Boxing returned to Elmwood Park Friday night, with a second-annual batch of fights at the Parks and Recreation Center raising money for the village.
On Feb. 20, the inside of the Parks and Recreation Center was transformed from a simple basketball gymnasium into a boxing arena for the village’s Fight Night boxing event. A boxing ring was set up in the middle of the gym surrounded by chairs and tables while music pumped loudly from speakers.
Eric Ruiz, a fight supervisor at the event, has been involved officiating and supervising many fights in the Chicago area. For the boxers who turned out for Fight Night, Ruiz said this is the big time.
“It’s a great venue, one of the top venues in the Chicagoland area,” he said.
He said at most boxing matches there isn’t much to see.
“This (Fight Night) is color — everything else is black and white,” he said.
In a smaller gym in the building, boxers prepared for their upcoming matches. There were 14 bouts that night, up from nine last year. It included two junior boxing matches and a female boxing match.
Gonzalo Camacho Jr., 8, of Cicero, was quietly putting on his boxing gear as his father, Gonzalo Camacho Sr. looked on. Camacho Sr. has been training his son to box since the boy was 6 years old.
Camacho Jr. started out wrestling and participating in mixed martial arts before moving to boxing, something Camacho Sr. said his son really enjoys.
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“He trains me hard and doesn’t get mad when I lose,” Camacho Jr. said. “He just says I need to train harder for time.”
Camacho Jr. said he enjoys hitting people, and his father says it could be worse. He wants his son to know how to defend himself, but in the right way.
“(Boxing) builds character and discipline,” Camacho Sr. said.
The training paid off because Camacho Jr. was the first bout to start the series of boxing matches, entering the ring surrounded by smoke and flashing lights. He came away winning his bout.
Aisling Holt, 27, of Chicago has been boxing as an amateur for six years. Even though boxing is a male-dominated sport, she always wanted to compete.
“I always had an urge to do it,” she said. “I’ve always liked contact sports. I like the rush.”
Kenny Walker has been training Malcolm “Knockout King” Jones, 22, since he was a teenager. They both traveled from Indianapolis to participate in the event.
Jones admits that boxing has been the best thing for him because he loves fighting. If it weren’t for boxing, he says he’d be fighting someone somewhere and it wouldn’t be in a ring.
“It kept me out of trouble,” he said. “I like to fight, so I might as well do it right and get paid.”
He said he planned on putting his opponent “to sleep” in the ring.
Michael Rosciano, 38, of Park Ridge enjoys a good fight and that’s why he and his friend Phil Blaze, 45, of Elmhurst came out for the event for the second time.
Rosciano said he’s traveled to Las Vegas to see big-name fights and says boxing tops all other sports.
“There’s nothing like a big fight,” he said. “You feel the energy.”
He enjoyed the Fight Night event as well.
“The fights are great,” he said. “These are great amateurs. Wherever they get these boxers from, they do a good job.”
This was the second time for Karole Brandolino, 41, of Joliet. She enjoyed the junior boxing matches the best.
“They younger they are, the more of their heart is in it,” she said. “I hate to see little kids get hit, but they seem more serious.”
Along with the boxing she said the whole event had a great atmosphere.
Nick Pecora, a member of the Fight Night Committee, said this year’s proceeds from ticket sales will go towards supporting future village events like the annual Car Show and Fall Fest. Admission was $50.
“It will go to support other events throughout the year,” he said.
Elmwood Park Village President Angelo “Skip” Saviano said some of the proceeds of the event will also go to Elmwood Park Youth Commission.
He was impressed with this year’s crowd.
“You’ve got young, you’ve got old; you’ve got a lot more women, it’s an amazing turnout,” he said.