- I got this one. - My man, you are in this.
All the way. -I got this one.
And then I got all the medals up there and all my articles.
That's the Golden Glove robe
that I fought in, 2013.
The gloves I fought in and the handwraps I fought in
in the Golden Gloves. - You fought in handwraps?
-Yeah, so you don't hurt your hand.
This is the fight I got Fight of the Night.
A whole bunch.
-Yeah.
-This is the China pin.
- You went to China?
- Nah, they came here.
- Thank you. - You're welcome, Gage.
I'm going to China sometime in July probably.
- Yeah. You got more trophies than me.
- Yeah? You're gonna get a lot soon.
- Yeah.
- How do you feel? - Good.
I'm 130 right now.
- Who's coming on Friday? - Everybody.
- It's gonna be another awesome night.
James, he's gonna take it home.
- The newspaper article,
it said that he's a real crowd pleaser.
Madison Square Garden,
the 33rd inter-city Golden Gloves
with top amateurs of New York mixing it up.
Few of these ring hopefuls
have fought in the big time before.
They're young, not too savvy in ring technique,
but they're long on gameness and enthusiasm.
- Golden Gloves
is the biggest amateur boxing tournament in the world.
And my dream is to become world champion.
- Every state has Golden Gloves,
but in New York, we get a pair of golden gloves.
New York is the only one with the gloves,
so every time they see us,
they're like, "Oh, man, she's from New York."
-And New York is the best Golden Gloves
because how they promote you.
Like, they say on their poster they produce champions.
- Camacho.
- My most memorable moment in the Golden Gloves
was not when I won, but when I lost in '76.
And I thought, "You're not the only one
that lost in this event."
Ray Robinson.
Floyd Patterson. Muhammad Ali.
- Cassius Clay.
They've all lost here.
Five! Six! Seven! Eight!
That's it.
- We are the champions of tomorrow,
so this means everything to me.
If I become Golden Glove champion, never know.
Sky's the limit.
- Ladies and gentlemen, please rise.
- ♪ O say can you see ♪
You're in the book, right?
Good luck to you tonight. - No 123s going tonight.
- Anybody weighing in? Who's weighing in?
Odero? Odero?
How old are you, buddy? -20.
-20? Step up, please.
- Beautiful, 140. Go see the doctor.
-Any chest pain, shortness of breath when you're training?
Ever been knocked out? -No.
- Follow my finger with just your eyes. Ojo.
- Ahh. - Take a nice,
deep breath.
-Good. All right, you're done.
-Good luck to you, boxer.
Get them ready, coaches.
- Let's go! Let's go! - Let's go.
- ♪ Were so gallantly streaming? ♪
- Yo, let's kill it. Get ready.
I don't want to hear no shit.
♪ And the rocket's red glare ♪
♪ The bombs bursting ♪
♪ In air ♪
♪ Gave proof through the night ♪
- Back down here. - ♪ That our flag ♪
♪ Was still there ♪
-I wish you a great Golden Gloves tournament this year.
- ♪ O say does ♪
Peter Goodman, where are you?
♪ That star-spangled banner ♪
♪ Yet wave ♪ - Ten. Ten minutes.
- Coaches, you got that? No 123s going tonight.
- Hurry up. Clock's ticking.
- Bring your books. - All right, get ready.
- Ready? - Ready to go, right?
-Let's go.
- You're sure, you're sure, you're sure.
You're sure.
-Ready? -Here we go, bro.
-Let's go, Louie. Let's go, Louie. Let's go.
- And that bell
means, ladies and gentlemen,
the road to the Barclays Center begins here tonight.
The Daily News Golden Gloves
is pleased to be here in Staten Island.
Especially like to thank Teddy Atlas...
- What's up, man? - Hey, Doc, how you doing?
- Not too bad. How are things, man?
- Everything's well. - This your last one
before you turn pro? -Yeah, it's my last one, man.
- Okay. - Last one.
-Last one. You call your dad? -He's creeping up.
- You know, so, like, but I watch you guys grow, man,
so it's like family, man. -Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely.
-Any headaches or dizziness today?
-No. -Cold or flu symptoms?
-No. -Taking any medicines,
vitamins, any supplements? -No.
-Turn your head. -My name is Titus Williams.
I'm 25 years old. - Haven't been
knocked out or passed out? -No.
I've won every tournament there is to win in New York.
I won the regionals, so I'm currently
ranked number one in the northeast.
I won the Golden Gloves in 2013
along with the Sugar Ray Robinson Award
for the outstanding boxer of the tournament.
That's my favorite one.
I got about 12 belts, but that's my favorite one.
I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish
in the amateurs. -Step up, papi.
- So this will be my strong ending.
Close that amateur book, start the pro book.
- One thirty-two even. - That's what
the Golden Gloves for me this year is.
-Good luck to you. -Thank you.
It made my name,
and it's gonna take my name to the next level.
There's nothing that's gonna stop me
from winning the Golden Gloves.
- One thirty-two Open, 132 Open. - Yes.
- Jose Gonzales.
-Man, I feel good about that.
-Yeah, you hurt your hand, you're gonna start crying.
-Working.
-He didn't get his wraps, right? -No.
-Thank you.
- Told me you had a heart condition
when you were young? -Nope.
-During exercise, any difficulty breathing or chest pain?
-Nope. -Anyone in your family die young
of a heart condition? -No.
- Look at me. - James Wilkins
is a Staten Island favorite.
-All right, champ, you're good to go, man.
Good luck tonight. - Story behind James
is James is your typical, like, Mike Tyson-type kid.
If he's not focused, if he's out of the gym,
he's in trouble, and he knows it, too.
- At the time when I started boxing,
I was going to Tottenville High School playing football,
but I was small and I liked to fight.
So one of the coaches works for the Atlas Cops N Kids program,
Pat Russo, and he took me to the gym.
And he was like, "Hey, you can spar here.
You can fight here," and I just started to like it.
- James struggled a lot with school
and he struggled a lot with, you know,
just dealing with everyday life, and a lot of fights.
And I wouldn't say it's anything like drugs or alcohol
or running the streets. -Eight count!
- It's more so he dealt
with a lot of things like...
school, the suicide in school.
- One day, my friend Felicia--
she wasn't a bad kid. She was just confused.
She got caught up in a mess,
and she committed suicide at the train I was at with her.
We were actually hanging out and talking
and she asked me to hold her bag for her,
and I was like, "What do I look like, a hanger?"
Like, I was joking around.
And she put her bag down and she just leaned forward
and jumped in front of the train.
It was hard...
'cause I was still young. I was only 14, 15.
I was a freshman, so I was still a little soft.
So it hurt a lot, but as you grow up,
you learn that you being upset and cranky and angry,
it's not gonna bring anyone back,
so you might as well just live on and work hard,
and if you want to dedicate what you're doing for that person,
you could do that.
- The boxing helped him
become stronger self-esteem-wise
and let his anger and emotions go into the ring.
- Two years ago,
James won the 123 Novice.
Now he's going for the 132 Open.
And I think he's got a real good shot.
- James Wilkins.
We have a little bit of history.
We were sparring partners for a little while.
He learned some stuff from me.
He used to ask me for advice.
He entered my weight class.
We fought in 2014.
And I put him in his place.
Do I have the mental edge?
I think so.
Three 3-minute rounds.
Introducing the gentleman in the golden corner, Josh Allen.
And in the blue corner...
Please welcome James Wilkins.
-We got the last bout, eighth bout, all right?
No, relax. We'll time the warm-up just right, man.
Time to impress, baby.
James! Hit the body, James!
