be sure to check it out and patronize our sponsors! |
| return to top |
| St. Peters Goes 2-1 at Wentzville Union Hall |
7/23/2010 By Marc C. |
After less than a week turnaround, some of our fighters were back in action last night at the Auto Workers Union Hall in Wentzville, MO. Chance Posey, Ben Kirchner and Brad Steinmeyer each competed from our club. Being the smallest of the bunch, Chance was up first as usual. He longs for the day when he's not the first bout, but he's probably stuck in that position for at least a little while longer. Chance was excited, though, to finally have an opponent at least close to his size. Unfortunately, although he was smaller than most of Chance's opponents, this was one tough little son of a gun. The two went toe to toe for every second of every round. Chance got his nose bloodied up a bit near the end of the first round, but that wouldn't deter him. He came out for the second and third round with just as much fire. Chance landed some good, solid shots in each round. Unfortunately, with his opponent being a little taller, he was out landed in many of the exchanges. Chance fought his heart out, but he came up a little short. Everyone from the referee, to the ringside doctor to random spectators lauded his toughness and fighting spirit.
Next up was Ben Kirchner who was fighting again already after having just fought 5 days earlier. Ben's opponent was a younger fighter who has a hard time finding opponents. We'd seen him fight in the past, so we were fully expecting him to come forward and press the action throughout the fight. However, much to our surprise, he sat back and looked to counter punch the entire time. The first two rounds were very close with each fighter landing a few shots here and there, but with neither of them really taking control of the bout. Not wanting to leave the decision so close, Ben came out in the third round, and put his foot on the gas pedal. After sitting back for two rounds waiting for his opponent to press the action as expected, Ben finally decided enough was enough and began to apply constant pressure. The solid third round was the difference in the fight as Ben was awarded the decision. Both fighters gave it their all in a well fought match.
Brad Steinmeyer was our final competitor of the evening as he looked to get back on the winning track. Brad has had a habit of coasting along at whatever pace his opponent fought at, and as a result has lost some close decisions. Last night Brad flipped the switch and decided to press the action from start to finish. He established a solid jab early and later started following that with some crushing rights. His nose bloodied from Brad's straight punches, his opponent then started to reach out a bit to try to catch Brad's punches. Brad then seized the opportunity to land some solid hooks around his opponents outstretched guard. Brad continued to apply pressure throughout the bout and even buckled his opponents knees toward the end of the final round. As the final bell rang, Brad was elated knowing he'd just fought his best fight to date. His efforts were rewarded with a decision victory.
All three boxers gave it everything they had and represented our club and the sport well. |
| return to top |
| No Training Tonight, Thursday, 7/22 |
7/22/2010 By Marc C. |
| Due to the fight show tonight, there will be no formal training tonight. As always, members are welcome to train on their own as long as Domain MMA is there to open the doors. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show, Thursday 7/22 in Wentzville |
7/19/2010 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Thursday, 7/22, at the Auto Workers Union Hall in Wentzville (1395 E. Pearce Blvd). Reserved seats are available for $20 & $15, and general admission is just $10! We'll have two fighters on the show - Ben Kirchner and Brad Steinmeyer. Doors open at 6:30 and boxing starts at 7:30. For tickets and info, call Jim at 636-561-2380. Come out and support our fighters! |
| return to top |
| Kirchner wins, Fawcett drops close one at the Atomic Cowboy |
7/18/2010 By Marc C. |
Last night, two of our fighters were in action at the Atomic Cowboy. When we arrived, we were surprised to find that the ring was set up outside, and man was it a scorcher last night. Thankfully, our two fights were the final two of the evening, so at least that gave some time for the sun to go down before we got started. But it was still mighty steamy, and the heat definitely took it's toll on the fighters.
Ben Kirchner was up first for us. He was fighting an opponent from SCR who won the novice Golden Gloves earlier this year. This was an all action fight as Ben's opponent looked to push the pace from the opening bell. Ben, unwilling to give an inch, gave as good as he got in the first round. After that, it seemed the heat started to take its toll on Ben's opponent as his pace began to slow down. Anyone who knows Ben's conditioning knows that Ben didn't slow down with him. Ben was able to keep up the brisk pace for the entire three rounds which paved the way to victory. Ben did a great job of mixing up his combinations and was awarded a unanimous decision.
James Fawcett was up next for us with the final bout of the evening. He was also fighting an opponent from SCR; this one is an experienced MMA fighter who does a little boxing as well. This bout also started with a frantic pace, and the heat certainly took its toll in this fight as well. By about the mid way of the bout, both fighters were exhausted and were getting by on pure guts and instinct. When James remained technical and snapped out straight punches, I felt that he was getting the better of the action. But many times he let himself get sucked into his opponent's game which didn't serve him well. Despite the heat and exhaustion, they both continued to give it their all until the end. James looked quite relieved at the final bell, and his opponent took it one step further and dropped to his knees along the ropes. Both had clearly given it everything they had. In the end, James lost on a majority decision.
Congratulations to both of our fighters and their opponents. All of them gave it everything they had and left it all in the ring. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show, Saturday, 7/17 @ the Atomic Cowboy |
7/13/2010 By Marc C. |
| There is a fight show this Saturday, 7/17 at the Atomic Cowboy (4140 Manchester Rd. St. Louis, Mo. 63110). We have three fighters on the show - James Fawcett, Ben Kirchner and Jervon Hill. There will be an after party immediately following the show. For tickets and info call 314-443-1708. Come out and support our fighters! |
| return to top |
| Big thanks to our sponsors and guests at Sunday's Trivia Night! |
6/15/2010 By Marc C. |
| Our trivia night on Sunday night was a big success!! Thanks so much to everyone who came out to support us. We'll be using the funds for our lodging during our trip to Kansas City for the Ringside World Championships as well as to purchase new equipment for the gym. We can't say thank you enough to our sponsors and guests who helped us reach our fund raising goals. |
| return to top |
| 5/20 Fight Show Results |
5/21/2010 By Marc C. |
We had some mixed results on the win-loss sheet last night; however, all of our fighters fought hard and gave it their best effort. The deck was stacked against us a bit in some regards, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Mike Benedict was up first for us, and this would be his first fight. While this was Mike's first fight in any combat sport, his opponent was a veteran of several MMA bouts. While they are different sports, just having that experience of fighting in front of a crowd is definitely a plus. This was apparent from the opening bell as he looked much more comfortable in there. Also, he appeared to be much bigger than we were expecting; however, sometimes weights are hard to judge by eye, so I could be way off base on that. Anyway, Mike kept his composure and tried to stick by his fundamentals despite feeling out gunned from the beginning. He showed some great head movement at times, but of course this being his first bout, he also made some mistakes that got him caught a few times as well. The most frustrating thing in the fight was when his opponent reverted to his MMA background and threw a spinning back fist that landed right on the button and buckled Mike's knees. This punch is illegal in boxing, but the opponent was not deducted a point, rather he received a light warning. What's worse is that despite the fact that the punch clearly hurt our guy, we were given no time to recover from the illegal punch. That frustration aside, Mike's opponent was definitely the better boxer on this night. Mike continued to fight valiantly, however, the referee felt he was over matched to the point that he stopped the contest late in the third round. Mike was in good spirits despite the outcome and will definitely be better for the experience.
Chance Posey was next up for us, and as usual for him, he was giving up some size. Chance is very small for his age which makes it very difficult for us to find an opponent his age and weight. The end result is that we continually find ourselves having to match him up with bigger opponents. This usually means fighting guys that are taller with similar build or stockier guys. Last night, his opponent was both taller and bigger in build which really makes me have to question whether he was really only 10 pounds heavier. Regardless, Chance gave it his best shot and tried to push the pace from start to finish. This is however a tall task when your opponent is not only taller but also physically stronger. But Chance was never deterred, and he even had a look of determination on his face heading into the third round that was unlike anything I've ever seen from him. In the end, his opponent won a sound decision. Chance was in good spirits though, and he understands that fights like this will only help him in the long run. More than anything, I think he was just happy to not be the first bout of the evening for once.
Our final fighter of the evening was Ben Kirchner. Ben was also giving up some size in his fight. The difference in this fight was that Ben had enough of a skill edge to overcome the size difference. His opponent was strong and game; however, Ben had the quicker hands, better defense, and I think he may have even had the edge in power - sometimes being big and more muscular doesn't always equate to being a more powerful puncher as technique definitely rules the day. Ben started out cautiously with some respect for the fact that he had a bigger, stronger man in front of him. Of course, as anyone who knows Ben would know, this was only by my request. Ben has a warrior spirit, and if he had his way, he'd dive straight into a firefight every time out. But he followed instructions and picked his opportunities to land good shots. He found a home for a strong left hooks along with numerous hard rights to both the body and head. By the end of the second round, he had bloodied his opponent and broken his will. He was slow to answer the bell for the final round, and we thought the fight might be stopped then. However, he soldiered on and gamely fought to the finish. In the end, Ben earned a decisive victory.
Despite the mixed results on the win-loss sheet, all of our fighters fought hard and represented our club well. I was proud of all of them as always. |
| return to top |
| No Training Thursday, 5/20 |
5/19/2010 By Marc C. |
| There will be no organized training on Thursday, 5/20 due to the fight show at the VFW Hall in Cedar Hill(details below). Members who are not attending the fight show are welcome to use the open gym time as long as the MMA team is there training. The normal training schedule will resume on Sunday evening, 5/23. |
| return to top |
| Next Fight Show, Thursday 5/20 in Cedar Hill, MO |
5/12/2010 By Marc C. |
| Four of our boxers will be back in action on Thursday, 5/20 at the VFW Hall in Cedar Hill, MO (1 Lynn Lane, Cedar Hill, MO). Ben Kirchner, Brad Steinmeyer and Chance Posey will all be returning to the ring. Also, newcomer Mike Benedict will make his debut appearance. All four of them have been working hard and are eager for the show. The show starts at 7:00 PM. Reserved ringside seats are available for $20 each. General admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. You can reserve tickets by calling Kirk Douglas at 314-346-6515. Please come out and support our fighters! |
| return to top |
| Team Goes 3-1 at The Phoenix |
3/31/2010 By Marc C. |
Our team had a good showing last night at The Phoenix in South County. We had four boxers on the show, and all of them did a great job. Our first boxer was Chance Posey, and he was eager to get the show started on the right foot. Chance's opponent was considerably taller than him, so this presented a challenge right off the bat. On top of the height, the opponent knew how to move around and use it pretty well also. But Chance did a good job of closing the distance and finding his range. He was patient and focused as he sought good counter punching opportunities. He got to his opponent in the second round and scored a knockdown. After an action packed third round, we went to a judge's decision. We felt like Chance had landed more clean punches, but we knew it would be close. In the end, his opponent was awarded the victory in a split decision. Hats off to both fighters for a very good and technical bout.
