HomeMy Public PortalAboutPayette Lakes Boxing Club/ rp 6--tar - /` e°r✓s -
Boxing club
ready to form
BY RANDALL BROOKS
The Star -News
A group of former amateur
fighters hope to enlist the support
of the town of McCall and young
men aged 10 to 30 to finally bring
the sport of boxing to the area.
The Payette Lakes Boxing
Club now consists of a four -man
coaching staff of Charlie Ryan,
Larry Craig, Bill Garber and
Mike Spagnola, all of McCall.
The four will teach techniques
and supervise workouts for the
club with the hope of building a
team to enter a number of
statewide competitions during the
1987-88 amateur boxing season.
Coaches hope the efforts can
bring more recognition to Mc-
Call, much like that of the suc-
cessful McCall Judo Club.
"Hopefully, we could expect
to have an amateur fight here in
McCall around October or
November," Craig said.
So far, the volunteer coaches
have attracted the attention of
about 20 would-be fighters from
the area, and the coaches are
looking for even more support,
especially from sponsors.
Ryan said the club is also look-
ing for additional members,
especially from outlying areas
such as Cascade or New
Meadows. Those interested in
learning the sport of amateur
boxing can attend the club's first
formal meeting Monday at 7
p.m. at The Club.
Cost for the program will be
limited to a $15 per year registra-
tion fee for each boxer, which in-
cludes insurance protection for
the participants through the Na-
tional Boxing Federation.
A birth certificate and two
photos is another requirement.
Coaching, travel and equipment
expenses will be given voluntarily
by club members.
"We're a new club," said
Ryan, who fought both as an
amateur and in the armed forces.
"Anybody that would donate
some gear and help us out, it sure
would be appreciated."
Ryan said the group already
has gathered much of the training
gear it will need, and members
hope to be able to work out at
The Club while searching for a
facility of their own.
While similar attempts to
organize a boxing club have sur-
faced in McCall over the past few
years, groundwork already laid
by the coaching staff shows this
time they mean to make it a suc-
cess.
Paperwork is already in pro-
gress to have the Payette Lakes
Boxing Club sanctioned by the
ABF as a member of the Snake
River Boxing Association based
in the Treasure Valley.
Craig was a former AAU and
Golden Gloves boxer as well as
coach for the Boise Boxing Club
for three years before moving to
McCall.
Craig said State Boxing Com-
missioner Dale Trumbo has
assured him the McCall club will
have the necessary sanctioning in
time to begin workouts this sum-
mer in preparation for a com-
petitive boxing season that runs
between October and May.
He explained that Idaho's
amateur boxers are carefully
divided into classes according to
age, weight and experience so
that boxers are competing at the
right level.
"You won't find any ringers in
this league," he said.
McCall boxers would all be
fighting at the novice level until
they have at least 10 sanctioned
fights under their belts. From
there, he said the road leads
through the intermediate classes
and eventually on to national
Golden Gloves competition, with
the dream of making the national
Olympic boxing team a final
goal.
Craig mentioned that the
,demanding workouts required of
competitive boxers will take a
special effort from participants.
"This is where kids that fight in
the Olympics come from," he
said. "This fighting will take
some special dedication."
Some would-be fighters are
already showing they know what
it will take to make the club suc-
cessful. Ryan said youths in-
terested in the club already have
held a car wash to fund some of
the club's early expenses.
/S¢41-- Pvris — ////f/ 7
Boxing match
set for McCall
The first amateur boxing
match in recent memory to be
staged in McCall will get under-
way Saturday at the McCall -
Donnelly High School gym-
nasium.
Young boxers from six Idaho
boxing clubs, including the
fledgling Payette Lakes Boxing
Club, are expected to attend the
match, which starts at 7 p.m.
About 15 fights are expected to
be staged as young boxers gain
experience that may take them to
statewide and national competi-
tion. Admission is $4 for adults
and $2.50 for children.
The Payette Lakes Boxing
Club is expected to be
represented by Clint Meckel, 12,
of McCall, who has been training
regularly at workouts held at The
Club in McCall, club coach Larry
Craig said.
In addition, boxing clubs from
St. Anthony, Jerome, Kuna,
Caldwell and Boise are due to
send fighters, Craig said.
The fights are closely regulated
and run under rules set down by
the American Boxing Federation,
Craig said.
The length of each fight will
vary according to the age and ex-
perience of the boxers. Younger
fighters will go two rounds of
three minutes each, while ex-
perienced boxers will battle for
three, three -minute rounds.
All boxers must wear
headgear, and the referee may
stop the fight at any time, Craig
said.
"This is strictly an amateur
boxing event that is well -
controlled, with nothing but the
safety of the kids in mind," he
said.
All fighters due to compete on
Saturday night have fought 10
fights or less. After they gain ex-
perience, they may choose to
enter the state Golden Gloves
competition or go on to the na-
tional Golden Gloves level.
Many U.S. Olympic stars have
come from the ranks of the
Golden Glove championships,
Craig said. "This is where they
start," he said.
On hand to serve as referee will
be Idaho State Boxing Commis-
sioner Dale Trumbo of Boise,
and the timekeeper will be Idaho
State Golden Gloves President
Dale Thomas.