- Body! - Body, James!
Ohh. The body, James!
- Great shot! - Step back.
- And your winner, 2 minutes, 24 seconds,
second round by TKO,
in the blue corner, is Wilkins.
♪ Kevin Rudolf's Let it Rock playing over speakers ♪
Get something to drink
and come on back in eight minutes.
-Boom, baby. -Back to work tomorrow.
-Now, you know some of these other guys in the division,
guys that have been around--
guys like Titus that have won before.
Um, you, you've been in big stages,
but how do you think you stack up at this level
against this competition?
-I honestly feel like nobody in here has stopped me,
and I'm coming and I'm winning the whole thing.
Humble, hungry, and ready, that's it.
-Humble what? -Hungry and ready.
All right, man, congrats.
We'll see you next round. You got it.
- Titus Williams.
He's from Elmont, Long Island,
and, you know, he's a churchgoing kid,
but in the gym, he works very, very hard,
and he's really a really nice kid.
He's just not so nice in the ring.
- And the winner from the gold corner, Williams.
- Great third round. - Thank you, thank you.
-You know some of the guys in this division.
Um, it's a deep division. There is talent there.
-I beat-- What's his name? James.
I beat James in the metros. I know he want it back.
He gonna fight his heart out, but he's not gonna get it.
But yeah, these guys are good.
They come, they're hungry, they game, they want it.
They want to win the Golden Gloves,
and they want to take me out.
I'm not gonna let them.
-All right, well, congrats being back on top,
and we'll see you next round.
Here with us tonight,
let's welcome in Teddy Atlas.
Teddy, come on up.
- Thank you.
You guys, the great fans, the loyal ones,
threat of snow doesn't scare you.
You guys still come out, so I appreciate you's
and you come out every year,
and you come out and you support these fighters
that deserve to be supported,
because anybody who could climb up those steps,
walk out of that locker room--
and let me tell you something.
I'm gonna let you in on a secret.
That hallway from the locker room,
it's only about a 20-yard walk.
But it looks like it's about 20 miles,
because you know where you're walking.
You're walking into that ring to face another man
and to face all your doubts, all your fears.
But these fighters train
to discipline themselves,
to condition themselves,
that even with that fear,
they still can summon up the courage to get in this ring
and find out who they are,
and when you do that,
you become a better fighter,
and most importantly, you become a better person.
Thank you, love you.
♪ pensive music ♪
Ladies and gentlemen,
a very good evening to you,
and welcome to the Joe Louis Harlem PAL,
the uptown home of champions
right in the heart of New York City
for this evening's edition
of the 88th annual Daily News Golden Gloves.
One forty-one point six.
- Yeah.
-My name is Nisa Rodriguez. I am 24 years old.
I train out of the South Bronx.
I guess it started, I was 16 with my first trainer.
He took me to watch my first Golden Gloves match,
which happened to be in the finals in Madison Square Garden.
And I was the kid to go get the gloves
when the fight was over and bring them back,
and just being there, that big crowd,
it inspired me to go in the Gloves the next year
when I turned 17.
And I pulled it off, and after that one year,
I pulled it off four more times.
So I'm a five-time Golden Glove champion.
And fingers crossed, next season,
try to go for the Olympics.
So, the Golden Gloves,
it's a stepping stone for me as far as Olympic dreams.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we have the decision.
Your winner, in the blue corner,
Nisa Rodriguez!
- But my main goal,
even if I don't make the next Olympics,
even if I'm not, like, ranked number one in the nation,
I want to make a statement.
I want them to remember me, especially my son.
I'm a single mom from the Bronx.
I had dropped out of school when I was pregnant, and...
What did I do?
...if it wasn't for my son, I probably
would've not pushed myself as much as I have.
It's mainly for him.
So right now, I'm in college. I'm trying to--
I'm trying to be the role model that he needs
so that he can be proud of me.
- All right, ladies and gentlemen,
the action continues, and we'll switch divisions.
-Show time!
-Show time, show time!
-Hey. There you go.
Make him think about coming in there.
- Got to work, Pete! - Work the body, Pete! Let's go!
Again! Let's go!
Again!
-Again! Back it up with something!
-Come on! -Touch that body!
Touch the body!
-Smack the face! -Get off the ropes!
Get off the ropes! -Hold him, hold him. Yeah!
-No, you wrong! Boo!
Referee, what the fuck fight you watching?!
-Give him what you got. Come on, come on.
Now! Stop, stop.
-I'm gonna tell you what's going down here right now.
I need a bucket.
You're not fighting your fight. That's the bottom line.
-Uh-huh. -Spit this in the bucket.
Where's-- I did not get
one straight right hand the entire round.
Never mind a few less.
You should be-- He's coming in reckless.
One, two, real fast. Bing, bing!
Real fast with the one-two.
Throw it the whole round. Straight right hands.
You can finish to the body as much as you want,
but I want that straight right hand, you understand me?
Don't let him get on you and freakin' hold onto you.
Throw the one-two before he gets on you.
Before he gets there. -Yo, Tyrone, relax, bro!
Relax.
- Step around.
Reset your feet.
That's it, baby.
We train all year for this tournament.
It's the guys that stay in the gym all year round
that they put that necklace around, you know,
at the Barclays Center.
The Freeport Police Athletic League here in Freeport,
I lost count on how many
amateur champions we've crowned.
You know, so when we're rolling up,
everybody wants to beat the Freeport guys.
Yeah!
- The thing about what Coach Joe does,
he doesn't run his program as a business.
And his gym has done a lot for Freeport, 'cause in that park,
there used to be a lot of gang violence
and a lot of kids hanging around
doing drugs and stuff like that,
but you don't see any of that now.
The reputation of the gym is taking kids off the street,
and then even if you don't make boxing a career,
it puts you in a positive situation
so you can better yourself
and better the people around you.
- I want you to have your hand pushed out.
I want this. Right?
Bop, bop, bop!
You want to turn the fist over, all right?
Boxing means everything to me because it helped me grow up.
I never won no title,
but I did try boxing and I had some good events
and good fights back in the day,
and I think it formed me as a person.
I think it made me disciplined.
I think it set the path for me to have a certain toughness,
but more than anything,
to have a certain respect.
The gym has other characteristics
besides just training to be boxing champions.
These virtues on the wall have to be memorized,
and these kids have to learn how to use them in their lives.
Justice, temperance, citizenship,
fortitude, prudence.
Where do those words fit into your life?
Just knowing the definitions of those words
will make you a smarter person.
You can't curse in here,
you can't wear your pants on your ass,
you cannot use the word "nigger" in here
'cause it's personal to me.
I grew up in this town. It's integrated.
My coaches are black, these kids are black.
They need to know where that word came from
and how disgusting it is.
- Coach Joe is a very strong personality.
He's very strong willed.
He was a Marine and he was a firefighter.
- That's my father, me, my brother Mike, my brother Bob,
and my brother Tim here-- he was killed in 9/11,
and me and all my brothers, we dug him out.
We found him.
And we stayed there all those months
and dug all our colleagues out
and hundreds and hundreds of people.
Boxing's a lonely sport.
It's hard sometimes to stay motivated.
Who wants to wake up every day in the morning,
time to get hit?
You know, not the average person does that.
You could lose your life in this sport.
It's not like any other sport,
not like basketball, football, or baseball.
When they say, "Let's play basketball,
let's play football,"
you never hear a person say, "Let's play boxing."
To lose, it just--
you feel like what was the point of you training so hard
just to lose, but then again,
what I learned now, and especially in amateur boxing,
you never lose.