Next up was Ben as he looked to reverse our fortunes. Ben came out looking to apply smart pressure, and he succeeded in that mission landing numerous hard punches on his opponent. As the bout wore on, Ben worked to stay focused and continue to set his opponent up without leaving himself open. He landed numerous solid hooks and many hard straight rights. It was a credit to his opponent that he stayed upright on some of those shots. There was a lot of good back and forth in a competitive fight, but we felt Ben was the clear victor. As the judge's decision was read, our feelings were confirmed as Ben was named the winner.
Tom was up next for us, and this was his first fight since moving down to the 201 weight class. He really worked hard to drop down to that weight for Golden Gloves last week, then he caught the flu and had to withdraw. He was obviously disappointed by this so when he was offered a last minute spot on the show, he jumped at the opportunity. The game plan was to use Tom's excellent jab and footwork to keep his opponent off balance throughout the fight. Unfortunately, sometimes fighters get caught up in the moment. This happened to Tom as he started trading punches with his opponent. He used great head movement to set up some great counter shots that he followed up with more power shots. This continued through the first two rounds of the bout. This heavier than expected pace combined with some lingering effects of last weeks flu left Tom completely exhausted after two rounds. Heading into the third, Tom refocused himself to use his jab and footwork. He kept his opponent at bay and avoided sustaining any punishment in the final round behind lots of jabs and footwork. He showed a ton of heart in sucking it up in that final round as a lot of men would have found a way out of the fight. In the end, Tom's efforts were rewarded with the victory.
Finally, Amy was set to fight in the final bout of the evening. Her opponent was the only girl to have beaten her so far in a match about a year ago. The two were scheduled to face off in the Golden Gloves finals last month; however, an illness forced Amy to withdraw from the tournament. Finally being back to full strength, Amy was excited at the prospect of avenging her only loss. Amy established early on that she wouldn't be bullied on this night. She established a pin point jab with some solid rights thrown in for good measure. The first round was close, but Amy had the edge. In the second round, she started to pull away. And by the third round, Amy was in total control of the fight. She scored a standing eight count near the end of the final round, and I believe she could have pulled off the stoppage with a little more pressure. But she played it smart and made sure not to run into anything or run out of gas. This was definitely Amy's best outing to date as she continues to improve each time out.
All four of our boxers trained hard, came in prepared, fought hard, and did our program proud as always. |
| return to top |
| New Training Schedule |
3/28/2010 By Marc C. |
| The training schedule has officially been updated to Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Due to the fight show, there will be no training this Tuesday. Also, due to Easter, there will be no training on Sunday, 4/4. We will train in between those dates on Thursday 4/1. The normal schedule will resume starting Tuesday 4/6. |
| return to top |
| Next Fight Show, Tuesday 3/30 |
3/24/2010 By Marc C. |
| Three of our fighters will be back in action on Tuesday, 3/30 at the Phoenix on Lemay Ferry (3924 Lemay Ferry Rd 63125). Ben Kirchner will be taking part in his first bout since November. This will be a rematch against the same opponent he faced last time. Chance Posey will also be returning to action. This is Chance's first fight since the Ringside tournament in August, so he's more than eager to get back in the ring. Finally, Amy Dennis will make her return to the ring. Amy has had a lot of bad luck lately. First, she had an opponent withdraw due to injury at the last minute in November, then last month she had to withdraw from Golden Gloves due to injury. As a result, this is her first bout since Ringside as well. All three have been training hard and are excited about their upcoming bouts. Come on out and cheer them on! |
| return to top |
| Kris Merrill Loses Another Tough One in the Open Finals |
3/22/2010 By Marc C. |
| Kris Merrill came up a little short in her bid in the Golden Gloves finals on Saturday night.She fought hard and improved on some of her mistakes from her last outing with this opponent; however, her opponent improved a bit from the last outing as well. We thought Kris had her chance in the third round when she stunned her opponent with a good right that knocked her foe into the corner. Her rocked opponent covered up in the corner for what seemed like an eternity, but her guard was tight and Kris was unable to land the couple more flush punches that she needed. It was a close contest again with Kris coming up a little short for a second time against the same opponent. True to form, Kris is eager to put this behind her and move on to her next opportunity. |
| return to top |
| More Hard Luck in the Health Department |
3/18/2010 By Marc C. |
| Once again, a member of our crew has fallen ill at an unfortunate time. Tom Zapata is battling the flu and is looking doubtful for his bout tomorrow night in the Golden Gloves semi-finals. Whoever we wronged to get all this bad luck of late, we take it all back! |
| return to top |
| Kris Merrill's Fight Canceled Tonight |
3/18/2010 By Marc C. |
| Unfortunately, Kris' opponent had to withdraw from tonight's bout. Of course Kris was disappointed as she was looking forward to getting back in the ring. The good news is that she is scheduled to fight in the Open Golden Gloves finals on Saturday night at South Broadway Athletic Club. |
| return to top |
| Open Golden Gloves Tournament Starts Friday |
3/17/2010 By Marc C. |
This Friday at South Broadway Athletic Club, the 2010 Open Golden Gloves will get under way. We have Tom Zapata and Kris Merrill competing from our club. Tom is scheduled to fight in the semi finals on Friday night, while Kris advances directly to the finals on Saturday night. Come on out of Friday to cheer on Tom as he looks to join Kris in the finals. Doors open at 6:30 with the fights starting at 7:30 each night. Tickets are just $10 at the door.
More info here: http://www.stlgg.com/events/march_19_20_2010.html |
| return to top |
| No Training Thursday, 3/18 |
3/17/2010 By Marc C. |
| There will be no organized training on Thursday, 3/18 due to the fight show at the Machinist Hall in Bridgeton (details below). Members who are not attending the fight show are welcome to use the open gym time as long as the MMA team is there training. The normal training schedule will resume on Saturday morning, 3/20. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show at the Machinist Hall in Bridgeton on Thursday, 3/18 |
3/13/2010 By Marc C. |
| There is an amateur boxing show coming up on Thursday, 3/18 at the Machinist Hall in Bridgeton, MO. Kris Merrill will be competing from our club, and she's eager to get back on track after a close decision loss in the Golden Gloves finals last month. Tickets are $30 which includes beer, soda and table snacks (chips, ...pretzels, etc), and can be reserved in advance by calling Jim Howell at 636-561-2380. Doors open at 6:30 and boxing starts at 7:30. The Machinist Hall is located on St Charles Rock Road just east of Natural Bridge (just as a warning, Google Maps plots it wrong). |
| return to top |
| No Training Thursday, 3/4 |
3/1/2010 By Marc C. |
| There will be no formal training this Thursday, 3/4/2010. Neither Ben nor I will be able to be there to run it. The MMA team should be training from 6-8, so any members are welcome to come in and use the open gym time. |
| return to top |
| Kris Merrill Loses a Tough One in the Finals |
2/13/2010 By Marc C. |
As our last boxer standing in the tournament, Kris was anxious to get down to business and bring home a championship. As the scheduled 15th bout of the evening, that meant a whole lot of waiting. As her turn finally approached, Kris was focused and eager to get down to business. She was fighting a tall southpaw with good hand speed and good footwork, so we knew she would have her work cut out for her. Right off the bat, Kris sucked her opponent in to give up her reach and caught her with a solid right. At the end of the ensuing exchange Kris caught her with another good right that drove her back into the corner. She definitely had her opponent's attention right off the bat.
The two went at it hard for the entire fight. When Kris didn't set up her attacks well, her opponent made her pay the price. And when Kris drew her opponent in to punch first, she was able to land some good counter punches of her own. And when Kris was able to back her opponent to the ropes, we saw some action packed exchanged that were tough to call. As the final bell rang, I felt like the decision could go either way. As the announcer read the decision, her opponent's had was raised and she was crowned the 2010 Golden Gloves Champion. Kris showed a ton of heart, toughness, determination and grace in defeat. She had a good victory in the semi-finals, and she gave the champion hell for three rounds in the finals. What more could we ask?
In other news about the finals, it was a sold out show of over 600 people in attendance and no tickets available at the door. The entire tournament from a participation and an attendance standpoint was such a huge success. It's grown in each of the three years that our club has been around, and I hope it continues to do so. Wellston Housing Authority won the team trophy this year, and Nick Marino of Hard Knocks won the outstanding boxer trophy after two entertaining wars in the tournament. |
| return to top |
| Amy Dennis Out of Tonight's Finals Due to Illness |
2/12/2010 By Marc C. |
| Unfortunately, Amy had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness. It's been a while since she was in the ring, so she was eager to be back in action. Her last scheduled bout was canceled at the last minute due to an injury, and now Amy is stuck on the other side of that equation. Trooper that she is, Amy still wanted to take part, but I wouldn't let her as her strength is nowhere near 100%. Let's wish Amy a speedy recovery so she can be back in action soon. That leaves Kris as our last boxer standing in this tournament. Wish her luck as she looks to bring home a championship. |
| return to top |
| Kris Merrill Wins, Joins Amy Dennis in Finals! |
1/24/2010 By Marc C. |
As the second night of the 2010 Novice Golden Gloves rolled around last night, Kris Merrill was set to make her second appearance in the ring. She has been battling a bout with the flu (as seems to happen to at least one of our fighters every year in this tournament), so she was a little concerned about how her conditioning would hold up. As we were preparing to enter the ring, Kris was relaxed and confident. This was a rematch of Kris' first bout, and she and her opponent met picked up right where they left off time. They met at the center of the ring, and fought at a frantic pace from the opening bell. Both ladies fought hard and landed their share of shots. I think Kris was getting the better of most of the exchanges, but it was closer than last time heading into the final round. Kris scored a standing eight count right at the end of the second round which gave her some momentum. However, with residual fatigue from the flu setting in, Kris had to dig deep to keep up the pace in the third round. About 30 seconds into the final round, Kris scored another standing eight count after her opponent appeared to injure her shoulder. She gamely tried to continue on before injuring her other shoulder shortly thereafter. Upon the second injury, her corner threw in the towel to call a halt to the contest. Upon speaking with her after the bout, it appears that some old hockey injuries came back to haunt her. It was an unfortunate way to bring the spirited bout to an end, but we were happy to see Kris advance to the finals.
