Mineola Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Fundraiser a Knockout for Charity

by Christopher Boyle

LONG ISLAND, NY – The Mineola headquarters of the Knights of Columbus recently turned into a scene straight out of 1976’s Rocky, as the 90 year-old charitable organization hosted a Golden Gloves amateur boxing event as one of their major annual fundraising events.

The card consisted of nine fights, each consisting of three two-minute rounds apiece, all taking place within the confines of a squared circle erected within the hall of the KoF building. Golden Glove contenders typically age in the range from 17 to 34 and compete in the welterweight division (152 pounds). Each and every amateur fighter – all hoping to eventually be crowned the New York Golden Gloves champ – gave it their all in front of a jubilant and standing room-only crowd.

According to Mineola Knights of Columbus chairman Mike Murtha, last year’s Golden Gloves event at the Knights of Columbus headquarters raised over $4,000, which was subsequently dispersed to numerous worthy charities throughout Mineola; this year, Murtha said he anticipated even more success.

“We have a lot of charitable organizations that we give to. We give to all of the auxiliaries, hospitals, Wounded Warriors, and many, many other groups,” he said. “There are so many worthy and needy organizations…Leukemia, cerebral palsy, the Guide Dog Foundation for the blind…there’s a lot of people asking for a lot of money, and they’re all worthy organizations to donate to. So, we put this event together to help with our fundraising efforts for these groups.”

Highly respected within sporting circles, the Golden Gloves’ origin dates back to 1927 and has come to represent the premiere in boxing; almost every state in the country boasts of their own annual tournament these days. Brian Adams, Golden Gloves director, said that he was soliciting several new venues last year on Long Island, a region that the Golden Gloves has wanted to expand into for quite some time.

“I ran into Peter Zayas, the Grand Knight of the Mineola Knights of Columbus, and after talking with him and then the board of the Knights of Columbus, we thought it’d be a great thing to hold a Golden Gloves tournament match here in Mineola,” he said. “The Golden Gloves is a not-for-profit organization. So of course, knowing that this would be a fundraiser for the Knights of Columbus also played into our desire to hold the event here. In addition the Golden Gloves attracts a lot of black and Latino competitors, and Mineola is a very diverse area, so we thought this would be a great fit for us.”

Murtha said that the evening’s event was shaping up to be a sold-out affair, and expressed his appreciation to the community for coming out to support their efforts at helping others.

“This year we sold about 220 tickets…last year it was standing room only, and we’re expecting the same, if not better turnout this year,” he said. “The Knights of Columbus does a lot of charitable works, and the community of Mineola has been very supportive…we want to thank the community of Mineola very much for the support.”