You either win or you learn.
You hear that? Different look.
-...before, and the referee was, like,
taking points out of him, and the kids are fighting,
he just knocked him out.
-The ref was on the floor and he kept punching him.
-Yeah. -And they're like, "Yo, how much
you want to bet James would do something like this?"
-Nah. Not me. -Yeah, right? Oh, yeah.
-It was like kids make their own, like, democracy
and stuff like that.
It's a mad interesting book, man.
Yo, if you ever get the chance, man, read this book, man.
Kafka was the Rage.
It's, like, a Greenwich Village memoir.
It's interesting.
Keep your mind off of training for a while.
- Fight and leave. - Right.
All this extra stuff.
That's what make you nervous. -Yeah, yeah.
Got to embrace it, man. -Yeah.
-Part of the game.
- Thirty-two Open, you guys all here? Pay attention.
There's six of you guys left.
Obviously two bouts to get down to four.
Two byes. So, Titus.
Gold.
Victor Benitez.
Alfredo Ibiza.
And Joseph Alvarez.
Jude Franklin and James Wilkins,
you guys got the byes, all right?
Same stuff. Pick up your books, uh, after second bout.
-Does that mean you're not fighting?
-Nope. Got a bye.
-Can you guys swing the line this way?
Okay. Vicki, Is that all right?
- Titus is still the guy to beat in this tournament.
Even though he had a disappointing year last year,
he's still the favorite.
James Wilkins looked pretty good the last bouts at Petrides,
but he's not fighting tonight,
so he will see him again in the semifinals.
He got a bye.
But yeah, should be a couple fireworks with the 132s.
I think they're gonna be third bout, so stay tuned.
- In 2013 when I won the Gloves,
I got a chance to meet Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather and his people flew me out to Vegas.
I trained with Mayweather.
It was surreal. Things was just flowing.
I was in a position like, "All right, I'm done with amateurs."
I got tired of it.
-Ready for work, baby. Ready for work.
-But you forget there's other guys behind you that's hungry.
The first night at the Golden Gloves in 2014,
these guys just came at me and he just took it from me.
It hurt for a little while. It stung.
This year, I can't be complacent.
Just got to stay hungry.
Hunger is a big thing in this sport.
-Tighten the back?
Titus is looking better and better.
I had to have a chat with him. You were on top of the world,
and then, you know, maybe you slacked a little bit.
You can't let these young, hungry kids come up,
'cause they want to beat you.
They got your picture on their mirror in the gym, man.
You're the guy that they want to beat.
So, you know, maybe I think I motivated him a little bit
with that talk 'cause he's been on fire since.
-And the first young man in the gold corner
is representing the Freeport Police Athletic League.
Let's hear it for Titus Williams.
- It was a learning lesson for me losing in 2014.
Even when you're winning
and when everything is all good,
you still got to find
the hunger and the motivation from somewhere.
Look at Mayweather.
I see him and he has millions and millions of dollars.
What motivates him to work hard every day in the gym?
He has all the cars you can ask for.
He has everything you can ask for.
So, it's bigger than just the materialistic things.
It's legacy.
I'm fighting for legacy.
Go ahead, baby, go commit.
There you go, there you go.
That's it. Laser dukes. Split them gloves with the laser.
Split it! That's it, split it!
That's what I'm talking about! Sit on the hook!
Bend your knee on that hook!
Go forward with the jab.
Keep that calibration backing him up.
That's it. Two! Drop it!
There you go!
Now give yourself room! Stick first!
Back him up, T. Good stick.
Tidy up the rhythm.
There ya go!
Nice!
- Yeah!
- And your winner,
from the gold corner, Williams.
Yeah.
-Did I see you on TV recently?
-Yeah, I came out on J Lo's Neighborhood Session just,
you know, spreading the word
about people doing good in the Bronx.
It's not all what everybody thinks of,
and now I work in, um, a charter school in Harlem
and I'm a females basketball coach.
-Oh, yeah? -So I'm just helping other girls
follow their dreams.
- ♪ Message is pray to God you survive ♪
♪ Hail Mary, do or die ♪
Ladies, listen, y'all need
to get your act together in school.
You're not gonna like every teacher,
you're not gonna like every student.
There's gonna be times where it's just...
you're not gonna want to deal with them.
But I already told y'all there's ways of dealing with things,
and if y'all acting up and y'all being disrespectful
to other staff members,
the things that we have planned for you,
you're not gonna participate in it 'cause it's not allowed.
And nowadays, a high school diploma doesn't mean nothing.
You need an associate's, you need a bachelor's.
You don't want a job, you want a career.
You don't want to sit and do a job all day,
a 9:00 to 5:00 that you don't like.
I enjoy coming over here 'cause y'all
make me laugh, y'all make me happy.
There's days I don't even want to get out of bed,
and I'll be like, "Okay, I'm gonna see my girls today.
One of them's gonna act up."
- Skyla.
-I see so much potential in all of y'all.
A lot of you surprise me
on strengths, the support, leadership.
You got to remember this is a whole new generation.
Women are coming up.
So whether you're gonna play ball in university--
which y'all better get tickets-- go into the military--
which I want to be in the graduation.
And I want to go to all of y'all high school graduations.
All right,
so we're gonna talk Monday, right, Destiny?
Me and you? Monday, I got to see you.
I got to see Esther on Monday, too.
-Wait, what about your fight?
- You know what, that fight starts at 7:00.
I don't know how good y'all parents are
with y'all staying out late,
but you got to let me know before Wednesday.
James Wilkins, let's go.
Hit it. Hit it.
One step.
And jab-- jabs all day.
Don't back up.
- I grew up in Brooklyn, New York,
and then from there, we went to Staten Island,
back to Brooklyn.
Lived in Flatbush with my aunt for a few.
Then we moved out to the South Bronx with my mother's father,
and then we moved back to Staten Island.
My grandmother raised all of us,
and money was always a problem.
It was 24 grandkids.
We lived in one apartment.
My grandmother gave all the kids the master bedroom.
Literally, we just had a bunch of mattresses
laying on the floor 'cause there was too many of us
to put, like, a whole bed.
But it taught us how to, like, stick together as a family.
That's why we're all still so close.
I want to be the first to say that I made it from my family.
Like, I got us where we want to be.
That's my goal.
- He wants to turn professional,
you know, to help his family.
He has a way to go, though.
First he has to win these Golden Gloves.
Keep them hands moving, hands moving.
I said James came a long way.
- He can win the Gloves, man.
- He will win the Gloves. He will.
-We got Titus, right? -Mm-hmm.
-We got Titus, we got that kid--
Like, all of the rest of them he beat already.
-Exactly, so he got an edge on them.
He got an edge on everybody. -But he can't--
He got to listen, man. That's all I'm saying.
-And that's the most important thing.
James and listening. -He don't listen.
Take your time. Just play.
- Nice and easy, nice and easy. All right.
- Time!
-No, no! He didn't do nothing wrong.
The kid did not do nothing wrong.
Don't even go there with that. -Don't go crazy.
-Use your jab.
There you go, there you go.
Body! Body! Body! Body!
Work, shove away.
Stay relaxed, stay relaxed.
-He don't hear you. All right, relax, relax, relax.
Relax the side.
No, no! -Oh!
- Hey, hey, hey!
-Yo, yo, yo. Yo, no, no, no.
-Holding me! -Get out. Get out the ring.
I've had it with this shit.
There's no reason for you to grab him like that, man.
-Don't do that shit.
-There's no reason for you to do that, man.
Get out the ring. -Do that shit to me.