Kris will now join Amy Dennis in the finals at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center (1410 South 5th Street, St Charles, MO) on February 12th. Doors open at 6:30, and the fights will begin at 7:30. Tickets for the finals are $20, $15 and $10 for first, second and third row tables respectively. Last year's finals sold out, so be sure to arrive early to cheer on Amy and Kris. To reserve tables in advance (recommended), download this form and mail it along with a check for the total to the address on the form. |
| return to top |
| Brad Loses a Tough One; Kris Up Tonight |
1/23/2010 By Marc C. |
Brad Steinmeyer was our first competitor in the Novice Golden Gloves last night, and as seems to often be the case for him, he drew one of the toughest opponents in the bracket in the first round. He fought a tough and experienced MMA fighter who had excellent movement and good counter punching. To top it off, he was a southpaw. This was Brad's first fight against a southpaw - he hasn't even had much experience sparring one - and they're always tricky until you learn how to deal with them. Brad fought well and fought hard. He had a lot of success when he trapped his opponent on the ropes, but unfortunately, his opponent got the better of the action in the middle of the ring. In the end it was a competitive and entertaining fight...unfortunately Brad came up a little short this time.
Next up for us, Kris Merrill will be in action tonight as she looks to put one in the win column for us. Tonight she'll be engaging in a rematch against her first opponent, and we have high hopes that she can be victorious again. Tonight's bouts will take place again at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 South 7th Street, St Louis, MO). The schedule has changed as the doors will open at 5:30 with the fights starting promptly at 6:30. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Also, I'd like to pass on a couple of notes about this year's tournament. Each year since we started our program, this tournament has grown a little each year. Well, this year, it exploded with more than double the number of participants as last year's tournament. As a result, there were 23 bouts last night, and rumor has it there will be even more tonight. In addition, there has been coverage like there hasn't been in years. A Post Dispatch reporter covered the action, and posted an article here this morning: Novice boxers get their chance. Also, I saw a story on Fox 2 this morning. Last night's show was a packed house, and with more fights and media coverage, I would expect tonight to be even more so. If you plan to come out to support Kris, it would certainly be wise to get there early.
One last note - the fights last night were streamed live on myhighlightpage.com where you can purchase the entire evening of fights for $10. |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves Start Friday! |
1/19/2010 By Marc C. |
The 2010 Novice Golden Gloves tournament has snuck up on us, and is scheduled to kick off this Friday and Saturday night. The preliminary rounds will take place this Friday and Saturday night at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 South 7th Street, St Louis, MO). The doors open at 6:30 each evening with the bouts scheduled to begin at 7:30.
Unfortunately, other information is limited at this point due to the fact that the number of competitors is nearly double what the organizers had expected. What we do know for certain is that Brad Steinmeyer will be fighting in the first round this Friday night. We're not yet sure what is in store for Kris Merrill or Amy Dennis, but additional information will be posted on their fights as soon as it is available.
Be sure to come out and support Brad on Friday night! |
| return to top |
| Training Schedule Change |
1/3/2010 By Marc C. |
| As has been previously posted, our schedule changes take effect this week. The Tuesday evening training session has been moved to Monday evenings. The time remains the same. Please see the Training Schedule page for the complete schedule. |
| return to top |
| Adjusted Training Schedule for Holidays |
12/22/2009 By Marc C. |
With Christmas and New Year's looming, not to mention their eve's falling on our normal training night, our next couple of Thursday training sessions will be canceled. We WILL be training at the normal time each of the next two Saturdays. Also, please remember our switch to Monday nights takes effect on Monday, 1/4.
Thursday, 12/24: No Training
Saturday, 12/26: Training on normal schedule
Thursday, 12/31: No Training
Saturday, 1/2: Training on normal schedule
Monday, 1/4: New training night |
| return to top |
| Make Up Sparring Session for 12/6 Canceled |
12/2/2009 By Marc C. |
| Due to limited availability amongst the group as well as an inability to line up another gym to come spar with us, the make up sparring session for Sunday, 12/6 has been canceled. The regular Saturday morning training session will be run by Ben from 10:00 AM to noon on 12/5. |
| return to top |
| No Sparring Saturday, 12/5; Make Up Sparring Session Sunday, 12/6 |
11/30/2009 By Marc C. |
| There will be no sparring this Saturday morning (12/5). The regular training session will take place at the usual time from 10:00 AM to noon. There will be a make up sparring session on Sunday, 12/6 starting at noon. |
| return to top |
| St. Peters Boxers Go 3-1 at Respect Center Benefit Show |
11/23/2009 By Marc C. |
St. Peters Boxing Club entered four boxers in the Respect Center Benefit Show this past Saturday night, and the results were good. Amy Dennis was scheduled to be our first bout, however, her opponent withdrew with an injury. The result was a win by walk over for Amy, but this is clearly not how she or anyone else would have liked for it to go down.
Next up was newcomer Kris Merrill in her debut performance. Kris started training with us a couple of months ago, and she was eager for her first bout. She has been steadily improving each week during sparring, so we were confident that she'd be she'd be ready to put on a good performance. And we were right! Kris set the early tone with some good 1-2's and good movement. In the second round, her opponent came out a little more aggressive which gave Kris a little more trouble. Through the rest of the bout, the action went back and forth. At times, Kris was able to control the pace and the action, and at other times, her opponent was able to impose her will. Kris was awarded the victory in a good fight by both ladies. She had a great time and is eager to get back in the ring in the future.
Our next fighter was Ben Kirchner who was excited to be back in action to say the least. Ben fought a smart fight and used good head movement and footwork to get inside his taller opponent's reach to land solid counter punches. Ben's counter punching efforts kept his opponent frustrated through the majority of the fight and allowed Ben to secure a clear cut victory. Ben also hopes to have the opportunity to compete again in the near future.
Our final entrant on the evening was Brad Steinmeyer. As seems to frequently be the case, Brad was matched up with a little bit bigger and stronger opponent. And just like in the past, Brad proved to be able to handle the bigger man's punches as well as back up the bigger man with his own punches. Most wouldn't guess it from his out of the ring demeanor, but Brad is tough as nails and packs a pretty good punch. It was a close fight with both guys landing some good shots. It seems that the difference in the fight was that the other guy was a little busier and a little more aggressive. Brad came up a little short, but he fought really well and showed continued improvement.
In all, it was a good evening of boxing, and we're looking forward to the next one. |
| return to top |
| Open Gym Thursday, 11/19, No Training Saturday, 11/21 |
11/17/2009 By Marc C. |
| There will be no formal training on Thursday 11/19. The gym will be open for any club members that want to train on their own from 6-8 PM. Also, due to the fight show on Saturday night, there will be no training on Saturday morning. We hope everyone can make it out to the show to cheer our fighters on. Details on the fight show are below. |
| return to top |
| Respect Center Boxing Benefit Show Coming Up on Saturday, 11/21 |
11/8/2009 By Marc C. |
Four of our boxers will be participating in the Respect Center Boxing Benefit on Saturday, November 21st at the St. Ann Community Center (1 Community Center Dr, St Ann, MO 63074). Amy Dennis, Ben Kirchner and Brad Steinmeyer are each scheduled to have their first bout since the Ringside World Championships in August. Also on the schedule, new comer Kris Merrill will have her first fight. All of them have been training hard and are looking forward to getting in the ring.
Doors open for this event at 6:30 PM with the fights scheduled to start at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $20 each and will be available at the door. Also, concessions and adult beverages will be available. Please be sure to come out and cheer on our boxers and enjoy a fun night of amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| No Training Thursday, 9/24 |
9/23/2009 By Marc C. |
| There will be no organized training on Thursday, 9/24. Club members are welcome to train on their own from 6-8 PM while the MMA team is training. Normal training will resume at its regular time on Saturday, 9/26. |
| return to top |
| Amy and Melissa Come Home With Belts |
8/9/2009 By Marc C. |
After a rough start to the week that saw us get some tough draws early in the week, it came down to Amy and Melissa in the finals at the 2009 Ringside World Championships.
Amy was first up, and after a long wait to get to her bout, she was eager to get underway. She was even happier to find that for the first time, she was matched up with an opponent that didn't come out and rush her. This gave Amy the chance to actually have a fight that mirrored most of her sparring. Using her strong jab and movement, she was able to build a solid early lead in the bout. Also, once she noticed that her opponent was carrying her elbows very high, she was able to land shots to the body almost at will for the remainder of the fight. To her opponent's credit, she never went away. Despite being far behind, she came out in the final round with a new sense of urgency. This left the final round far closer than we would have liked, however, Amy had built such a lead up to that point that it really didn't matter.
When the decision was read, we got the announcement we were expecting as Amy was named the Women's 119 pound Novice Champion. Sadly, her opponent was not very gracious in defeat. We had seen opponents embrace and pose for pictures after the championship bouts throughout the day, and we would have liked to have had that experience as well. But oh well...I think Amy is perfectly happy with her belt with or without the photo op.
