Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 38

12 Section 3 Chicago Tribune, Monday, April 12,1999 4, GoldenGloves s0m 72 minus 1985 Factory-based club's product packs punch Year-old Cicero program puts 4 in Gloves title fights jjr Although billed as the 72nd annual Chicagoland Golden Gloves tournament, the tradition missed one year, 1985, when sponsorship, including the Tribune's, was lost. The Gloves resumed in 1986. Dating back to 1926, this year's is the 72nd Chicagoland tournament. 1923-1926 Pnoios for me Tnbune by Stacey Wescott Jorge Gonzalez slams a body ball into the side of brother Jimmy in a workout at Eckhart Park. There was a Golden Gloves "at-large" tournament in Chicago in 1923, but winners did not advance to a national finals as they do now.

And when the city was reminded that boxing was illegal in Illinois, the tournament was scrapped until the state ban was lifted in 1926. Golden Glover's entire family in his corner By Michael Hirsley Tribune Staff Writer Since childhood, there have been only two periods when Chris Beck wasn't boxing. Both times, he was fighting to stay -alive. Not long after he moved to Chicago from Miami, where he met former lightweight champion Aaron Pryor and became convinced he wanted to box, Beck was assailed and nearly killed by robbers. "They shot me in the side," he recalled, perspiring after sparring three spirited rounds on a recent night at the Cicero Recreation Center.

The boxing gloves on his hands made it hard for him to lift his sweat-drenched shirt. At his insistence, his visitor did so. Beck showed and described the scars from his chest to his side as if they were symbols of obstacles he can overcome. That near-death setback in 1988, including emergency surgery, was the first interruption of his commitment to amateur boxing. The second, in 1993, was for removal of a cancerous tumor.

"I came back last June, and I've won 10 straight fights," he declared with a wide smile. If he can make it 11 when he faces Jermaine Marks of the law. When the ban was lifted in 1926, the amateur tournament was reinstated and began a 37-year run at the Chicago Stadium. Its current site is St. Andrew's Gym, 1658 W.

Addison St. From 1928 until 1961, there were two annual "national" finals, an eastern final in New York and a western final in Chicago. The "intei city" finals, which rotated between those cities in alternating years, pitted Chicago's champions against New York's and produced the true equivalent of an amateur national championship. Now the national tournament is hosted by a different city each year. This year, it's Syracuse, N.Y.

The Cicero center, whose exercise program has added women to its racial-ethnic mix, is a renovated former cardboard factory. Two boxing rings, one set up mainly for training and one that also is used for amateur bouts, are nestled amid the cavernous building's motley assortment of businesses. There's a snack shop, a bar, an alternative branch of Morton High School, a display of vintage automobiles and a contraction company office. The latter two are owned by Chuck Ciancanelli. He established the boxing club 14 months ago, he said, as "something kids can do without spending a lot of money." 32 Chicago is among 32 cities whose Golden Gloves amateur tournaments send winners to a national tournament This year, the nationals are May 10-15 in Syracuse, N.Y.

11 By Michael Hirsley Tribune Staff Writer Driving past Eckhart Park on a spring afternoon, motorists can see kids playing basketball beside the field house, while baseball fields beckon in the open spaces beyond. Through a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows, swimmers and divers can be seen using the pool But a visitor has to go inside, down the stairs and around a couple of walls to find the Gonzalez family and the sport that lures them to Eckhart Follow the rhythmic thumping of activity punctuated by shouts of encouragement and it leads to a room equipped with punching bags, skipping ropes and padded gloves with a boxing ring in the center. That's where 147-pound Jimmy Gonzalez is sparring with 139-pound Jermaine Marks. Both are in the Chicagoland Golden Gloves open division finals at their respective weights, and will fight Tuesday night in St Andrew's Gym, 1658 W. Addison St As the 17-year-old Gonzalez shifts his weight between offensive and Boxers wiH compete in 11 weight divisions, from 112 pounds to 201-plus pounds, in the finals Monday and Tuesday at St Andrew's Gym, 1658 W.

Addison St Defenders Box- i 0 4 a Under Golden Gloves rules, boxers younger than 21 with 10 or fewer fights may register in the novice division. Boxers over 21 with five fights or fewer may register in the senior novice division. Others register in the open division. Winners in the open division qualify for the national tournament in Syracuse. That tournament's winners earn berths in competition for the U.S.

Olympic team. Rolando Gonzalez watches son Jimmy (left, above) hit a punching bag. The' Gonzalez family (left) prays in Holy Rosary church. Allowances are made for those who cannot afford it, but there is a $40 membership fee and $15 monthly dues. That charge covers equipment from gloves and shoes io jump ropes and punching bags and in-structidn from how to exercise to how to fight.

Israel Morales, 23, said he has learned both. "I like everything about boxing," he said. "I like to work out 7 J.i ing Club on Tuesday, Beck will be the Chicagoland Golden Gloves 139-pound champion in the open division. A veteran of some 80 amateur fights, Beck, 28, is an assistant manager, cashier and grill cook in his father's restaurant. He wants to win the National Golden Gloves, "and then I'd like to turn pro." He is one of four finalists representing the Cicero Recreation Center's CRC Box defensive moves, jabs and hooks, his coach and trainer, Arturo Salas, isn't the only one watching closely.