Getting mad at me? You see it, Patty.
-Right, I know, but you got to think.
Think. -I know you see it, Patty.
-I know, but you can't think with this.
You got to think with this.
This ain't boxing, it's sparring.
Listen to your corner.
-Just take a knee. -G's mad at me again.
-I know, but because he don't want you acting like that.
-That's that regular Staten Island stuff, see, Patty?
You got to start hanging out with us Brooklyn dudes.
James is the perfect example
of why the gyms are necessary,
why there really should be a gym in every community.
The gym is a medicine.
It's a preventative maintenance
for kids that are gonna go the wrong way.
It's gonna prevent them
from joining the Latin Kings, the Bloods, the Crips.
This is 49th Street in Sunset Park.
When I was here as a police officer,
this was one of the worst blocks.
It was like a carnival for drug dealers.
The old timers in the command said,
"We don't go down that block. We let them kill each other
because they'll just throw
bricks off the building at you."
A major problem that the people told us about
was that there was no recreational activities
for kids, for teenagers.
Then I'd just started boxing.
I fell in love with the sport, and I said, "You know what,
this is a perfect carrot on a stick to get to the kids."
Boxing.
You see the results.
When we shut the block down and we made it a PAL street,
we built relationships with the block,
real police community relationships,
'cause they seen that we weren't just coming here
to lock up their kids.
We were here to put them in a positive direction.
And it was crime prevention,
because now you have 50 kids that would be in the streets
that are in the gym,
and I literally would go up there
because I fought in the Golden Gloves at the time.
I was training with the kids side by side, a police officer,
and really, they couldn't believe it.
When they got to spar with me,
they couldn't believe that they had the opportunity
to hit a cop and get away with it.
And over the decades,
New York City Parks Department
had plenty of gyms within the park's facilities.
PAL was the biggest.
They were always the elite of the boxing programs.
But it slowly happened,
boxing being eliminated
from these major institutions.
- These kids are in a fighting mood.
Fighting for the glory, the belts, and the pride,
but most importantly, for their futures.
-If I wasn't boxing,
I don't think I know where I'd be right now.
- The free programs ran successfully
through the Police Athletic League
until about 2007 when they were shut down.
- I think people have a built-in bias
because they perceive it as just a violent sport,
that you're teaching kids to beat up other kids,
and that's not the case, and in my opinion,
it's total ignorance of the sport.
Kids actually came up to me,
'cause I was the PAL director for boxing
and said, "How could you shut it down?
How could you, Patty Russo, shut down our boxing program?"
And then you try to explain it to a 16-year-old kid
that came every day to the Webster PAL in the Bronx,
you try to explain to him, "It wasn't me. It was..."
And then you try to explain why,
and how could you even come up with that answer?
I couldn't tell you off the top of my head
how many gyms are closed down,
but this is the kids that are gonna be attracted to gangs
that are not in a positive atmosphere anymore.
-This gym was the fourth one they closed.
The ring was right here, and you could hear the sound.
Bam, bam, bam, bam.
Hitting the bag, hitting the speed bag.
And of course, me yelling at them.
"Put your hands up.
Don't do this, don't do that."
Had all the trophies here with...
...with pictures of all the kids.
There was a gang around the neighborhood called Blood,
and they started coming in here.
And at the beginning, they were a little bit wild,
but I started with one,
and one of them became champion,
and the rest followed him.
Every time I used to get a champion,
I used to say, "I beat the street."
But when somebody get killed out there,
the street beat me.
I thought we were coming back,
but that's the way it goes.
- My little brother, he always protected me.
You know, he was my protector in school.
I still think, you know, if I train a little,
I still think I'd be able to beat him up, but...
But seeing him start from the beginning
to where he is now is really amazing.
I called him one day-- "I'm with Mayweather.
Floyd Mayweather Jr." I'm like, "What?
Tell him I said hi." Like, what you told him, you know--
Like, the family knows. I don't do too many fights.
-Come to the big ones.
-'Cause you know I be feeling it, I feel it. Like, I'm like...
- Yeah, she want to jump in the ring.
-I want to jump in the ring, and I can't jump in the ring,
so what I do is I'll follow him to each corner, like...
- What was your reaction the first time
I told you I wanted to box, Mom? -I totally disagreed
with you boxing. -Why?
-Thinking about guys getting hit upside the head,
bruises, and your health.
That was just so important to me.
Very important to me.
And I just agreed with it the last,
maybe the last three years because I spoke to--
- When I got good and started making newspaper.
-No, it wasn't about the paper. It was about--
- When I started winning the belts.
-No, it's just that I wanted you to follow your dream.
I finally accepted the fact that you're gonna follow your dreams,
and I just said I'll go along
and I'll pray for you as you follow your dreams.
- ...wasting no time attacking.
-Go on YouTube right now and watch some boxing.
- Oh, good left hand to the body,
a left to the head.
Down goes Proksa! Coming up from 154 pounds.
-Who you think's gonna win?
-I don't know. -Who do you think?
-I think the red one. -Him?
-Mm-hmm. -No, he loses. Watch.
- Cut is pumping out blood right now.
Blood just everywhere.
They throw in a towel.
Gennady Golovkin gets
win number 25 in 20-second stoppage.
-Listen, I'm gonna get started on making that sauce, all right?
You guys got to do what you got to do.
-Can I have one? -Yes, yes, you may.
- Okay, wait, I want to show you the trick I learned.
Alice, you want some strawberries and some fruit,
honey? - My mother taught me
this stuff, but then I became great at it in the firehouse.
I'm gonna brown the meatballs, all right?
That'll be nice and hot by the time the meatballs are brown
and I'm gonna flavor it with the meat.
You know, like Clemenza did in The Godfather, right?
- Mm-hmm. - That's, like,
one of the movies that comes on, you got to watch it.
You stir this up, this is nice and hot now.
They almost just about ready for the meatballs,
you know what I mean?
And then the meatballs will cook in there...
about a good solid two hours or so, I mean...
I got very sick after 9/11.
I ended up with two throat surgeries.
I had esophageal problems. I ended up with asthma.
Then I was very ill for a two-year period,
and I was retired for that reason.
And we kind of knew we were gonna get sick,
but let me tell you something,
being firefighters is like being a Marine, you know?
You don't... You don't go until everybody's out of there,
and I wouldn't change one thing that I did.
I'd do it all over again the same way.
What worries me the most is...
how many of these guys have died since then,
and some of them are friends of mine
and guys I dug right next to,
and I'm not so sure I'm not gonna be the next guy.
That's why we find positive things in our life
like the boxing gym and family and all that stuff,
because you never know.
The boxing gym is the best place in the world
for me and for my coaches
because as much as we're helping these kids,
that program helps us.
Having that room to walk into every day,
that hotbox of action, having these combatants
going in, battle their asses off,
and before they go in there, there's nothing but pure love,
and when they're finished, there's nothing but pure love.
Man, it's kind of a--
To some people, it's an oxymoron, I guess.
It's something weird, something strange,
but to us, it makes sense.
They're the humblest of warriors.
♪ Latin music plays on stereo ♪
-Aah! Ooh!
-"I can jump." What are you trying to say?
Oh, "very high."
You need to fix the "y" and the "j."
You did this by yourself? -Yep.
-Nobody helped you? -Nope.
-Look at me.
Serious? Nobody helped you?
It says 143.6, so you take a pound for the clothes,
and, yeah,
I'm a good pound over.
I'm not gonna kill myself to make weight.