In one of the final bouts of the tournament, Melissa was set to go for her first bout since February. Melissa came out strong from the beginning and established herself as the stronger and more skilled competitor. She landed some great shots in the early going of the bout. But I have to give a lot of credit to her opponent as no matter how many big punches Melissa landed, she kept bringing the pressure. She was able to tire Melissa out with this pressure, which is no easy task. As Melissa tired, the fight started to look a lot closer.
As the decision was about to be read, we felt like she would pull out the decision, but it was too close to be certain. We've certainly had our fair share of close decisions go the other way, so we surely wouldn't be taking anything for granted. As the decision was read, Melissa got the nod in a tough scrap and was named the Masters Women's 132 Pound Champion.
This was our second year going to this tournament, and once again it was a fantastic experience. The results didn't always go the way we might have hoped, but being at such a huge tournament and witnessing such great boxing as well as sportsmanship is truly a sight to behold. Hat's off to all of our competitors who made the trip and gave it their all. They each worked hard to prepare, performed well in their bouts and represented the club well. |
| return to top |
| Day Two - Another Rough One for Us |
8/7/2009 By Marc C. |
With the difficult first day under our belts, we were really hoping that day two would turn out in our favor a little more.
Unfortunately, our tough luck followed us into the new day. Taylor was up first, and he was matched up with an incredibly aggressive kid. He had certainly never seen an opponent with such activity so it certainly threw him off in the early going. The plan going in was to keep punching and moving, but unfortunately, he just couldn't keep this kid off of him. After two difficult rounds to start the contest, Taylor roared back with a very strong third round. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough. After the bout we learned that the opponent was a little more experienced (as we suspected) and had stopped most of his opponents. So the fact that Taylor came back in the third to record his most successful round speaks highly to his determination. Next year when Taylor comes back, he'll be the one carrying the extra experience with him.
Next up was Ben, who was very eager to get back in the ring. Ben has been inactive for several months as we were holding him back to maintain his novice status for this tournament. He was relaxed and ready, and he came out looking to counter punch and use his opponent's aggression against him. The first two rounds were very close as Ben used solid defense and counter punching to frustrate his opponent. With the outcome hanging in the balance, both fighters increased the activity for a frantic final round. At one point Ben landed a great left hook that staggered his opponent into the ropes, but unfortunately, he was unable to land the finishing blow. The action continued to go back and forth throughout the remainder of the round. Unfortunately, Ben came up a little short when the judges' decision was announced. Despite the disappointing outcome, this may well have been Ben's finest performance to date against one of the best opponents he's ever faced.
Hat's off to both Ben and Taylor for their efforts. They both gave it everything they had and represented us well.
In retrospect, it appears that we really did have some bad luck with the draw. Of the 6 opponents we've faced, 4 of them will be fighting in the finals tomorrow. Also, the 6 opponents carry an impressive total record of 16-2 in this tournament. Who knows what could have been with a little different draw.
The finals begin tomorrow, and Amy and Melissa will be closing out the week for us. Both of them have opponents lined up, and both are excited to finally have the chance to compete tomorrow. |
| return to top |
| Tough Times on First Day of Tournament |
8/6/2009 By Marc C. |
The first day of the 2009 Ringside World Championships are behind us, and it was a long, hard first day. The talent levels here are definitely very high just as we expected. Chance was up first for us, and he was the first of many to run into a tough opponent. I didn't get a chance to talk the other kid's coach to find out for sure, but it was pretty clear that he had been at it a while. The first round was very close, and Chance was doing well. In the second round, his opponent picked it up a little bit with a better round. In the third and final round, Chance tried his best to pick up the pace and throw more combinations, however, his opponent did a great job in continuing to move and keep Chance off balance. In the end, Chance lost a by decision.
In the evening session, James ran into one tough and strong Canadian. James' opponent came out strong from the opening bell and was able to disrupt James right away. He basically just overwhelmed him with is relentless attack and strength. I really think that if James could have slowed the pace down and gotten settled in, he could have certainly hung in there with this guy. Unfortunately, he was just never able to get on track.
Brad was up next, and once again, he found himself in the ring with a fighter very similar to himself only taller. In sparring, Brad is typically the taller guy, and yet, every fight he's had, he's been the shorter fighter...go figure. This fight was about as close as you could ask for with lots of good technical skill on display. Both fighters moved well, showed good defense and threw combinations. Brad did a great job of mixing in thumping body shots and hard shots to the head. It was a very close fight from start to finish, but unfortunately, Brad came up just a little short.
In all of these bouts, our fighters were on the short end of the novice experience scale as each of them had 3 fights or less. Their opponents meanwhile, were much closer to the novice limit of 10 fights. I look forward to bringing these guys back next year when they'll be on the more experienced end. While yesterday was a tough day for them, it will certainly serve them well for the next time.
In our final bout of the evening, Tom stepped into the ring looking to turn our fortunes around. Tom was fighting in the super heavyweight division, and he was definitely on the small end. He ended up paired with a mountain of a man who was about 4 inches taller and roughly 40 pounds heavier. In the early going, Tom did a fantastic job of controlling the space and distance with his speed and footwork. Unfortunately, once his opponent was able to lean on him a bit, it didn't take long to zap Tom of all his energy. As he felt himself tiring, Tom made a valiant effort to try to take his opponent out. However, he was just far too big and strong and Tom couldn't make a dent. Tom got caught and rocked with a few shots, and the ref stopped the bout. It was more exhaustion than anything, but once exhaustion set in and Tom's movement stopped, there was just no reason to take any more punches from this giant.
On one other note, Ben won yesterday by walkover as his opponent failed to make weight. All of our guys worked hard and fought well. I'm certainly proud of all of them.
On day 2, Taylor will be fighting in the AM session while Ben fights in the PM session. Let's hope day 2 goes a little better. |
| return to top |
| We're in KC and Ready for the Ringside World Championships |
8/4/2009 By Marc C. |
Our group is all checked in and we're ready to go for this tournament. Last year there were 1400 participants in this tournament, and it looks to be just as big this year. We brought 8 boxers with us this year, and all of them are hoping to bring home a belt. Last year, we had a couple of runners up but no champions. Let's hope this year we can bring home a couple titles.
Participating in the tournament for us this year are Taylor Fawcett, Chance Posey, Amy Dennis, Ben Kirchner, Brad Steinmeyer, James Fawcett, Melissa Petry and Tom Zapata. They've all worked hard and are ready to go. Best of luck to all of them.
As luck would have it, I do have internet access here at the hotel, so I hope to post updates each night. |
| return to top |
| No Training Tuesday, 8/4 Through Saturday, 8/8 |
7/29/2009 By Marc C. |
| There will be no training the week of 8/3 as almost all of our boxers will be in Kansas City that week for the Ringside World Championships. Normal training will resume on Tuesday, 8/11. |
| return to top |
| St. Peters Boxing Club Finally Has a New Home! |
7/22/2009 By Marc C. |
| It's been a long hard road, but St. Peters Boxing Club finally has a place to call home. We are now located inside Domain MMA Training Center at 3899 Veterans Memorial Pkwy in St. Peters (right at I-70 & Cave Springs next to Red Wing Shoes). We've had lots of ups and downs in this process, but we couldn't be happier. Updated training times and other details will be posted to the site soon. To all who once trained with us at The Boxing Gym in St. Peters, we hope you decide to join us at our new home. And to anyone else who is interested in the strength, conditioning, discipline and confidence that boxing has to offer, please stop in and check us out. |
| return to top |
| St. Peters Boxers Go 1-1 in Collinsville |
4/28/2009 By Marc C. |
Last Saturday night, two of our boxers were back in action in Collinsville, IL. Amy Dennis was first up for us, and her opponent who was from near Collinsville had a sizable and boisterous crowd with her. She came out amped up and put a lot of pressure on Amy which left her a little confused in the early going. She was strong, tough and active. Amy was a little bewildered through most of the first round, but she eventually settled in and started landing the better shots. Once Amy started landing some good right hands and left hooks, her opponent's pace slowed considerably. Both ladies left it all in the ring in a great display of heart and skill. Upon the conclusion of the fight, we felt like Amy had done enough to overcome the shaky first round, but we knew it would be close. As the decision was announced, it was Amy's opponent who got the nod on a split decision. It was a great fight, and hopefully we can set up a rematch at some point.
James Fawcett was up next as he looked to get us back on track. James was matched up with a fast and elusive southpaw, so he knew he had his work cut out for him. He took his time while focusing on footwork and distance to put him in a good position to land punches. There were a few exchanges in the early going, but after about a minute in, his opponent started running. And he kept running through the second round. And throughout the third round, he ran some more. James was frustrated throughout because no matter what he tried in order to cut off the ring, his opponent continued to find a way to slip away from trouble. Upon the conclusion of the fight, we weren't sure what to expect from the decision. James was certainly far more aggressive, but we weren't sure if he had managed to land enough punches to get the win. In the end, James was awarded the victory in a split decision.
So overall, we won a close decision and we lost a close decision. Both fights could have gone either way, but both James and Amy gave it everything they had. And as usual, they both represented our program well and made us proud. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Tomorrow Night, 4/25 |
4/24/2009 By Marc C. |
There is an amateur fight show taking place tomorrow night, Saturday, 4/25 at the Fireman's Hall in Collinsville, IL (9510 Collinsville Rd, Collinsville, IL) at 7:00 PM.
Amy Dennis, James Fawcett and Tom Zapata are all scheduled to be on the show. All have been working hard and are eager to get back in action.
Tickets are available at the door for $20 and $25. All fighters will receive a $5 discount. |
| return to top |
| St. Peters Boxers Go 2-1 in Friday's Show |
4/14/2009 By Marc C. |
It was another good showing for our team last Friday as we got two wins against one defeat. Chance Posey started off the night for us, and he was excited to enter the ring for the first time. Chance and his opponent stood toe to toe for nearly the entire fight and produced a lot of exciting back and forth action. In the end, Chance lost by decision. He fought his heart out, but he came up a little short.
James Fawcett was next up, and he was excited to have someone right handed and his own size this time. On the last show, James gave up height and weight to his southpaw opponent. This time out, with none of those factors working against him, James had a solid showing. His opponent was inexperienced and wild, but James was able to maintain his composure and land the cleaner more effective punches. In the end, James won with a convincing decision.
