Golden Gloves 80 Years

Posted on 07. Aug, 2007 by BoxingCoachMike in News

Michael Kozlowski’s student’s, Jill Emery and Yuri Foreman, are featured in the book “80 Years of Golden Gloves”

Bill Farrell’s book, “80 Years of Golden Gloves” (the oldest amateur boxing tournament in the world), came out prior to the Golden Gloves competitions of January 2007.

In February 1927, in New York City, the Daily News created the first amateur boxing tournament known as the Golden Gloves.

The Golden Gloves, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the USA, holds its finals in the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden.

Many of the young Golden Gloves champions go on to become world renowned professional boxers.

The great Sugar Ray Robinson, remembered as the best professional boxer of our times, came out of the Goldens. Ray won many tournaments; the most impressive was in 1940 where he won nine consecutive fights, eight by KO!

1952’s New York Golden Gloves champion was Floyd Paterson. Floyd went on to become an Olympic Champion at the games in Helsinki. After his amateur career he went on to become the Heavyweight World Champion.

In March of 1960, 18 year old Cassius Clay (the future Muhammad Ali) won his Golden Gloves Championship in Madison Square Garden.

The same year he went on to become an Olympic Champion in Rome, and eventually a three time professional Heavyweight World Champion.

In 1973 Howard Davis won his first Golden Gloves. In 1974, in the first ever amateur world championship, Howard Davis received the Gold Medal. In 1976 in Montreal he became an Olympic Champion and received the Outstanding Boxer Trophy.

From 1979 to 1984 Mark Breland, one of the best amateur fighters in the USA, won the coveted Golden Gloves. In 1982, in Munich, Mark Breland won gold in the amateur World Championship. In 1984 he went on to become an Olympic Champion in Los Angeles. Later on, Mark became a World Champion again, only this time professionally.

Riddick Bowe won his first Golden Gloves in 1985. In 1988, at the Seoul Olympics, it took Lenox Lewis to keep him from winning the gold. After the Olympic Games Riddick went on to become one of the best professional Heavyweight Champions.

Zab Judah won his first Golden Gloves in 1994. After loosing his bid to make the Olympic Team in 1996, he turned professional. In 1999 Zab won his first World Championship Belt. In 2005 he became the undisputed Welter Weight World Champion (WBC, WBA, IBF).

It was wonderful to start the millennium with a picture of my student Jill Emery featured in “80 Years of Golden Gloves”. Jill was a four time Golden Gloves Champion and a three time USA Champion, and one of the few dedicated women boxers willing to cross over into professional boxing. She still trains with me.

In the same book was a picture of my former student Yuri Foreman who had won his Golden Gloves competition in 2001.

To continue the tradition, in 2005 and 2006 Shmuel Pagan, who I co-train with his father, Robert Pagan won the Golden Gloves in New York City.