The best present any coach can receive is Gratitude from his students !

Posted on 07. Sep, 2011 by BoxingCoachMike in News

Boxing trainer Michael Kozlowski received a special present on his 50th birthday. His former student Yury Belskiy came to New York City all the way from Moscow, Russia for the soul purpose of celebrating his former trainer’s birthday. Yury arrived with birthday presents and greetings from all of Michael Kozlowski’s students in Russia. Boxing trainer Michael Kozlowski first heard from his student Yury Belskiy after many years when the phone rang a few months ago and a familiar voice exclaimed, “Coach Mike – It’s me, your old student, Yury Belskiy! Do you remember me?!”

“Hi Yury!” Kozlowski quickly replied, “Of course I remember you! Even after all these years and the thousands of fighters I’ve trained since then, I will never forget you coming to the gym every day in the same white and blue t-shirt and how I used to tease you about your large ears…”
“Coach Mike, I haven’t changed a bit. My ears are still the same, but I finally grew into them. I am now the same height as you! Coach Michael, I will always have good memories of you. You do not know how much you have done for me! I am at the airport waiting for a flight and I was thinking of you, so I decided to look you up on the Internet. I couldn’t believe how much information I found! So I got your number from your website and decided to call you right away… How are you, my trainer?!”

- “Yury, I am doing very well!” “How are you? How old are you now?”

- “Coach, in August I will be 32…”

- “Yury, on August 6th there will be a big anniversary, because I’m turning 50! But first, in June I’m taking two of my fighters to Colorado Springs for the USA Boxing National Championships where they will fight to qualify for the Olympic Trials…”
On August 6th, Yury Belskiy, the former student of now American trainer Michael Kozlowski came to Brooklyn’s Gleason’s Gym directly from JFK airport to meet his former trainer on his 50th birthday. He trained with current prospect Jeremy Fiorentino in preparation for his upcoming fight in a local boxing tournament …When Yury entered the gym, his former trainer instantly recognized his familiar face and, as the matured student approached him, he remembered that day back in 1988 when the young boy Yury Belskiy first time came to train in the Kolomna (Moscow region) gym.

Once they got back to Coach Mike’s home, Yury presented a photo signed with congratulatory and birthday wishes from WBO European and IBO Inter-Continental Welterweight champion Roman Seliverstov, another former student of Michael Kozlowski’s. Roman Seliverstov currently works with another one of Michael Kozlowski’s students from Russia, the former Russian National Champion, Sergey Grigoriev. Currently, they are both trainers in the same gym where Michael Kozlowski once trained them…
This landmark anniversary day was filled with phone calls and e-mails from former students from many different countries around the world, some champions and some not. Michael Kozlowski was very happy on his 50th Birthday!

A day before flying home to Russia, Yury Belskiy attended The 6th Annual Long Island Amateur Boxing Championships Tournament to support the American Champion Jeremy Fiorentino who confidently won his semifinal fight.

A week after Yury Belskiy returned to Russia, Jeremy Fiorentino, went on to win his first tournament after being defeated in the quarterfinals of the USA Boxing National Championships in June, 2011.