Events

[SPORT] For a few short years in the early eighties, a young heavyweight dominated the upstate circuit of the Golden Gloves. More than twenty years later, Mike Tyson still fondly recalls making the trip to Syracuse in Cus D’Amato’s station wagon to compete in the Gloves. About a decade ago, the upstate tourney returned to its erstwhile home in the Queen City, treating us to three, sometimes four rounds of events through which the athletes progress towards the national amateur championships. Two Golden Gloves 2015 alumni—Albany’s Abraham Nova (who won the nationals in 2014) and Brandon Lynch both came close to qualifying for the olympics this summer before falling short in decision losses and both will be turning pro. There might not be another Mike Tyson, but there’s always a high level of boxing at the Gloves. Grouped by weight and experience, approximately 40 fighters turn out in the first round to ply the wares they’ve been honing in their respective gyms in all corners of the state. It’ll be a great afternoon of boxing this Sunday in the expansive RiverWorks complex, surrounded by the grain elevators that gave birth to many of Buffalo’s first boxers.