Ricky Ray Taylor is a colorful character, a man with powerful charm that easily disarms the most combative of hearts. He does this in his short, fast-paced memoir, Punches and Prayers: a fighter’s journey from the Gulf Coast to the Big Apple (Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.). In 206 pages he…
Element Gym hosted an evening of amateur boxing followed by a viewing party of the Ganady Golovkin-Saul Alvarez middleweight championship fight on Saturday, September 15. It was a night of great fun as our Element boxers, Deonte Sampson, Lawrence Sanders, Phil Sherman and Brandon Beck, put on a great show…
Junior middleweight Jeison Rosario of Miami, FL by way of the Dominican Republic, stole the show at the Armory in Minneapolis on August 24, presenting a perfect lesson in dismantling a taller southpaw as he handed Jamontay Clark, Cincinnati, OH, his first loss. Rosario, bringing his record to 16-1-1 (8KOs)…
The WBA number 3 ranked welterweight, Jamal James, delighted the hometown crowd of 3,574 at the Armory in Minneapolis on August 24 with an electrifying 2nd round knockout of veteran Mahonry Montes of Sinola, Mexico. James improved to a record of 24-1-(11KOs) and Montes fell to 35-8-1 (24 KOs).…
Former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Truax and WBA number 3 ranked welterweight Jamal James were joined by Minnesota Twins legend Tony Oliva at a press conference Tuesday morning, July 17 as they announced their scheduled fights headlining a Premiere Boxing Champions night of professional boxing August 24 at…
Occasionally, working with recreational boxers through Fighting Chance/Boxing For Life takes me to other states, affording the chance to see other boxing scenes. On Friday, May 4, after nearly two months of heavy work with a client in Reno, NV, I had the chance to attend a night of professional…
by Jake Walther © Friday night, April 13, 2018 marked 45 years since a boxing match was held at the Minneapolis Armory. The newly renovated, reopened and quite extravagant field house venue packed around 3,500 fans with emotions on full display, creating tension between different fighter’s factions throughout the night. It…
On Saturday, November 4, I drove to Hawley, MN to be a guest coach for a day at The Gold Room Boxing Club. The club was started a few years ago by Minnesota boxing writer Ben Tighe. Frustrated with the need to drive his sons excessive miles three days a…
It’s been over a year since I interviewed Dalton Outlaw, owner and head coach of Element Gym. A lot has happened since we sat down in his office and talked, covering the history of his boxing career, how he ended up owning such a great gym in St. Paul, and…
Pat Russo read a sign one day that slightly altered his direction, leading to a future of helping many young people alter their direction on a daily basis. “I was recruited in the police academy and I saw a sign on the wall to join the NYPD boxing team,” Russo…
