Last fall, after a short stint in the old Panda Paint building on the city’s South Side, the boxers and trainers at the Panda Athletic Club loaded up their equipment and headed to a new location on North Broadway. In a short time, the gym has attracted neighborhood kids with serious potential inside and outside the ring.
The gym is located in an old commercial building just north of the Edward Jones Dome, and kids from the nearby Murphy-Blair Apartments have made it their second home. I visited the gym on a chilly day, but the heater wasn’t needed as more than fifteen fighters trained in earnest.
As three fighters pounded the heavy bags, a coach was inside the ring working on footwork with a young contender. The music of Ludacris rattled through the speakers of a boombox as others shadowboxed in front of a row of mirrors. A large photo of local pro Sydney Mack holding a clenched fist was propped up on a metal shelf.
Two days later, the young fighters met again at the gym, this time to prepare for their bouts later that evening at a police benefit on the South Side. The team ate their traditional pre-fight meal of grilled chicken and peanut butter sandwiches, and then hit the road to do battle.
The ring at the Casa Loma Ballroom was in the center of the worn dance floor inside the 78-year-old venue, and cigarette smoke rose and swirled in front of the spotlights trained on the canvas as music poured from the deejay’s bass-heavy speakers. Boxers from different clubs peered over the railing from the balcony above, surveying the growing crowd.
The first boxer from Panda to step through the ropes was 13-year-old Derron Moore. Wearing his team’s colors of orange, black and white, he strode confidently to his corner, flanked by his trainers. After three rounds of back and forth action, a razor-thin decision went to his opponent.
Derron’s little brother Demetrius Johnson was next in line, and after three fast(paced rounds of trading hooks and straight shots, the 10-year-old won a decision victory.
Lorenzo Taylor was up next for the Panda group, and the 14-year-old showed an effective jab and right cross through the first round and a half. But midway through the second round, the breakneck pace of the frame took its toll, and after getting caught with a shot, the referee used caution and gave Taylor a standing eight count. Timekeeper Tony Mascalco had his steel hammer in a back swing as the referee halted the contest with just one second left in the round.
Montrell Washington, 15, punctuated the evening for his team with a knockout victory in the second round of his fight. With a vocal group from Panda gym cheering him on, he traded hooks with his opponent at a furious pace. Thirty seconds into the second round, he scrambled his opponent’s equilibrium with a thudding right hook to the eardrum. The hurt fighter bent over at the waist and took an awkward step sideways. He then fell on his side and rolled onto his back, his chest heaving from exhaustion. The official time of the stoppage was 35 seconds of round two.
The team gained respect and experience to build on as they continue their young amateur careers with their second family at the newest boxing gym in town.
The Gateway Classic Sports Foundation annual youth boxing tournament takes places Tuesday through Friday, March 22-25, at the foundation complex, 2012 Martin Luther King Blvd. Coach Buddy Shaw has matched up 150 fighters in 17-20 fights per night. Tickets are $7 (ages 13 and up) and $3 (ages 12 and under). The bouts start at 7 p.m. each night. Call 621-1994.
