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Phenom Boxer Rollins on a Roll

By Kate Gardiner in Miscellaneous on Apr 3, 2009 8:20PM

He's 16, he owns four technology businesses and he graduated high school two years early. But that's not what makes Tracy Rollins unique - it's his boxing. Rollins, of Homewood, is a five-time national junior champion making his debut in the senior division this month. His all-time record currently stands at 69-5. And he's doing well. Rollins has moved through to the semi-final bouts this weekend at Chicago's biggest amateur boxing tournament - the Golden Gloves in Lakeview.

The series, held for more than 80 years in the city, has brought everyone from Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali), a one-time Golden Gloves competitor, to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich into the ring to fight. But what motivates a self-defined "geeky kid" to spend more than four hours every day training for a sport that some say is in its waning days? "Well, they say I'm good at it," Rollins said, fresh from a sparring bout at the Chicago Boxing Club against professional fighter Sergio Lopez. "And if I'm good at it, I want to cash in on it as soon as I can."

Tracy Rollins, Sr., said what drives his son isn't just the potential to make money from his talent. "He just, loves it. I hold my breath every time he's in the ring, even after seven years, but he just keeps going." Rollins, Sr., said the money he earns as a heavy equipment operator funds his son's passion, and a strict schedule disciplines his art. "It's just us, and this is what he wants to do, so I'm here," the elder Rollins said. Rollins said his son spends at least four hours a day in the gym and running through the suburban streets, training for the sport.

The younger Rollins follows a strict diet to keep his stats: at 5'10" he weighs-in at 165 pounds, the cap on his division. "We'd try to get him down to 152, for the lower weight class, but the lowest we could do, starving him, was 158," Rollins said. "I mean, look at him. Where would you take the weight from? At 158, he was at 2 percent body fat."

Rollins said he couldn't even begin to estimate how much time he's spent ringside, thinking about the sport in the past seven years - after a lifetime completely oblivious to the civilized violence in the ring. "If he was into guitars, wine, cafes," Rollins, Sr., said, "I'd get that.... But he's the first person in our family to do anything like this.... I knew nothing about it before he started getting into it... I liked it when he was into debate. He was good at debate."

Now, Rollins, Sr. coaches his son ringside, yelling advice about technique. "He's not gonna win this weekend by throwing loopy punches, or by chasing people around the ring like that," he said, heading to the locker room to talk about technique after the bout was over.

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Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist
If the younger Rollins wins his fight against boxer George Carter, 24, of Galesburg, tomorrow night, he'll be one step away from his first senior title, the Chicago Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Championship. That bout will be held the weekend of April 17.

His coach, whom Rollins calls "Sam the Man," is Sam Colonna, former trainer of notorious heavyweight Andrew Gulotta. Colonna said his student has potential, though there is a long road ahead. "The problem this weekend," said Colonna, "is that the kid is so young. He just doesn't have the experience [Carter does.]" Colonna said Carter, whom Rollins has been watching avidly for years, has suffered family and training crises every year he's been a contender - and he's made it into the finals anyway. "This year, he doesn't have anyone dying, there's no emotional stress. He can concentrate on his fight," Colonna said. "And there's the experience thing. At the same time, Carter risks taking the kid too lightly. I think that's our strength. We're gonna change his game plan."

Colonna, a part-owner of Chicago Boxing Club in Bridgeport, said 10 of his fighters are still in the running at the Gloves - including four girls. "It's a big year for boxing," he said. "We had like 350 entries in the fights, and there were like 36 girls - all of 'em have a fight this time, and some of 'em fight more than once for the title. It's unusual." Colonna said boxing in Chicago seems more popular than ever, to him. "I think the competitions are at their best ever," he said. "There are lots of guys, lots of them are up-and-coming, and lots of them are like Tracy, as well as total amateurs."

A national title, while many bouts away from the semifinal round in Chicago, was last won by local Francisco Rodrieguez (112-pound featherweight) in 2001. Since the weight divisions were reorganized in the mid-1970s, a Chicagoan has only won the national 165-pound title once: Anthony Steward, in 1992. The competition was founded in Chicago after a newspaper columnist in 1923 challenged competitors to compete. It grew into a national competition over the years and is seen by many as the gateway to the pros - and to the Olympics. "This is probably my last tournament for awhile," said Rollins, ruefully. "I broke my right hand, and, you know, my doctor said, 'You know it's bad when a black person bruises.'"

About 30 percent of the competition is African-American, said Trayce Zimmerman, who manages publicity for the event. "And, of course, it's about 60 percent Hispanic," she said. Zimmerman said the competition draws people from all walks of life ringside. "A lot of the people who come in here for the finals are all decked out," she said. "It draws people from all over the place." Zimmerman said a common competitor is the kid whose dad is from the city and who may've been a contender in the past, but who made it and moved out of the city to the suburbs. "A lot of those kids' dads worry about their kid not being tough enough," she said. "They send their kid to a boxing gym to learn how to fight." And then they come down to the fights.

Colonna said his fighter has what it takes, if he manages to stick with it long enough. "He's got what it takes to be successful," he said. "He's hungry, he wants it, and he's got his family behind him, which is huge."

Colonna said Rollins can take advantage of his youth to get better, regardless of this weekend. "He's so young, he has lots to learn," Colonna said. "He's fighting these guys who are 25 years old, and aren't gonna learn as fast. Tracy can get better - they can't as easily."

Rollins, who graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, is a quick study. He's using a full-ride at Roosevelt University in the Loop to earn his bachelor's degree in finance - by the time he turns 18.

"If it all works out, in boxing I want to be in the 2012 Olympics," he said. "In life, I want to be a millionaire, maybe five times over, by the time I'm 23."

The Golden Gloves tournament continues tonight and tomorrow night, 7:30 p.m., St. Andrew's Gym at the corner of Paulina & Addison.