In our final bout of the evening, Brad Steinmeyer looked to get his first win. In Brad's two previous bouts, he's given up height and experience. This time would be no different as he had a rematch with his first opponent. In my opinion, this was the best fight of the evening. Both boxers displayed a lot of technical skill, and the momentum went back and forth throughout the match. By the end of the second round, I thought Brad was taking control. But in the third round, his opponent roared back and the momentum swung back in his direction. In the end, Brad's hand was raised for his first victory. It was a great fight, and the decision could have gone either way.
All three of these guys fought hard and represented our team well. They made us proud as always. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show this Friday, 4/10 |
4/7/2009 By Marc C. |
There is an amateur fight show taking place on Friday, April 10th at Oasis Banquet Center near High Ridge, MO (3033 High Ridge Blvd, High Ridge, MO 63049) at 7:00 PM. After getting squeezed out by a last minute cancellation on the last show, Chance Posey is eager to get in the ring for his first bout. He is matched up against the kid that Taylor fought on the last show in High Ridge. Also on the show is Brad Steinmeyer who will is back in action for the first time since Golden Gloves in January. Both have a great shot at victory this week.
Tickets are available at the door for $20 for adults and $10 for students. Please be sure to come out and support your teammates. |
| return to top |
| A Clean Sweep...Team Goes 4-0! |
2/28/2009 By Marc C. |
Last night in High Ridge, four of our boxers participated in a show to help support the Realm Boxing Club, and the St. Peters Boxing Gym members didn't disappoint. Three of our fighters, Taylor and James Fawcett and Melissa Petry, made their debut last night, and all three of them walked away victorious. Amy Dennis had her second bout, and she was victorious as well. The only dark spot on the night for us was the fact that Chance Posey's opponent was a last minute cancellation. Chance was really looking forward to his first fight, so he was naturally very disappointed.
Taylor was up first, and he got us started on the right foot. Right from the opening bell, he established control behind quick combinations and movement. He scored a standing 8 count in the first round and was completely in control through the second round as well. His opponent looked as though he was ready for the fight to end as the second round closed. Well, he must have gotten quite a pep talk in the corner, because he came out in the third round and fought hard to try to steal the victory. He caught Taylor with some good shots and was starting to turn the tide, but Taylor finished strong to hold on for the win on points.
Next up was Melissa, who was also making her first foray into competition. She had an opponent who was taller, heavier and left handed...three things Melissa had never had to deal with. This gave her a lot to think about going into the fight, and it made it a little harder for her to relax and do her thing. She was able to score frequently to the body, and she followed those up with a lot of good shots to the head. With the fight close going into the third round, both ladies pushed hard to try to steal the victory. After some heated exchanges in the final round, Melissa's hand was raised after the hard fought win.
As the veteran of last night's crew, Amy looked to keep the good times rolling. This was Amy's second bout after her great performance at Golden Gloves last month. She was not originally scheduled to fight on the show, however, I got a call early the morning of the show asking if she was available. Despite operating on about 2 hours of sleep and having to work that evening, Amy jumped at the opportunity and rearranged her work schedule so she'd be available to fight. Much like in her first fight, her opponent tried to aggressively come after Amy from the opening bell. And much like in her first fight, her opponent was met with jabs, quick combinations and swift footwork for her efforts. Amy controlled the action and landed more punches in each of the short rounds (we're not sure why, but her rounds were only one minute). At any rate, Amy put in another impressive performance and was victorious again.
Finally, James entered the ring looking to close the show with another victory for the team. This was James' first bout as well, and much like Melissa, he faced a taller, heavier and left handed opponent. This was entirely new territory for him as well. In the early going, James did a great job of circling left and keeping his lead foot outside his opponent's lead foot. This put him at a good angle to land some good right hands. He was able to back his opponent into the corner several times in the first round where he was able to land some good shots. In the second round, he looked to do much the same...back his opponent into a corner and land good shots. This strategy was working well until one extended exchange left him exhausted. In the third round, with fatigue taking it's toll, James made a mistake with his footwork and found himself inside his opponent's stance. His opponent took advantage of the mistake by landing a hard left hand right on the button that left James rocked. He was able to land enough punches in the ensuing exchange to give him a little breathing room to recover, but this was a turning point in the fight. We knew it was going to be a close decision, but in the end, the judges scored it in James' favor and his hand was raised.
In all, it was a great night for the team. All four of the fighters represented the team well, and we're proud of all of them. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show this Friday, 2/27 |
2/24/2009 By Marc C. |
There is an amateur fight show taking place on Friday, February 27th at Oasis Banquet Center near High Ridge, MO (3033 High Ridge Blvd, High Ridge, MO 63049) at 7:00 PM. The father-son combo of James and Taylor Fawcett will be having their first fights, and Melissa Petry and Chance Posey are scheduled for their first fights as well. We're still hoping to get Tom and Amy on the show as well, but for now, those are our four.
Tickets are available at the door for $20 for adults and $10 for students. |
| return to top |
| Gym Closing; Team Looking for New Home |
2/13/2009 By Marc C. |
Unfortunately, due to poor economic conditions, The Boxing Gym St. Peters will be closing its doors for good by the end of February. The ownership and staff tried their best to hold off as long as possible, however, with a much lighter than expected January, it's inevitable that the gym will have to close.
Mark and I are working diligently to find a new home for our boxing program, and we're confident that we'll find a good fit that will allow us to continue our training. We have plenty of reason to be optimistic, so try to put your concerns behind you and keep focusing on training.
I can't stress enough how much I appreciate all of Mark's support, both with our program since its inception, and also in our quest to find a new training spot. So be sure to thank him when you see him. He's always given us the resources we need, and once we find our new home, it will be largely due to his efforts. |
| return to top |
| Amy Dennis, 2009 Novice Golden Gloves Champion |
1/25/2009 By Marc C. |
As the 2009 Novice Golden Gloves Finals rolled around on Friday night, Amy was fired up to have her first match. She's been training hard for several months and patiently waiting while we attempted to find her an opponent. We found her an opponent, and Amy happily took the fight a weight class above her natural weight.
As Amy entered the ring and was announced to the crowd, it was clear that she had brought half of St. Charles County along to cheer for her as she got one of the loudest ovations of the evening. Amy boxed beautifully throughout the bout behind an excellent jab. She did a fantastic job of punching and moving and keeping her opponent off balance. She found herself in a little trouble on the ropes a couple of times, but she was able to move the fight back to the open ring each time. Every time her opponent moved in close enough to strike, Amy caught her with a quick combination and moved before her opponent could counter. Her opponent showed a lot of determination throughout the fight as she continued to try to force Amy to the ropes. In short, it was a great clash of two completely opposite styles. Upon the conclusion of the bout, Amy's vast cheering section erupted as she was announced as the Golden Gloves Champion.
Ben Kirchner and Dustin Beardsley each fell just short in their bids to join Amy in the winner's circle.
Ben was up next, and he was looking to win the tournament for the second straight year. Ben entered the ring relaxed and confident and started the bout looking sharp. After a close first round, Ben came back to the corner confident that the momentum would turn farther in his favor as the fight went on. As the second round started, it appeared that the momentum was indeed swinging his way. He was punching and moving and generally frustrating his opponent. And then the game changer happened. As Ben was finishing up a flurry, he got caught with his hands down and ate a hard right hand flush on the button. As he tried to recover from being rocked, his opponent landed a couple more flush shots that resulted in a standing eight count. In the third and final round, both fighters stood toe to toe and exchanged punches for almost the entire two minutes. It was a close and exciting fight that could have gone either way, but unfortunately, Ben was not awarded the decision.
In our final bout of the evening, Dustin entered the ring looking to swing our fortunes back in a positive direction. He was fighting a tough, strong opponent, so he knew he would need to box and move. Dustin did an excellent job of frustrating his opponent with his quick hands and feet. Each time his opponent got too close, Dustin wisely tied him up. Unfortunately, this led to some warnings from the referee. The second round went much like the first, but Dustin had a point taken away for excessive holding. As the bout went on, Dustin's opponent was clearly becoming frustrated at his inability to trap Dustin along the ropes or in a corner. His solution was to start grabbing Dustin and forcing him to the ropes. Somehow, this escaped the attention of the referee. Instead of warning the opponent for this illegal technique, the referee waited for Dustin to hold one more time and took another point away from him. As Dustin's opponent continued to try to muscle him to the ropes, he received no warnings. With about 30 seconds remaining in the bout, Dustin was disqualified for excessive holding. There's no doubt that Dustin was doing some holding, but how his opponent could continually grab him and try to force him to the ropes without ever being warned is simply astounding. And with so little time remaining in the bout, it's a shame that the fight couldn't go to the judge's decision. Maybe Dustin still would have lost...who knows? But the way it went down taints it for the other guy as well...he didn't want to win that way any more than we wanted to lose that way.
In all, we're very proud of all our fighters from this year's tournament. Amy, Ben, Dustin and Brad all fought well in victory and defeat and represented the gym well. We look forward to the continued progression of each of them. |
| return to top |
| Dustin Beardsley Wins, Joins Amy Dennis and Ben Kirchner in Finals |
1/19/2009 By Marc C. |
Dustin Beardsley was back in action on Friday looking to become the third member of our team to make it to the finals. This was his first time in the boxing ring since last April, but we were confident that he'd be able to knock off the ring rust and come home with a win. From the very beginning, it was clear that he would be able to cruise to victory. His opponent was an inexperienced MMA fighter with no boxing background. He was game and tried to find a way to win until the end, but he was simply over matched against a far more experienced boxer. Dustin tried in vain to land the big shot that would give him the KO, but in the end, he settled for a very convincing decision.
So now Dustin joins Amy and Ben in the finals which will take place on Friday, January 23rd at Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. The doors once again will open at 6:30 with fights starting at 7:30. Tickets are available at the door and are priced at $20, $15 and $10 for first, second and third row tables respectively.