I already didn't eat anything all day,
and usually I don't have a problem with weight,
but this is where for women, it's a little harder in boxing
because when we get our cycles, we retain water,
so regardless of how good we're eating,
how hard we're training,
our body will still retain water and it's that much harder.
We have to work that much more to take the water weight off.
So, unfortunately, that's my case right now.
Hopefully, I get to sweat it out in a little bit of run.
♪ pop music plays in headphones ♪
-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
-♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
-♪ Oh, yeah ♪ -♪ Oh, yeah ♪
-♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ -♪ Oh, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, yeah ♪ -♪ Oh, yeah ♪
-♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ They can say whatever ♪
♪ I'ma do whatever ♪
♪ Nothin' is forever ♪
♪ Yep, you know this ♪
♪ Tougher than a lion ♪
♪ Ain't no need in tryin' ♪
♪ I live where the sky ends, yep ♪
♪ You know this ♪
♪ Never lying, truth-teller ♪
♪ That Rihanna reign just won't let up ♪
♪ All black on, blacked-out shades ♪
♪ Blacked-out Maybach ♪
♪ I'ma rock this... like fashion ♪
♪ As in going till they say stop ♪
♪ And my runway never looked so clear ♪
♪ But the hottest... in heels right here ♪
♪ No fear ♪
-Lines, let's go. -♪ I'm getting my fly on ♪
♪ Sincere, I see you aiming at my pedestal ♪
♪ I better let you know ♪
♪ That I-I-I-I'm so hard ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm so hard ♪
♪ That I-I-I-I'm so hard ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm so hard ♪
♪ That Rihanna reign just don't let up ♪
♪ So hard, so hard ♪
♪ All up on it, know you want to clone it ♪
♪ Ain't like me, that chick too phony ♪
♪ Ride this beat, beat, beat like a pony ♪
♪ Meet me at the top, top ♪ -Two more, two more.
-♪ Who think they test me now ♪
♪ Run through your town, I shut it down ♪
♪ Brilliant, resilient ♪
♪ Fan mail from 27 million ♪
♪ And I want it all ♪
♪ It's gonna take more than that ♪
♪ Hope that ain't all you got ♪
♪ I need it all ♪
♪ The money, the fame, the cars, the clothes ♪
♪ I can't just let you run up on me like that ♪
♪ All on me like that, yeah ♪
-Because it's nighttime.
-♪ So I think I better let you know ♪
Listen, two minutes, and then let's go.
I'm tired. And I got to clean.
We got to get ready for tomorrow's fight.
All right? -♪ So hard, so hard ♪
-Yeah? -♪ So hard, so hard ♪
♪ That I-I-I ♪
- ...was arrested for assault three months ago.
Got into an altercation with a co-worker, Alonzo Herne,
at his bike shop.
Guy dropped the charges. - Well, maybe it's payback.
Check with the Precinct in Brooklyn.
-Tie -Aw, man.
- Oh, James left your dress socks upstairs.
-Don't worry, it's clip-on. -Dress socks?
Do I... You want me to wear a tie?
- I don't want you to wear anything.
It's up to them, not me. -It's up to you.
- You got to wear the tie.
-You're fine the way you are.
Normally it's so much easier, the boxing.
We go there, we're comfortable
in our jogging pants and regular clothes.
Today it's very particular.
-This one will fit you perfect. I'm not sure that the jacket--
I don't know what size you are in jackets.
But it should fit you.
-Hate dressing up.
- Get used to it, buddy. - Hmm?
-Get used to it.
Yo, Dad, where you at?
All right, 'cause we got to be at the gym.
All right. He's on his way. He'll be here in two minutes.
-Jessie, your hair's already wavy. Don't brush it.
You're gonna get rid of that. It looks nice like that.
- You can't brush it. - Exactly.
-Now I'm mackin' up.
Actually wavy, wavy.
-Yo, Brent, where's those dress shoes?
-Yo, why you guys look--
-I don't got dress shoes. I'm wearing a suit.
-See you later. -There's my dad. Come on, man.
-James, that actually looks good.
- Thank you. - Give me a hug.
-All right, bro. -Good luck.
- Bring the bank.
-What bank? Oh. -Thank you.
-James, kick some ass, man.
-It's knockout time, knockout time.
-Knockout time. Love you.
Be good, have a good fight.
-I took off from work today because I want to be there
to drive you around and help you out.
-Yeah, I just want to go straight to the gym.
-I went to the bank, James,
and I got you your good-luck $100 again.
There you go, son. There's your $100 good luck.
- Thank you, Dad. - What we got to do every
time on fight night. -Thank you, thank you.
-You got it, buddy.
You're gonna get it today, buddy. We're gonna get it today.
Today is small work compared to what you're gonna do.
Gonna get those gloves, son.
Today's your mom's birthday.
Yeah.
Just got to run into the bathroom.
You just got to run into the bathroom in the gym real quick
so you can hop on the scale, anything like that,
'cause I won't have it any other way.
-I don't have time. I don't have time.
-Son, listen to me. -We have to go. Right here.
It's already 4-- If I don't weigh in at 5:30
I get disqualified. I don't have time, no.
-Going in the gym with G, right? -No, I'm not.
-Stay in there, you hear me? I see them gloves right there.
Flash that on that camera where we can see that right there, pa.
Come on, you earned that right there.
-I'm about to get another pair this year.
-Yo, I respect that, baby.
Train hard, do you, stay focused.
You hear me? And I want to see you on TV.
- Yo, Brandon. - Come here.
- Your mother's allowed in? - Yeah.
- "James!" - That's right.
- "Let's go, James!"
-You hear that every fight, bro.
-"James! Let's go, James!"
Then his father's cursing in the background.
Right? - "Come on, son."
- "'F' them up, son. 'F' them up."
Your brother's coming, too? -Nah, he can't.
- Why? - 'Cause he's on the run.
- He's what? - He's on the run.
- From your father? - Yeah.
- The Addams Family, I swear to God.
♪ suspenseful music ♪
- Ladies and gentlemen, at this time,
can you please start making your way to your seats?
Very good evening to you,
and welcome to the world-famous New York Athletic Club.
This is the first of our
two 132-pound Open semifinals.
The winner of these contests
will advance to the finals on April 2nd.
Boxing out of the gold corner this evening,
Jude Franklin!
His opponent to my right,
boxing out of the blue corner
from the Freeport PAL Boxing Team,
ladies and gentlemen, here he is--
Titus Williams!
- Let's go, Titus!
-Come on, blue! -Come on, Pop! Two hands.
Bent knees, bent knees.
That's it, but finish up faster!
Bend your knees through the combo!
That's it, do it again!
Nice, T! - Come on, yellow.
- You're tippy-toeing,
so it's causing your chin to come up a little bit.
Bend your knees a little bit.
And I want you to aim your right hand here.
Don't aim at the head 'cause it's making your feet rise
and it's bringing you up a little bit too high.
You understand me?
That's what I'm talking about!
There you go! There you go!
That's it, yellow! Come on!
-That was a good second round. I need a better third round.
Keep your feet right, and don't tippy toe.
Come on, go get it! Go get it!
Two hands! Slice of that!
Beautiful!
Good body, T!
Oh!
Oh, good one! Finish with the one!
- Come on, got to work! - Let's go, Titus!
Show him one, two, three!
Attaboy! Attaboy!
Whoo! Yeah, baby!
That's what I'm talking about, bro.
Took him to school tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen,
after three bruising rounds,
we have a very close points verdict.
Your winner, and on to the finals,
in the blue corner,
Titus Williams!
So, Titus Williams is in.
Now he's gonna see who his opponent's gonna be.
