Boxing

Dream It, See It, Live It: The Golden Gloves Experience.

Mike Samuels

25.03 - GRAND RAPIDS - Standing in front of a long glass mirror that hangs over his closet door, his cheeks beat red, sweat pouring down from the tip of his bangs and glistening on the arch of his nose, he stares endlessly into his reflection.

He isn't much to look at. A fair 5'8 inches, 215lbs, his head bald and his skin Casper-like white. The tops of his eyebrows are scarred, his cheekbones rough and awkward looking, and his lips chap and broken. The ends of his elbows are dry, red, and flaky. Looking up at his reflection, he removes the hooded sweatshirt - Michigan Golden Gloves bares the front, with Chris Oles running down the back - and wipes the sweat from his forehead.

"Uuuggghhhh!" he says, just before cracking a smile.

What's there to smile about? Chris Oles knows that you've never heard of him, and if you have then you're probably one of the few hundred that saw him on a knee in the corner of the ring last year at the annual Michigan Golden Gloves with blood spurting in every direction from his broken nose. It doesn't matter that he lost to the eventual state champion. It doesn't matter that the crowd roared with excitement as he entered the ring amongst an aura of "Butterbean!" chants, virtually unknown without any boxing experience prior to his first defeat. All you may - and that's a big 'may' - remember about him is his charisma, his heart, and his energy inside the ring. And there wasn't that much, considering he was out on his feet in just one minute and fifty-two seconds into the opening round.

"I had high expectations going into the fight last year," he told me before exhaling deeply and continuing, " and even though I was only in there not even a round and I didn't win, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world."

Before his big night in the Grand Armory, where the lights shined down, the people cheered, and his opponent looked over into his eyes not sure of what would happen, Chris Oles was just another senior at Rogers High School. He was just another big kid who watched boxing on television, a kid who saved up all his money and busted his hump every Friday through Sunday bussing tables at a restaurant just so he could afford the likes of Bob Arum and Don King's pay per-view telecasts.

He was a normal kid with a dream.

" I dreamed about being heavyweight champion some day," he said. "But I knew going into the Golden Gloves last year that I probably wouldn't just breeze through guys. I've only boxed with friends."

" I figured it would be a great learning experience for me. And it was. The support was tremendous and I had one hell of a time. "

And it was a learning experience. Even though Chris didn't win the gloves - much less last more than a minute in the ring - the whole experience overwhelmed him and has changed his way of thinking about the sport of boxing.

In a great sense that is what the Golden Gloves are all about. The youth in the areas of nearly every state that supports this foundation are able to learn the ins and outs of boxing. Kids from all over are given a place to work hard, a place to be taught, and a place to shine. This all happens without the multi-million dollar deals, without the label of becoming a superstar. It all happens without pressure. The Golden Gloves give athletes a chance to see what boxing is really about. The running, the training, the listening and learning. The art form. The excitement. The letdowns and everything and anything in between.

Just last week I stood in line for monthly registrations in the state of Michigan. The atmosphere was incredible. I sat in the back wearing some sweat pants and a tee-shirt, just looking and feeling comfortable. That's where I ran into Chris Oles. He was standing without a shirt on getting ready to weigh in. As I looked around the place, as I smelled the sweat filled air, I overheard many young kids speaking about how good they were and just what they were going to do with their lives.

" I'mma' be da' heavy champ of the world," said Kyle, a little six-year-old Latino boy, just before flexing his muscles for me to see.

For Kyle boxing has started at a young age, but it's that way for most of the young kids who come from the rougher areas of their city.

" Man, Mike, I'm going to be the next lil' Floyd," explained a tall lanky kid named Carlos.

I laughed and told him that anything was possible. After all, it was just nine or ten years ago that I sat in the same gym and watched Floyd Mayweather rip through the Golden Gloves competition with style, grace, and power. He left me, as a young boy in awe. I couldn't believe what I was seeing take place.

It's that way for all the kids who participate in the Golden Gloves. Not only has the Gloves produced world-class fighters, but also it's a solid program that has been around for years. There isn't much you can trust in boxing these days, but the Golden Gloves are perhaps, still, one of the purest forms of value for kids from any age or place in the world.

The sad part is that they don't get enough attention, and that's a shame. As many people consider boxing scandalous, corrupt, unfair, and everything else in the kitchen that you can find, the Golden Gloves teach the values of the sport and show of the way young people should conduct themselves in the so-called real world.

Yes, there is something positive about a sport that is often looked at in disgust.

I enjoyed spending some time covering this story and talking to a lot of the kids and young adults that were training for this year's competition. You see, all these guys are boxing for recognition, respect, pride, and most of all, they're doing this all because it's what they love. They love to compete and they love to box.

And you know that's what boxing is all about. So for those who say boxing is heading down a dead-end street, I ask those same talkers to open their eyes.

Dream the dream. See the dream. Live the dream.

The Golden Gloves.

Mike Samuels can be reached at Tyson180@aol.com for comments.

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