Please be sure to come out and show your support for our boxers as they look to bring home three championships from this year's tournament. |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves - Night 1 Recap |
1/16/2009 By Marc C. |
The 2009 Novice Golden Gloves tournament got under way last night, and we were scheduled to have three fighters in action.
Ben Kirchner got the night started for us, and he didn't disappoint. We didn't know much about his opponent, but just as we expected, he was tough and had some pop in his punches. Ben's focus was to come out relaxed and take his time, but his opponent pushed the pace from the outset. As anyone who knows Ben can attest, if that's going to be your strategy, you better be in fantastic shape because Ben will be as fresh and strong in the third round as he was in the first. Ben moved well throughout the first round and picked good opportunities to use his opponent's aggression against him. All in all, it was the best first round I've seen from him. The second round picked up right where the first left off with Ben using his opponent's aggression against him and landing great shots. But just as Ben was getting into his groove, the bell rang just one minute into the round. I guess time keepers make mistakes, too, but we had a good laugh about it between rounds. True to form, the third round is when Ben went into full destruction mode. Three standing 8 counts later, the fight was stopped. Hat's off to Ben for his best fight to date which propelled him into next week's finals.
Brad was next in the ring for us, and as luck would have it, he was in the ring with a taller opponent once again. Brad is used to being a pretty tall 165 pounder, so he's accustomed to boxing and moving. Being stuck with a taller opponent puts him into the opposite mode, and it's just something he hasn't had enough of a chance to practice. To top it off, his opponent was far more experienced as well. But we can't control those things, and all Brad could do was go out there and show that he's learned a thing or two since his first fight. And that's exactly what he did. Brad was far more patient this time around as he stayed outside slipping punches before picking his opportunities to get inside with a quick flurry. He did an excellent job of mixing up punches to the body and the head. Brad did his best to cut off the ring and put his opponent in tight spaces, but his opponent was a little too savvy with good footwork that allowed him to spin off the ropes and get out of trouble time after time. In the end, Brad lost by decision. In all, we were very proud of Brad's effort and improvement.
Dustin was scheduled to be the final fight of the night, however, his opponent withdrew at the last minute. Therefore, Dustin won by walk over to advance to tonight's semi-final round. His opponent for tonight was in the same boat as he won by walk over last night as well. So both of them should be rested and ready to go tonight. We don't know much about tonight's opponent other than the fact that Dustin has a significant height and reach advantage. With his elusiveness, footwork, hand speed and power, we're confident that Dustin will be able to box his way to the finals tonight.
So we now have two boxers, Ben Kirchner and Amy Dennis, in next week's finals. With a win tonight, Dustin will join them. Thanks to everyone that came out in support last night. We hope to see all of you again tonight. Doors open at 6:30 and the fights start at 7:30. Tickets are $10 at the door. |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves Brackets Set |
1/13/2009 By Marc C. |
The brackets are set, and The Boxing Gym St. Peters will be sending four boxers to this year's tournament.
Amy Dennis (125 pounds) has one other girl in her bracket so she'll advance directly to the finals next week. Amy's been working hard for the last few months in anticipation of having her first official bout, and we've finally found one for her. She's in good shape, moves well, and we think she has an excellent chance of bringing home a championship.
Ben Kirchner (132 pounds) is in a bracket of four boxers. He will be in action this Thursday night, and a win will send him to the finals. We don't know anything about Ben's first opponent, but it's a safe bet to say that he hasn't worked as hard as Ben. If Ben is at his best, he has an excellent shot to make it to the finals and win the tournament.
Brad Steinmeyer (165 pounds) is in a bracket of seven boxers, and he'll need to win two fights this week to make it to next week's finals. Brad's first fight will be this Thursday, and if he wins, he'll be back in action on Friday night. This will be Brad's first time in the ring since a close decision loss in November. He's been looking very sharp in sparring the last couple of weeks and looks poised to make a good run.
Dustin Beardsley (201 pounds) is in an eight man bracket, so he'll also need to win two fights this week to make it to next week's finals. Dustin has been focusing more on MMA in recent months, so this will be his first time back in the boxing ring since last April. Dustin possesses great power, hand speed, elusiveness and movement, and he has an excellent chance to win the tournament this year.
In all, we're pretty optimistic and think we've got a great chance to bring home multiple championships in this year's trip to the tournament.
For those that want to come out and show your support, the fights are at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S 7th St, St. Louis, MO) on Thursday 1/15 and Friday 1/16. Doors open at 6:30 with the fights starting at 7:30 both nights. Tickets are $10 each and available at the door.
Best of luck to Amy, Ben, Brad and Dustin! |
| return to top |
| 2009 Novice Golden Gloves Information |
1/6/2009 By Marc C. |
The annual Golden Gloves tournament for Novice and Senior Novice fighters will take place over the next two weeks. This tournament is for fighters with ten or fewer fights aged 17-20 (Novice) and 21-34 (Senior Novice).
The preliminary bouts will take place on Thursday, January 15th and Friday, January 16th at South Broadway Athletic Club. The tournament finals will take place on Friday, January 23rd at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Doors open at 6:30 and bouts start at 7:30 for all events.
Weigh-ins for the preliminary rounds take place on Sunday, January 11th from 10:00 to noon, and weigh-ins for the finals will take place on Thursday, January 22nd. We will meet at the gym at 9:30 on Sunday to head down for the weigh-ins.
For those that are not participating in the tournament, please be sure to come out and support your teammates. |
| return to top |
| Ben Kirchner Wins, Rashad Webster Loses by a Hair (Literally) |
12/6/2008 By Marc C. |
Ben and Rashad were both back in action on Thursday night at the South Broadway Athletic Club benefit show. Rashad started the night off for us, and he looked great from the opening bell. He used his hand speed and elusiveness en route to a dominating first round. And contrary to his previous fight, he came back to the corner after the first round showing no signs of fatigue. As the second round started, Rashad went right back to what was working so well in the first round. He was well on his way to another convincing round.
That's when things got strange. After he and his opponent got tied up and the referee broke them up, he leaned over and told the referee that he had something in his eye. She called time and brought him over to the corner to take care of it. At that point, he said he couldn't see out of one eye. The referee confirmed that she heard what she thought she heard, and when he repeated that he couldn't see out of one eye, she stopped the fight. Within seconds of the stoppage, we had the eye flushed out and he was ready to go. It was a tough break, and Rashad was obviously upset by the turn of events. One of the referee's main jobs is to look after the safety of the boxers, so once she confirmed that he couldn't see, she had no choice but to stop the fight.
After a long break for the benefit auction, the action got back under way. Ben was eager to get things under way. He came out looking to feel out his opponent and counter, but it appeared that his opponent had the same game plan. Anyone that knows Ben knows that he's not going to sit around long waiting for his opponent to push the pace. So when his opponent sat back, Ben started coming forward. After a close first round, Ben came out with a more impressive second round. He started to read his opponent's punches better and started throwing better punches of his own. It was clear by the end of the second round that the momentum was clearly in his favor. As the bell sounded to open the final round, Ben was determined to seal the deal with a strong finish. Ben has more left in the tank in the third round than many fighters have in the first round, so this was bad news for his opponent. Ben pushed the pace with relentless combinations to start the round, and 43 seconds in, the referee called a halt to the contest. No one works harder to get ready than Ben, and it showed in this fight as he got stronger and stronger as the fight went on. Congrats to Ben on a great victory. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show Details for Thursday, 12/4 |
11/30/2008 By Marc C. |
| We now have more information about the upcoming fight show on Thursday, 12/4. We were able to get one more match up, so Rashad Webster will be joining Ben Kirchner on the show. The show is at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S 7th St, St. Louis, MO), and the first bout will take place at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available at the door for $20 each. Please be sure to come out and support our boxers. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show December 4 at South Broadway Athletic Club |
11/28/2008 By Marc C. |
| There is an amateur fight show taking place on Thursday, December 4th at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S 7th St, St. Louis, MO). Ben Kirchner is scheduled to make his return to the ring, and we're still attempting to get Rashad Webster placed on the show as well. Tickets are $20 each and available at the door. Be sure to come out and support the team and enjoy a fun night of amateur boxing. |
| return to top |
| 11/22 Fight Show Canceled |
11/12/2008 By Marc C. |
Despite our efforts to rally and sell some tickets for the upcoming fight show, it has unfortunately been canceled. Jim Howell is hoping to put together a replacement show some time in December. We'll have more details on that as they become available.
On future shows, let's all try to be proactive about selling tickets so we don't find ourselves in this situation again. Everybody keep working hard and be ready for the show in December. |
| return to top |
| Rashad Webster and Brad Steinmeyer Make Their Debuts |
11/11/2008 By Marc C. |
Rashad and Brad each had their first bouts last week at the Frost Electric Fight Night at the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles. Both of them had worked hard and were eager to see what they could do in their first official bout.
Rashad was up first, and although he didn't tell many of his co-workers at the casino about his upcoming fight, the word spread. By the time he was due up to fight, quite a few of his co-workers were there to cheer him on. And he didn't disappoint them. Rashad fought a smart fight, pressuring at times while sitting back and counter punching at other times. He tired out a bit in the final round and allowed his opponent to push back and make it close, but in the end, he was able to hold on for a decision victory. His elusiveness and hand speed made the difference for him.
Next up was Brad, the happy go lucky guy with the permanent smile on his face. But don't be fooled by his demeanor - Brad's a tough kid with a good chin and heavy hands. Brad came into his match looking to press the pace against his taller opponent and cut off the ring. This was a little different approach than Brad is used to as he's accustomed to sparring shorter guys, but he was up to the task. Brad fought hard and showed a ton of heart. He landed a lot of big shots, but he tired and slowed down in the final round. It was a close fight, but in the end, the judges felt that his opponent had landed more punches. Regardless of the outcome, Brad fought hard and made us proud.
