I went searching for boxing’s sand, sweat and heart, instinctively heading toward the Bronx. Turns out it was the place to go back in the 1950s. The fighter’s swirling center is still Gleason’s Gym but now, down under the Manhattan Bridge (DUMBO) in Brooklyn.
Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran and Muhammad Ali trained at Gleason’s. The word was out, long ago. Peruse this list of trainers who coach there today.
You can go over there to watch or you can watch the webcam coverage minus the smacks, smells, oomphs, sweat and tension of the gym.
The opportunity for greatness is palpable. I love the feel of being in the presence of greatness; it was a motivator in my coming to New York in the first place. I worked with many performing arts greats because of the fact that I was working in New York: standing beside the panting, ranting Rudolf Nureyev during a ballet gala at The Met, working with Leonard Nimoy in Equus, Carol Channing in Hello Dolly, and Sarah Jessica Parker in Annie; that’s what I’m talking about.
For general news about boxing events, matches etc, go to Brooklyn Boxing.
By the way, the current WBC International Female Super Bantamweight title holder, Heather (The Heat) Hardy, coaches and trains at Gleason’s. I can’t wait to watch her work.
You might go to DUMBO just because tourists do that and if you do, drop into Gleason’s and dirty your shoes with some New York history, past and in the making.