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
we will decide the 132-pound Open final
with this next contest. -Yo, James, all body shots.
Jab, body shot, got it? You hear me?
- To my left,
boxing out of the gold corner this evening
from the Atlas Cops N Kids Boxing Program,
James Wilkins!
-Stop it in the first round!
- Body, James, body!
James, hit the body!
The body, James!
Right here, James, right here.
- Stop!
-Yo, why you don't listen?
Why you don't listen?!
Listen to me, bro!
- You don't got it, James! - Calm down, it's fine.
-No, calm down. You don't listen.
Go to the body. He's gonna drop his hands.
You'll have clean headshots. -Take your time.
-All right, this round, listen to me now.
Hard body shots, and you'll stop him.
Trust me. Let's go.
- Come on, James!
- Focus, James.
- Let's go, James!
Get in there!
James, work the body!
Right hand to the body, baby!
-Get him!
Show him how strong you are, James!
He don't got it, James! He don't got it!
- No! Stop!
- What are you doing?!
- Let's go!
- Let me tell you something.
I'm gonna tell you something right now.
You let this kid right back in the fight.
Come on, man. This kid should've been done already.
If you would listen to me,
this kid would be out of here already.
You hear me? I want five punches at a time.
Bone up, let's go. -Balls to the wall, baby.
-Let's go. This is going to the Barclay, you hear me?
You hear me? -Balls to the wall, baby.
-Stop the kicking and all that, all that.
You're gonna lose the fight, doesn't matter. They watch.
Yo, this kid won't see enough of you.
Get right back in the fight.
- Box!
- Go get him!
Go get him, baby!
Oh!
Go, James! Way to go.
- Finish him right here! Finish him!
- Work in there, work in there, work!
Let's go, James!
- Let's go, James!
- Break!
-Nice shot, baby.
- All right, ladies and gentlemen,
after three fast-paced rounds, we have the decision.
Your winner going to the finals,
in the gold corner,
James Wilkins!
- Way to go, James!
-Good fight, bro.
-If he'd listen, he'd make it so easy.
♪ O'er the land ♪
♪ Of the free ♪
♪ And the home ♪
♪ Of the brave ♪
- You stepped it up.
-Okay. You're gonna get on the scale.
Go ahead.
141 even. Very good.
-Yes.
- Winner sideways or directly goes to the finals
at Barclays Center.
And your winner is from the gold corner.
141-pound women's division.
Four two-minute rounds.
And the first is the young lady in the gold corner,
Sarah Thomas.
And in the blue corner,
Nisa Rodriguez.
-Shake hands.
Watch your heads, no low blows.
Listen to my commands. No holding.
Good luck to both of you. Shake hands.
- All right, Nisa.
- One, two! One, two!
-One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight...
- Rodriguez.
- So small. Thank you. - You should be very proud.
- Over there. - Good job.
-Congratulations. See you tomorrow.
-Congratulations. Hold my water?
-I want a brownie.
I want a brownie. Then I want chocolate.
Got to keep that weight down.
-My weight should be still good.
-Very important for you to keep it down until--
Y'all should be doing what you did today.
-Okay. -Next is the Barclays Center.
That's the Barclays Center championship.
That's where we going.
-Mitchell, where he at?
All right, see y'all later.
Goodnight, everybody. Goodnight.
We be at the next fight.
Barclays.
-There's two weeks preceding the finals.
So we bag these up, and we keep them all together,
and pull them out ringside when that bout is on.
Brian gives the gold gloves
in the ring to the happy guys, to the winners.
Me behind in the back,
I have to give the silver gloves
to the runner ups that are not happy,
and the majority of them do cry.
I feel so bad for them.
That's when I have to bring out my mother figure.
- Holding these gloves,
it brings back that feeling of having the gloves
put around my neck
and wearing it all day the next day around the neighborhood.
I won three of them,
'93, '95, and '96.
But 1994 was upsetting
because...
the way I lost that fight.
I knew how I felt for the two weeks preceding the finals.
The pressure that these kids have on their shoulders,
people don't understand and can never understand.
One thirty-two, 132 Open.
- The 132 Open,
we have James Wilkins and Titus Williams.
It's real interesting.
I like James as a person, a kid.
I think he's come a long way in terms of maturing,
but he got the perfect style
for Titus Williams,
'cause James is gonna be aggressive
and just try to fight.
And James Wilkins is actually in Big Bear, California, training.
He's up there in training camp,
so he's gonna be in shape when he come home.
- He's never been to training camp or nothing.
He's still an amateur, so I don't really bring him,
but this is gonna be an experience for him.
Now he's around the pros, you know?
Three sprint from here.
Three sprint from that pole and three sprint from that pole,
and that's it, we're good.
Ready? Go.
- I train with great fighters like Eugene.
He's an Olympian.
Marcus is an Olympian.
Now they're both pros with a lot of knockouts.
Waking up at 7:00 in the morning,
none of us want to do it,
but when I see them do it and I see where they're at,
it makes me want to do that, so it just pushes me.
- You all right, man? - Huh?
- You all right? - Yo, G. These jump ropes suck.
- So get another one.
There's a thousand of them over there.
Look on the rack over there. Look.
I don't think it's the jump rope.
Use your leg. Come on, man.
Don't touch it. You grab it again, you're doing push-ups.
James, come on, man. Time, time, time.
-G, we know-- -Come on, listen to me.
Listen to me. Focus what you're--
- I am-- - Listen to me. Shut up.
Don't talk, don't say a word to me.
Do me a favor, don't say nothing.
When you jump rope, don't say nothing to me.
Just listen when I'm telling you.
Focus what you're doing, 'cause you're not focused.
That's why you're messing up.
You don't focus hard, man.
- ♪ Jesus ♪
♪ I won't forget ♪
♪ Saved a wretch like me ♪
♪ Gave me the victory ♪
♪ I won't forget ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ I won't forget ♪
- Amen.
You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.
We give honor to the Lord on this morning.
Amen to our beloved mothers board.
Deacons, deaconess, ministers,
evangelists, saints, and friends,
we greet you all in the matchless name of Jesus.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank God
for one of our sons of this house.
Those of you that read the paper,
you would notice that you saw Brother Titus' name
in the paper, and he has won another fight,
amen, and amen.
The Lord has been gracious to him.
So we thank God for him, and certainly for his mom.
Anybody know Deaconess Hattie Mitchell,
he probably learned how to box
from watching her spank his butt.
Amen, amen.
He learned how to weave.
-Yes. -We can compare it
when we look at it as we're in a boxing match
daily with the devil.
Amen, amen.
I was there, and some of the young people along with us,
amen, when we went to the Barclays Center
and I saw him receive the Golden Gloves.
Amen, amen.
And the Lord has blessed him yet again,
and April 2nd, he'll be back at the Barclays Center
to do the same thing again!
Amen.
♪ pensive music ♪
- It's here.
This is going for the gloves.
What you got to do, you got to show what a taller girl does
in a fight.
-90 seconds. Let's go, come on.
You want to win, right? Come on.
-Yeah. -You want to win?
-Yeah. -You don't move like it.
You want to win? Come on, come on.
Don't get scared. How bad you want it?
How bad you want it, Nisa? Come on.
-Trying, girl. -One more. You got it.
I'm ready.
-You cried for me. -It's not that I cry for you.
It's I'm happy you're there.
You just make me happy.
- I want you to win the Golden Gloves.
"God arms me with strength
and He makes my way perfect.
He makes me sure footed as a deer,
enabling me to stand on a mountain height.
He trains my hands for battle,
He strengthens my arms to draw a bronze bow.