We're proud of the effort both Rashad and Brad put forth. Congratulations are in order for both of them. |
| return to top |
| Offsite Sparring Planned for Saturday, 10/18 |
10/13/2008 By Marc C. |
| There will be no early sparring on Saturday, 10/18. Instead, plan on arriving by 10:00 AM for conditioning and team drills. We will plan to leave to spar at another gym (probably North County) at about 11:30 AM. |
| return to top |
| No Sparring Tuesday, 9/17 |
9/12/2008 By Marc C. |
| There will be no sparring on Tuesday, 9/17. Team training will take place as scheduled from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. |
| return to top |
| Ben Kirchner Gets Back on the Right Track |
8/18/2008 By Marc C. |
Ben was back in action and looking to get back on track at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center on Thursday, 8/14. Ben was unhappy with his showing at the Ringside tournament, and he was anxious to get back in the ring. We originally thought we would have as many as three boxers on the card, but in the end only Ben had a bout.
From the start, it was clear that Ben was a little more relaxed and comfortable than he had been in his previous bouts. He maintained his composure and looked for openings. As each round progressed, Ben picked up the pace a little more, and by the end, we were pretty certain that he had comfortably out pointed his opponent. As the judges' decision was read, our suspicions were verified as Ben was announced as the winner. Congrats to Ben for a hard fought victory. |
| return to top |
| Ethan Nolan and Matt Dickson Each Place 2nd at Ringside World Championships |
8/11/2008 By Marc C. |
Last week, four of our boxers made the trip to Kansas City to compete in the Ringside World Championships. This is the largest amateur boxing tournament in the country which this year included 1,400 participants. Ethan Nolan (152 pound 15-16 year old novice division), Matt Dickson (201+ pound Masters division), Ben Kirchner (132 pound 17-34 year old novice division) and Danny Boruff (80 pound 13-14 year old novice division) each made the trip and competed in the tournament.
Ethan started off the tournament on the right foot for us with a decisive victory on Wednesday afternoon. Working behind a stiff jab and great foot work, Ethan out pointed his first opponent with ease. By the end of the first round, his opponent was frustrated at his inability to get close enough to land a good shot. He started the third and final round by trying to brawl and bully Ethan, but it didn't take long for Ethan to regain his distance and resume peppering away with his jab. In the end, he won a clear cut decision with none of the rounds being close.
On Wednesday evening, Ben stepped into the ring looking to keep the good times rolling. Unfortunately, he ran into a very talented opponent that got the better of him. Ben entered the bout looking to use his superior conditioning and constant pressure to outlast his foe, however, it wasn't to be on this evening. Of all of the novice brackets, I'd have to say that Ben's was one of the deepest. And considering the talent levels throughout the tournament, that's saying something. Ben looks to get back on track this Thursday 8/14 in a bout at Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center.
As the semi final round rolled around on Friday, Danny, Ethan and Matt were all scheduled to fight. Danny started off the semi final round with a tough decision loss. After a too close first round, Danny came out in the second round with the best 90 seconds of boxing any of us have ever seen from him. Heading into the third round, Danny had a slight lead. The action in the final round was furious, and his opponent was able to seal the victory with an action packed finish.
Ethan was up next with his second bout of the tournament. This bout started off much like the first, with Ethan establishing command behind his jab and movement. The difference this time was that his opponent's spirit would not be broken. For three rounds, his opponent tried in vain to get close enough to land meaningful punches, and he ran into a lot of jabs and right hands for his efforts. As with his first fight, Ethan dominated every round of action. By this point in the tournament, he had easily won six consecutive rounds.
Our final semi final boxer of the evening was Matt. Matt was competing in the Masters division (boxers over 35 years of age), and the masters boxers were treated like rock stars. None of our boxers was offered "Good Luck!" more than Matt, and the same was true of all of the masters boxers. Matt's matchup was a classic boxer vs brawler with Matt doing the boxing while his opponent tried to brawl. Matt used his jab and footwork to keep his opponent away for most of the fight and was able to score a decision victory to move on to the finals.
Finally, Saturday's finals rolled around. Given the incredible talent all around us at the tournament, we were very pleased and excited to have two boxers still in the tournament and ready to compete for belts. This time Matt fought first, and once again, he had a classic boxer vs brawler matchup. Once again, Matt tried to work behind his jab and movement. At times, he out boxed him and won portions of the bout easily. Unfortunately, this opponent was able to force more brawling moments than boxing moments. Matt lost on a close decision and had to settle for being runner up for a second consecutive year.
Given that Ethan started off the tournament with a bang for us, it was only fitting that he would close it for us as well. This time, though, he ran into a little problem....his opponent was a southpaw! And a far more experienced one at that. Given that Ethan has had very little chance to train against any lefties, the new look left him frustrated. His opponent would occassionally switch to a conventional stance at which point Ethan would promptly start picking him apart, but he was savvy enough to know not to stay in that stance for long. In the end, Ethan dropped a close decision.
Regardless of the results, all of our boxers are to be congratulated. Each and every one of them displayed skill, determination, grit, toughness and class. They also all busted their butts getting prepared for this tournament in recent months. Be sure to congratulate each and every one of them when you see them at the gym. |
| return to top |
| New Policy - No Street Shoes in the Ring |
7/31/2008 By Marc C. |
For anyone who didn't receive the word on Tuesday, the gym has a new policy regarding the boxing ring. The room where our ring is housed will be the primary grappling area for the MMA team, and in an effort to keep the mats clean in that room, no street shoes will be allowed.
It is preferred that all boxers get boxing specific shoes to wear only in the gym. Boxing shoes or wrestling shoes are the best options. If that is not possible, you will be required to remove your shoes before entering that room.
Also, the MMA team is accommodating us on Tuesday nights by holding their grappling out on the main floor so that we can have use of the ring for the entire evening. Please be respectful and avoid walking on their side of the floor once they get the mats mopped and ready for grappling. |
| return to top |
| No Sparring This Saturday, 6/28 |
6/26/2008 By Marc C. |
| There will be no sparring this Saturday, 6/28. Team training will still take place as scheduled from 12:30 - 2:30. |
| return to top |
| A Strange Weekend at the Ozark Tournament |
6/9/2008 By Marc C. |
Our team entered four boxers in this past weekend's tournament, however, only one, Ethan Nolan, ended up having a bout. Due to sporadic participation overall in the tournament, Danny Boruff, Cody Sparks and Dave Smock were all left without opponents in their respective divisions. Dave was named the unopposed champion in his division, however, the other two were not for some reason. This was Ozark's first attempt at putting on this tournament, and there was a lot of confusion, so I suppose we can chalk up that inconsistency to all of the confusion.
Technically, Ethan did not have any opponents in his division either. However, he was moved up to the adult age bracket and given a first round bye. The tournament took place outdoors, and the second day of the tournament took place in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day. The confusion from Friday night had spilled into Saturday, as Ethan, who was scheduled to be the fourth bout, suddenly became the first bout. As a result, he didn't get a chance to get to get properly warmed up as he expected that there would be three more bouts before his. But his opponent, Mark A. Smith III of Team St. Louis Boxing, had to deal with the same heat and confusion, so there's really no complaint.
Ethan started the bout more aggressive than his first fight in April and was doing a great job using his reach. His defense looked great, and he landed a lot of clean shots without taking very many. In the end, however, he lost in a close decision. In talking with his opponent after the fight, we learned that while he was limited in experience in official bouts, he has been in the gym training and sparring for 10 years. So despite giving up age and a lot of experience, Ethan came very close to pulling out the victory. He fought well and made us proud...what more could we ask for?
One last note - the team trophy went to North County Athletic Association. We did all of our sparring as a team there before we got our own ring, and they're a great group. So congrats to them for their success in the tournament. |
| return to top |
| Updated Training Schedule |
6/6/2008 By Marc C. |
Great news! Additional formal training times have been added for the boxing team. Effective Monday, 6/9, the team training schedule will be as follows:
Monday
6:40 PM - 7:40 PM: Team Training
Tuesday
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Sparring
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Team Training
Wednesday
6:40 PM - 7:40 PM: Team Training
Thursday
6:40 PM - 7:40 PM: "Fight Fit" Conditioning Class
Saturday
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Sparring
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM: Team Training
This information is also outlined on the "Training Schedule" page. Printed schedules are also available at the gym. |
| return to top |
| No Training This Saturday, 6/7 |
6/3/2008 By Marc C. |
| Due to the Ozark Midwest Tournament of Champions this weekend, there will be no formal training session on Saturday, 6/7. Please be sure to come out to the tournament and support your teammates! |
| return to top |
| Boxing Tournament this Weekend - Come Support Our Boxers! |
6/2/2008 By Marc C. |
This Friday and Saturday, 6/6 and 6/7, Jack’s Iron Horse Bar & Grill (12950 St. Charles Rock Rd., Bridgeton, MO) plays host to the Ozark 2008 Midwest Tournament of Champions. Our team will be sending 6 boxers to this tournament, half of which will be competing in their first official bout.
Tickets are $10, $15 and $35 and can be purchased at the gym or by calling the gym at 636-978-1108. Tickets should also be available at the door. Boxing begins at 7:30 on Friday evening and at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon. Come on out for a fun weekend of amateur boxing and show your support to our fighters! |
| return to top |
| Reminder: Extra Sparring Session Thursday, 5/29 |
5/28/2008 By Marc C. |
| An extra sparring session is scheduled for this Thursday, 5/29, from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Please be ready to start at 5:30 to ensure that we can get through everyone that needs to spar in this limited time. |
| return to top |
| Modified Schedule and Extra Sparring Sessions Coming Up |
5/16/2008 By Marc C. |
Greetings all. I need to update the training time for the next two Saturdays (5/24 and 5/31). Please note that the training time for 5/24 and 5/31 will be from 9:00 am to 11:30 am. All other Saturdays will be at the normal time of 11:30 am to 2:00 pm unless otherwise noted.