Jimmy's parents, Rolando and Soriia Gonzalez, fix intense gazes on their son. Rolando also casts glances in the direction of another son, George, 16, who is shadowboxing nearby. The only reason he's it. v. E.1IHH MM MH; I tt13 Here are some of the professional champions who boxed in the Chicagoland Golden Gloves as amateurs: Muhammad Ali, Ezzard Charles, Joe Louis, Sonny Listen (Charles Listen in the Gloves), Angel Manfredy, Joey Maxim (Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli in the Gloves), Barney Ross, Ernie Terrell and Tony Zale.

Tribune photo by Jose M. Osorio Kevin McCumby gives his son, Trevor, 6, some boxing pointers at the Cicero Recreation' Center. year's 72nd ing Club in this annual Chicagoland tournament, not competing in the Golden Gloves is because its schedule conflicts with his competition in the national amateur boxing Junior Olympics. Sonia sits beside yet another son, Adrian, 15, who sometimes spars with Jimmy and is also considering competing in boxing. Boxing has become a Gonzalez family affair.

On a recent evening, only eldest son, Alfredo, 18, who prefers art and acting to boxing, was not in the basement gym. But he, like the rest of the family, comes to Gonzalez's Golden Gloves bouts. All the brothers attend Roberto Clemente High SchooL "We've been doing this since Jimmy started boxing three years ago," Sonia says of the gathering in Eckhart's field house. "We used to hang out around the house together. Now we are all here." "We've always been a close family," says Rolando, a former Federal Express employee who gets disability compensation for elbow injuries.

"We played basketball and softball together." Although the family has no boxers in its history, the Gonzalezes' passion for the sport is as strong as its experience is limited. "I love boxing," Sonia says as Jimmy approaches after sparring. "I'm for what he wants to do all the time. If he wants it IH support it" What Jimmy Gonzalez wants now, and brother George also envisions, is competing in the Olympics. "I watched the 1996 Atlanta Olympics on TV," Jimmy recalls.

Even though coverage was limited, "I thought, 'Wow! I like that a he says. "That's the reason I got into the sport of boxing. "I played football, soccer, baseball and basketball I even wanted to be a hockey player for a while." His enthusiasm for boxing grew from early success. "I had a blast in my first fight" he says. "I was scared and nervous at first but then it was easier than I thought" Two years ago he won the Golden Gloves 147-pound novice division.

The next year he lost a close decision to Jermaine Saunders, who turned pro last year. A boxing bonus for Jimmy has been the travel it has brought He has boxed in venues from Colorado to Kentucky to Florida, and in a tournament in Austria. The drawback to those faraway fights is that his family hasn't made all the trips. His mother has never been able to go. "I don't like not knowing what's happening, worrying if he got hurt," Sonia says.

But since the night he called from Colorado after losing a decision, she says, "I don't want him to phone me. He was crying I couldn't take it I couldn't sleep the next three nights he was gone. "So I said, Don't call me. Tell me when you get If Jimmy or George or both advance to Golden Gloves or Olympic tournaments out of town, Sonia says, "I'm doing everything in my power to get there." But this week, she and the whole family can be there when her son fights Rudy Cisneros in the finals. From traveling together to tournaments, Jimmy is friendly with Rudy, 16, a Junior Olympics bronze medalist who recently trained at a boxing camp in Cuba They have fought five times, with Rudy holding a 3-2 edge.

hard. Being in shape is important. You will stay healthy." And, as a finalist in the Gloves' 147-pound senior novice division, "I wish I can have that trophy," he conceded. He and Beck joined Javier Ruiz, novice heavyweight finalist, and Carlos Loza, novice 165-pound finalist, working out under the watchful instructions of trainers Wilson and Trombino. Beck is the most recent to join the CRC group.

He credits much of his skill to instruction in the Chicago Park District's Garfield Park program, but says he gets more one-on-one time now at CRC. Walker insisted, however, that his program won't focus on the most talented fighters to the detriment of those trying to improve limited skills: Tve seen how frustrating it is for kids to put out the effort and feel they are being ignored because others are better than them. I won't let that happen here." With all four entrants reaching the finals, three in the less experienced novice division, the tournament culminates a successful first year for CRC's amateur boxing program. "We started this program with 10 guys," trainer Rick Wilson said. "Now we've got over 100 for boxing, weightlifting and exercise programs.

Wilson and fellow trainer John "the Bomb" Trombino are passing the torch of lessons they learned as boxers. Wilson, the boxing program's only full-time salaried staffer, won a welterweight title in the Gloves 25 years ago. With Wilson as its link to the Chicagoland Golden Gloves' storied past, the Cicero Recreation Center adds a new chapter to a history that goes back to 1923. After an "at large" Golden Gloves tournament that year, Chicago was reminded that boxing was illegal under Illinois state Monday's and Tuesday's bouts will begla at 8 pjm. hi St Andrew's.

AdtoisskM Met) aigM raages from $12 la $32. Heavyweights Michael Bennett and Michael Walker square off Monday, as do three-time Golden Gloves champion Jorge Pacheco and Joshua Burrell at 165 pounds. The four women's bouts include Amber Gideon against Amy Yuratovac at 132 pounds. In Tuesday's 125-pound final, last year's winner, Damien McMullen, faces 1997 national Golden Gloves champion Evaristo Rodriguez. Also on Tuesday, Junior Olympics bronze medalist Rudy Cisneroi takes on Jimmy Gonzalez in the 147-pound final.

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