You have given me the shield of victory.
Your right hand supports me.
Your help has made me great."
Psalms 18:32 and 35.
These are all the different inspirational things
that I try to put up for my son all the time.
I just want him to know
that no weapon formed against him shall ever prosper,
basically, and that his dreams will come true,
and like Jeremiah 29 says,
God has a plan for everybody,
and it's not of disaster and evil but of hope and of future.
And I believe that this is his destiny and this is his hope.
-There you go.
There you go.
♪ rap music plays on stereo ♪
-Yeah.
18. Come on.
- Hundred and twelve, 113, 114,
115, 116, 117, 118,
119, 120.
-Whoo! They say he too strong, T.
We been doing this for long-- way longer than him.
I fought way better fighters than him.
They say he too strong.
I'm stronger.
♪ pensive music ♪
- James is gonna be in shape
and he's gonna fight hard, so, uh, we'll spot him on.
We'll do our strength and conditioning Friday,
but we're gonna take a full weekend off,
and we'll be back nice and fresh next week,
and we'll do the finishing touches,
pull back, let our legs get really nice and strong,
and then you're gonna see something very exciting
from this young man.
Power and speed, baby.
He's the guy this year.
It's his time.
-Get the support from my brothers in the gym.
That's all I need. -That's right.
-We gonna try to win this.
Let's get it. It's show time, baby.
♪ dramatic music ♪
I'm here at Barclays Center.
Golden Gloves championship.
I'm in the seat now.
- Looks good. Let me get ahead.
Great.
Come back to me.
Push me up.
This one?
- Chopping wood.
Getting strong.
- 130.
-Blue corner here, gold corner here.
Ladies, follow me.
-Where we at? Gold?
Got my socks, shirt, gloves.
Start breaking them in.
-Just hit him in the arms. Yo, hit him in the arms.
He does that Mayweather crap.
How many boys do you have?
- I got two tonight. - Yo.
-Papa.
You got a new suit on tonight.
- Make a fist.
Be coy and use that speed, quickness, and power.
- Let your hands go.
You go low, hit body. Don't go head.
Go low, you're down for the body.
Hit him in the body. - Welcome, everyone,
to a special edition of Lou DiBella's Broadway Boxing.
We are outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York,
and it should be a great night of boxing
as we look at some of the hottest amateurs in the city.
-Be advised, boxers now on the move at this time.
- Ring the bell ready!
- Tonight, the Daily News welcomes you
to the finals of the 88th Daily News Golden Gloves,
the world's oldest and largest amateur boxing tournament.
The Gloves has produced over 40 world champions,
more than any other amateur tournament,
including the Olympic games.
This is the place where Sugar Ray Robinson was born,
where Floyd Patterson became the champion,
where Mark Breland became a legend.
Thank you for joining us
for the next chapter in Golden Gloves history.
-Be the champ very soon. Do it right.
We welcome everyone inside
the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
I'm Rich Quiñones alongside my broadcast partners
this evening, Mike Woods and Mark Breland,
no stranger to winning Golden Gloves here in New York,
and let's go for the official introductions.
For that, our ring announcer Kevin VanMeter.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the first bout of the evening
will be the 141-pound female championship.
In the gold corner, Stacia Suttles.
She's 20 years old
and is a student at Hostos Community College.
And in the blue corner, Nisa Rodriguez.
She's 24 years old.
Nisa is a mother, a teacher,
and a five-time Golden Gloves champion from the Bronx.
- Mark, if Nisa goes on to win this one,
she'll do something that
only three other competitors have ever done,
and that's win a half-dozen pair of Golden Gloves,
and she's a special fighter.
She's a very talented young girl.
- Oh, she can fight. She fights very well.
- Box!
Four two-minute rounds.
Can see Rodriguez slightly taller than Suttles.
- Show 'em who's boss, Nisa, yeah!
- Ooh! - Straight right
by Rodriguez.
Knocks back Suttles. - Stay on her, Nisa!
- Suttles showing a fighter mind-set.
We said that she's been doing martial arts since she was 4.
Proving it here tonight.
Upper cut! Upper cut!
Suttles taking a couple shots.
Hanging in there, though. Showing some guts.
Suttles trying to get a little momentum
to close out round number one and got rocked.
Another counter by Rodriguez.
- Good round, good round. - One in the books.
-Wake up. Let's go. Let's wake up.
-Just don't stand there in front of her doing anything.
You have to keep the jab pouring and keep pushing and pushing,
pushing her back. -Stiff jabs. Second's out.
- Let's keep it going.
- Suttles is better off being the aggressor
and risking taking counter shots to land a couple shots.
- Rodriguez again peppering her with shots.
Forget about the guts.
She's just fearless in this round, too.
Suttles.
To close it out,
and a little potential extracurricular activities.
Two in the books. -That's what I'm talking about.
There you go. That's yours, that's yours.
This is what you trained for. This is your house, baby.
We taking her gold. She's tired already.
-Breathe, breathe, breathe.
Don't follow her around the ring.
Let's cut over and cut off and work your hands.
- When you get close, hit to the bottom real quick inside.
- I need it there one time. - No.
Stand up, take a deep breath.
Deep breath, deep breath, come on.
- More hands. Stiff jabs.
- Nisa, head and body shots. - Rodriguez, again,
a five-time Golden Gloves champ in the blue.
- Work, Nisa! There you go. - Top right
by Rodriguez.
More push-back again does Suttles.
- Ooh. - Straight right
by Rodriguez.
- Good right hand. - Get on her, Nisa.
- Suttles in trouble. Paid the price!
Rodriguez going for the win!
And there's our first standing eight.
The look in Nisa's eyes says
she wants to see more of that. - Oh, yeah.
- Body shot! Body shot! Body shot!
Rodriguez pressing the action.
Nisa, go to the body!
Oh, rocks Suttles again!
Oh, mercy!
Second standing eight in this third round!
Sharp left hook did the damage.
Nisa Rodriguez looking
for the sixth pair of gloves.
Rocking Suttles, who's showing nothing but heart.
Third standing eight of the bout.
- That's it.
It'll go down as a TKO win,
and with that, Nisa Rodriguez will win
her sixth pair of Golden Gloves.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the winner of the 141-pound women's female champion
is, from the blue corner, Nisa Rodriguez.
- You've done something
that only three other people have done in Gloves history.
- Just coming from where I'm from, from the South Bronx,
not a lot of people got to live out their dreams,
so I'm doing it to inspire others
that no matter where you from, what you've been through--
I've had a child, I've gone back to school,
I had to hustle to make ends meet being a single mom,
and I want it. I want everything.
USA titles, I want national titles.
I want everything that they have,
and I already put in my mind. I have people looking up to me.
I have a whole community looking up to me, a whole school.
I got to take it.
I can't let my kids down, I can't let my community down.
You know, I'm the fighting pride of the South Bronx right now.
-Congratulations, Nisa. -Thank you so much.
-Six, very impressive. -Thank you.
- You got it.
-Hey. Yeah!
Hi. -Yeah.
-Did you like the fight? -Yes.
-Was it good? Did I fight good?
Are you proud? Can I get a kiss?
You like it? I got another one.
- Good luck.
All right, Rabbit. Thank you.
-Follow me, guy.
Welcome back, everyone,
as we get set for our next bout of the evening.
Should be a good one,
132-pound Open in the male class.
Take a look at Titus Williams taking on James Wilkins.
- Yeah, yeah!
- Titus Williams, 2013, Best Open Boxer winner,
and a lot of combinations from that guy you're gonna see.
