Friday Night Fights: Chicago Golden Gloves

By Kate Gardiner in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 21, 2009 9:10PM

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Tracy Rollins, 16, Homewood. Rollins is being heralded by those \"in the know\" as the future of Chicago boxing.

Sergio Soto between bouts against Tracy Rollins.

Rollins faced off against Sergio Soto

The pair seemed well-matched, size-wise, though Rollins\' skill was obvious even to the untrained eye.

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

These two competitors had by far the most blood-splattered match of the afternoon. Both suffered bloody noses early in the match.

Derek Ption, left, fights for Hamlin Park, while John Casciato fights with the Chicago Boxing Club.

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Conditioning is an incredibly important part of amateur boxing, in some cases more so than skill.

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

Ramon Diaz Jr., left, knocked out opponent Adam Greenwald during the middle of the first round. Diaz is heralded by referees and photographers alike as the \"biggest living Mexican,\" at least six inches taller than Greenwald and outweighing his opponent by at least 30 pounds. There is no cap on size in the heavyweight division.

The heavyweights are lauded for their heavy punches and brick wall stature more than their boxing technique.

The announcer first misread the results in this bout, but eventually declared this young man the winner.

Kate Gardiner/Chicagoist

The Chicago Golden Gloves: 170 three-round bouts of amateur boxing, drawing competitors from all over Chicago for the past 86 years to St. Andrew's Gym on the North Side.

At stake: the title of Chicago's best amateur boxer and a shot at the national title. Friday night, about 30 prelim bouts between fighters (matched by record) from gyms all over the city. Chicagoist was there - and we'll be posting the results as they come in throughout the competition.

For $10 a crack, the seats are cheap (folding chairs on the gym floor... or in the bleachers) and the beer plentiful (it's sponsored by Corona). Totally worth a trip up there to watch the fights - especially if you've never seen boxing before. The competition continues through the championship April 18.

Highlights of Friday's bouts:

a) Tracy Rollins, 16, Homewood, is seen by many as the next name in boxing from Chicago. A longtime junior competitor and Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate, Friday night's refs (and the Golden Gloves publicist Tracye Zimmerman) said Rollins debut in the senior division went as expected - Rollins smashed through the competition. "He has natural ability," said one ref. "He's the only guy we have who really has the talent to go anywhere after this." At 156 pounds, Rollins competes in the 165 pound open division. He'll be back on Thursday night.

b) Ramon Diaz, Jr.: Northwestern University's own Diaz ('09) fights in the super heavyweight division (201+ pounds) for the Evanston Boxing Club. He knocked out his competitor with a powerhouse right jab that, well... The other guy, Adam Greenwald, from Trumbell,was already outweighed by 30 pounds when he went flying into the ropes and bounced onto the floor during the first round. Diaz will be back next week as well, perhaps taking on someone more evenly matched - though as what a ref called "the world's largest Mexican" (ringside estimate at about 230 pounds) he has few amateurs competitors who are physically suited to the task.

Full results online here.