Golden Fight Night Friday
The most prestigious amateur boxing tournament returns to Buffalo this weekend for the first time since the early 1960s.
The Capital Management Services Golden Gloves regional tournament opens Friday night at 7:30 at McKinley High School at 1500 Elmwood Avenue and concludes a week later on March 30 at the same time and place.
The tournament had a lengthy run in Buffalo from the 1930s until the ‘60s, with Monsignor Franklin Kelliher – who wrestled professionally as “The Masked Marvel” and coached amateur boxers – running the event, which was sponsored by the Courier-Express.
The local contingent of fighters is led by Buffalo’s Lionell Thompson, who finished second at last weekend’s Northeast Regional Championships in Lake Placid. Buffalo heavyweight Excell Holmes and Johnny Davis of Niagara Falls, a super-heavyweight, reached the semifinals in Lake Placid and are also slated to go after a Golden Gloves title.
In addition to others from Buffalo and Niagara Falls, the tournament will also include fighters from Rochester, Geneva and Salamanca in the sub-novice, novice and open class boxers, both male and female.
Winners advance to the state Golden Gloves in Syracuse April 13 and 14 for a shot. Open division winners there move on to the National Golden Gloves in Chattanooga, Tenn., from April 30 to May 5, where they could qualify for an automatic berth in the Olympic trials.
Two longtime professional fighters and amateur trainers from Buffalo, Irish Jackie Donnelly and Tommy Stenhouse, will be honored during the tournament’s opening night on Friday.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $30 for ringside at the door, $10 and $25 in advance. For more information, call Don Patterson 716-400-9697.
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