James Wilkins from that, once again, Atlas Cops N Kids.
He was Novice champion in '13.
-Use the shorty with the speed. Understand?
Gonna walk right into it.
Let's go, boys.
-Speed.
Step right around, drop it in.
-Hard body shots. Hard body shots.
-Okay, I expect you to obey them at all times.
Is that true? Thank you.
-Everything we worked on all year.
Everything comes down right now to this kid.
Papito, do you know the rules?
I expect you to obey them at all times, yes?
-Yes, sir. -Good luck to you.
- Come on, James!
- I love me a game face, gentlemen.
Titus Williams glaring and staring at James Wilkins.
Got my juices flowing. -Come on, guys.
Obey my commands at all times and good luck to both of you.
Second bell!
Box!
- James Wilkins, you know, he fights very aggressive.
It's like an angry aggressive.
- There you go! Finish to the body!
Bend your knees and keep your chin tucked!
- Oh, great combination
from Titus Williams.
-Body, James, body!
Don't wait for him!
Jab, jab! -Don't punk, sit, sit!
That's it!
Wilkins is coming straight in.
- Easy target. - Easy target.
- There you go! That hurt!
Body! - Work the body!
Work the body, James! - That's it, James!
-Work it, James! Body shots!
- Here we go. - There you go.
- Now Wilkins trying to close with a flurry!
That was a counter right by Williams!
Titus Williams looks nice.
I'm gonna tell you something.
Right after you hit this kid, you relax.
Don't relax, man. Hit him with your combos, right?
Come back again and hit him again.
- A little anxious in that round, all right?
I know it's a big fight and a lot of pressure,
but pay attention to me.
When you're throwing your combinations, right,
you got to commit half a step closer.
-Hard body shots.
You got to give me five fast punches, not slow punches.
Da-da-da-da-da! Da-da-da! Like we did in camp, man.
-Sit down on the combination, don't let your chin come up.
- Box!
The onset of round number two.
Slated for three.
- James, fast hand! - Come on, James, come on!
- James Wilkins.
- Probably shot down his punches, and he is right now.
- James, right on him! Right on him!
One-two, one-two, one-two.
There you go, yeah!
-Stop! Stop!
-Oh!
- There you go! James, work the body!
Wilkins building some equity.
Going downstairs, comes back up top, and a good right hand!
Now it's Titus Williams on the attack
with a great counter!
- Tippy toes!
- Good body shot downstairs by Wilkins.
- Yeah, baby, work him! - Hey!
- The fight of the night thus far,
very entertaining.
It was a Wilkins round for me.
-There's a little illusion going on out there.
It appears that he's working harder than you
even though he's not really landing the punches.
-One-twos. One-twos get busy, got it?
-I want you to equal him for punch tally, you understand?
-He throws two, you throw three. He throws four, you throw five.
Go get him. Got it? - This is it.
This is the third and final round.
-Yo, this round decides this fight.
-Throw an extra punch every time you throw the combination.
- Box!
- Do it again! Get that rhythm, T!
Go! -Go! Come on! Come on!
- Watch him bounce, Titus, come on! Get him!
-Throw more punches, that's it!
-He's holding! He's holding!
-Good tie up. That's a smart tie up.
Oh!
Under the elbow!
- One-two, one-two!
Oh!
One-two, one-two!
- Let's go, James! - Work him, James!
Work him in there! Keep working him!
Work, James, work! One-two, one-two!
-Oh! Right there, baby! Yeah!
- Wilkins says, "Come on, let's go."
- Do it again! Oh!
That hurt, T! Oh!
Yeah, baby! Oh!
Do it again!
-Go get him, James! Go work him! Go work him, baby!
Oh!
- Oh!
- The crowd is juiced in the Barclays!
They want to see an exciting finish!
- Yeah!
He got that one. -Come here, baby.
-Yes, sir, baby!
-Those are our gloves.
-You slapped a lot and you blocked a lot
and he missed a lot.
You landed the cleaner punches, no doubt.
-That was a good fight. -Yes, sir.
Mr. Joe Higgins. -Oh, wow.
We knew it was gonna be that way, right, James?
-Yes, sir. Great fight. -Great fight.
-James, right here, baby.
Williams and Wilkins.
- Perhaps fireworks-- love, war, and boxing.
- Very good fight. Very good fight.
That was a heck of a fight.
The fight of the night.
I don't know who won.
- We'll throw it
to our ring announcer, Kevin VanMeter.
- Let's hear it for the boxers,
ladies and gentlemen.
The winner,
from the gold corner...
Well, it's Titus Williams
in the gold corner,
and he's very distraught is James Wilkins.
Tears in his eyes, frustration. He feels he was robbed.
-Listen. -It's not fair, man!
-Listen, listen, relax. -Relax, relax.
-How you gonna do this to me?! -Me? I'm not a judge.
-Get off me! -No, no.
Stay there, stay there.
Do the honors, please.
Your winner, Titus Williams.
You're still our champ, James.
You still worked for that. -I worked fucking hard!
Worked hard, man!
Fuck!
-He's in the other one.
-That's bullshit!
That's fucking bullshit!
No, I worked hard!
That's my fight!
When you fight a righty and you switch to lefty,
sometimes they're not really lefty,
so when you jump on them and pressure them,
they get nervous.
And you could hurt them, or they switch back.
Thank you, Jose.
And always, when I go lefty,
keep your lead foot outside of mine,
and if you want, step on it and hit me.
'Cause look--
I step on it, you're off balance.
Step on it, watch.
- ♪ Blood, sweat, and more tears ♪
♪ I worked hard through all the long years ♪
♪ Dark storms and now the sky's clear ♪
♪ The stars aligned, and I'm finally here ♪
♪ Wouldn't mama be proud now, I'm famous ♪
♪ Runnin' around important places ♪
♪ But I'll never forget where I came from ♪
♪ Waitin' tables, takin' busses, get my name on ♪
♪ Now it's big yachts and the big chips ♪
♪ I got the winning hands, I got the biggest hits ♪
♪ Got to kiss the ground to keep me humble now ♪
♪ When I'm stumblin' I hear you whisperin' ♪
♪ Keep your head up ♪
♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
♪ Keep hoping, keep dreaming ♪
♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep believin' ♪ -♪ Nobody gonna take my title ♪
-♪ Keep dreamin' ♪
-♪ 'Cause I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep winnin', keep winnin' ♪
♪ Door's open, door's closin' ♪
♪ Keep pushin', keep hopin' ♪
♪ Every trial and tribulation ♪
♪ All my tears and frustration ♪
♪ Now I'm stronger, I'm a champion ♪
♪ I'm a warrior, I do what can't be done ♪
♪ Flip the script, call me crazy, but I'm number one ♪
♪ Fly so high, eclipse the sun ♪
♪ Keep dreamin', keep dreamin', keep believin' ♪
♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep hoping, keep dreaming ♪
-♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep believin' ♪ -♪ Nobody gonna take my title ♪
-♪ Keep dreamin' ♪
-♪ 'Cause I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep winnin', keep winnin' ♪
-♪ Nobody gonna take my title ♪
-♪ Keep hopin', keep dreamin' ♪
♪ Keep believin' ♪
♪ Keep dreamin' ♪
-♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep hoping, keep dreaming ♪
-♪ I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep believin' ♪ -♪ Nobody gonna take my title ♪
-♪ Keep dreamin' ♪
-♪ 'Cause I keep winnin', winnin', winnin' ♪
-♪ Keep winnin' ♪
♪ Keep winnin' ♪
-♪ Nobody gonna take my title ♪