Also, we're going to offer some extra sparring sessions on select Thursdays going forward. These sparring sessions will be from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm leading up to the new Fight Fit class. The upcoming Thursdays that this extra sparring session will be offered are 5/29 and 6/19. |
| return to top |
| The Ring is In!!! New Sparring Time on Tuesdays |
5/5/2008 By Marc C. |
| Fantastic news everyone....our ring has arrived and is ready for use! What does this mean? Well, for starters it means no more meeting at the gym at 4:45 so that we can travel to spar on Tuesdays. Effective immediately, all boxers who are eligible to spar should be at the gym and ready at 6:00 PM. For those who are not yet eligible to spar, the schedule remains the same. |
| return to top |
| Info on Upcoming Tournament |
4/18/2008 By Marc C. |
What: Ozark 2008 Midwest Tournament of Champions
Open tournament. All ages and weight divisions including juniors, novice and open.
When:
Friday June 6th 7:30pm
&
Saturday June 7th 2:00pm
Where:
Jack’s Iron Horse Bar & Grill
12950 St. Charles Rock Rd.
Bridgeton, MO
314-209-1280
Additional Info:
Weigh-ins June 6th from 1pm to 3pm at Jack’s
Physicals Friday June 6th 6pm and Sat 7th at Jack's
Fax Roster to Julia Neisz by May 16th,
Fax number (call first) 314-892-7609
All participants must be clean shaven to compete. |
| return to top |
| A Good Night for the Team! |
4/15/2008 By Marc C. |
Our team had a good night on Friday with two wins and one loss. Ethan Nolan started off the night for our team with his first fight. For those who don't know Ethan, he's very tall for his weight class. And more importantly, he really knows how to use his reach well. Of course, darn the luck, they found an opponent, Melvin Jackson of North County Athletic Association, who was even taller than him! And to make matters just a little tougher for him, this was also his first time in the ring with a southpaw. Ethan maintained his composure and fought well, however, he came up a little short when it was time for the decision.
Our next fighter to enter the ring was Zach Freeman who was also making his debut in the ring. Zach came out like a tornado and was throwing bombs, but his opponent, Mike Shimono of Hammack Brothers Boxing, was able to weather the storm. Zach nearly punched himself out with the frantic first round, but he was able to gut it out and continue to land big shots in the remaining two rounds. A lot of the shots he landed would have put a lesser man down, but Mike showed a ton of heart and continued to fight until the final bell. Zach won by unanimous decision.
Our final fighter of the night was Dustin Beardsley. Dustin was coming off a couple of decision losses with the last one being the most controversial. So he was determined to be as convincing as possible in this fight. Dustin's opponent was Jason Stumpf of Hammack Brothers Boxing, and he fought a similar style to Dustin's. Both fighters have solid defense and good counter punching. However, Dustin, with his hands a little faster, his defense a little tighter and punches a little stronger, was able to control most of the fight. Dustin won by unanimous decision to cap off a good night. |
| return to top |
| Fight Show this Friday - Come Support Our Boxers! |
4/7/2008 By Marc C. |
There is a fight show scheduled this Friday, Aprill 11th, and we have three confirmed bouts on the card. Dustin Beardsley looks to get back to his winning ways after a controversial decision loss in his last bout. Ethan Nolan and Zach Freeman will be making their debut appearances. And finally, we're still hopeful that we can find a matchup so that Donna Mattison can have her first bout as well. So please come out and support our boxers and enjoy a fun evening of amateur boxing.
When: Friday April 11th – 7:30pm
Where: Machinist Hall on the Rock Road
** Free Drinks, Free Food **
Tickets are $30.00 each
Reserve your tickets today!
636-978-1108
Ask for Mateo or Mark |
| return to top |
| Fights Scheduled for Ben and Dustin |
2/17/2008 By Marc C. |
Ben and Dustin are scheduled to get back in the ring on Saturday, March 22, at the Viking hotel (10709 Watson Rd., St. Louis, MO). Both are in excellent condition, and have been working hard to get ready for their upcoming matches. Ben is a beast when it comes to conditioning, so his current fitness level is no surprise to anyone. Dustin, having gutted out his last two fights at partial strength due to a wicked bout with the flu, has now pushed himself beyond his pre-flu conditioning levels.
We hope you can make it out to support these guys in their upcoming bouts. For ticket information, please visit shamrockpromotionsllc.com. |
| return to top |
| Our Team Needs Your Support to Get Our Own Ring |
2/4/2008 By Marc C. |
Our gym has made a request to the city of St. Peters to allow us to add a ring to our gym, and we need your help to ensure that our request is granted! Our team has enjoyed some success including a Golden Gloves champion without having our own ring, but having a ring on premises will help us take the team to the next level. Currently, we spend hours each week driving to another gym to spar. This is difficult for coaches, boxers and parents, and it is one of the biggest obstacles to getting more of our team members ready for competition.
So now we're calling on all supporters of our team to get behind us and help us get our request granted. Our request will be voted on at the St. Peters Board of Aldermen meeting on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 6:30. Please come to the meeting and give us your support. |
| return to top |
| Ben Kirchner Takes Home the Title with a Stunning Come From Behind Victory |
1/13/2008 By Marc C. |
With all of us reeling from the tough decision losses the previous two nights, all the hopes of the team rested on the shoulders of Ben Kirchner. Ben entered the fight confident and excited. Unfortunately, he ran right into a very hard left hand that hurt him early, before he even had a chance to shake the early first fight jitters. That shot along with several other big shots that landed over the course of the first two rounds had all of us concerned. One of those shots gave Ben the first real bloody nose I've seen from him. It was so serious that he had to visit the ringside doctor to get clearance to continue. We were also asked by the referee after the second round whether we wanted to continue.
With his back against the wall and staring at certain defeat, Ben dug deep and unleashed the beast within. From the moment the bell rang to start the third round, Ben was on his opponent and never gave him a moment's rest. His fierce and unrelenting attack eventually resulted in a standing eight count. Sensing that his opponent was on the brink of total exhaustion, Ben jumped right back on him and continued to press his opponent until the referee stopped the fight. Ben's unparalleled conditioning combined with incredible heart and toughness made the difference in this fight. But then, who would've expected anything less from the kid that kicked cancer's butt just a few months ago?
Congrats to Ben for his hard fought Golden Gloves championship victory! |
| return to top |
| Hard Luck Reigns in Golden Gloves Preliminary Rounds |
1/13/2008 By Marc C. |
The preliminary bouts that our team participated in were marked by hard luck. First, Cody Sparks fought in a box-off on Thursday evening for the chance to advance to the next round on Friday night. Cody showed great improvement since his last fight. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to pull out a decision. Although the official judgment was a unanimous decision, the scorecards showed that it couldn't have been any closer. One judge declared Cody's opponent the winner by three points, however, both of the other two judges scored the fight even on points. On both cards, the judge declared Cody's opponent the winner based on aggression. In short, you couldn't have a closer decision.
On Friday night, Dustin Beardsley looked to reverse the team's fortunes. With Dustin still recovering from a nasty bout of the flu, he wasn't in condition to implement his normal game plan. Instead he had to rely solely on heart and determination. At full strength, that may have been enough, however, it wasn't quite enough on this night. Dustin showed incredible heart, but the flu and a tough opponent proved to be too much in what turned out to be one of the evening's most exciting bouts. The official judgment was a 3-2 split decision. So for us, it was another night, another heart breaking, razor thin loss by decision. |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves Brackets Set |
1/9/2008 By Marc C. |
The brackets are set, and The Boxing Gym will be sending three boxers to this year's tournament.
Cody Sparks (141 pounds) got caught in a large bracket containing six boxers. As a result, he has to compete in a box-off on Thursday night in order to make it to the Friday night preliminary round. Cody has improved tremendously in many areas since his first fight, and we think he has an excellent chance to win on Thursday and Friday to make it to the finals.
Ben Kirchner (132 pounds) found himself in the exact opposite type of bracket as his only contains two boxers. Therefore, Ben advances directly to the finals on Saturday. Ben has a quiet demeanor and an incredible work ethic. No matter how many rounds we let him spar, and no matter who he spars against, he always comes out wishing he could spar some more. Ben continues to show improvement every time he steps in the ring, and we think he has a great chance to win the championship at 132 pounds.
Dustin Beardsley (201 pounds) is also in a six man bracket, however, he advances straight to Friday to face the winner of a box-off on Thursday night. Dustin has had two fights since joining the team, both of which were winning efforts. Dustin possesses great power, hand speed, elusiveness and movement, and he has an excellent chance to win his bracket.
In all, we're pretty optimistic and think we've got a great chance to bring home three championships in our first trip to the tournament.
For those that want to come out and show your support, the fights are at South Broadway Athletic Club (2301 S 7th St, St. Louis, MO) on Friday 1/11 and Saturday 1/12. Doors open at 6:30 with the fights starting at 7:30 both nights. Tickets are $10 each and available at the door.
Best of luck to Cody, Ben and Dustin! |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves Schedule Update |
12/30/2007 By Marc C. |
| The schedule for Golden Gloves has been updated. The entire tournament will take place on January 11th and 12th at South Broadway Athletic Club. Weigh-ins for the preliminaries will still take place on Sunday, January 6th at North County Athletic Association. Weigh-ins for the finals will take place on the morning of Saturday, January 12th with the finals taking place that evening. |
| return to top |
| Updated Training Schedule for the Holidays |
12/23/2007 By Marc C. |
| Since Christmas and New Year's Day fall on our normally scheduled team training day, we are going to move our training to Wednesday for those two weeks. As with our normal Tuesday workouts, anyone who is sparring will meet at 4:45 to head down to the other gym. Also, everyone will train together from 7:00 to 9:00. |
| return to top |
| Golden Gloves Information |
12/22/2007 By Marc C. |
The annual Golden Gloves tournament for Novice and Senior Novice fighters will take place in January, 2008. This tournament is for fighters with ten or fewer fights aged 17-20 (Novice) and 21-34 (Senior Novice).
The preliminary bouts will take place on Friday, January 11th and Saturday, January 12th at South Broadway Athletic Club. The tournament finals will take place on Friday, January 18th at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Doors open at 6:30 and bouts start at 7:30 for all events.
Weigh-ins for the preliminary rounds take place on Sunday, January 6th, and weigh-ins for the finals will take place on Thursday, January 17th.
For those that are not participating in the tournament, please be sure to come out and support your teammates. |
| return to top |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|