On Saturday, June 18, the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle’s played host to a night of pugilistic bouts, as Champs Boxing Club held its second event of the year at the organization’s Mascaro Clubhouse.
Champs—located on Division Street in New Rochelle—held its first 2022 event at the Boys & Girls Club in March, marking the first time in over 20 years that the venue had housed a boxing card. Like that initial show, Saturday’s event was comprised of 14 amateur bouts featuring boxers from all over the tri-state area. 
“It’s going as good as it can go with the Boys and Girls Club,” said Champs’ owner Ryan O’Leary. “We have the same values, we’re doing the same thing for the community, so it’s really been a great match for us.”
Chris Flores, a New Rochelle High School student, got the chance to step into the ring for his first sanctioned bout on Saturday, representing Champs at 140 pounds and earning a unanimous decision win over Richie Vasquez from Blue Boy Boxing Club. Flores said he picked up the sport a little over a year ago when he followed a friend to the New Rochelle gym and quickly became hooked.
“It was right after quarantine ended and my friend was going to the gym so I came along,” he said. “I knew right away that this was something I wanted to do.”
Champs trainer Ryan O’Leary explained that stories like Flores’ are not rare, and that he’s seen a boom of interest in the gym as the nation moves past the dark days of the pandemic.
“Before quarantine, the gym was doing good, but now, afterwards, it’s been doing fantastic; think what happened was that people were sitting at home, they were getting bored, getting unhealthy and they were wondering ‘what if I have to be stuck here even longer?’” said O’Leary. “So now they’re spending their time in the community or the gym, and Chris is one of those kids who has really applied himself.”
Flores said getting the chance to step through the ropes in front of a crowd for his first amateur bout was a thrilling experience and provided some affirmation that he’s been training the right way over the last year.
“It’s good to get this experience,” he said. . “Just to see what it feels like to be in there.”
Flores’ gym-mate, Oliver Patrouch, also won his bout—topping Jamaal Muhammed of Blue Boy BC at 165 pounds. Patrouch, a 25-year-old EMT from White Plains, said that he fell in love with boxing, in large, part, because of the sense of gritty camaraderie the sport engenders.
“For me, it’s all the people,” said Patrouch. “You look at everyone here and everyone’s a fireman, a police officer, a garbageman, it’s great.”
Saturday’s boxers were not the only Champs’ fighters in action last week however, as the club also sent four fighters to Thursday night’s Ring Masters finals at Madison Square Garden. The club went 1-3 on the night—with Cathy Jimenez scoring a victory—and three of the fighters will have one more chance to win the double-elimination tournament at an event next month.
O’Leary believes that his charges have the ability and the will to make the most of this next challenge.
“Not to toot our own horn, but every year we have a Ring Masters or a Golden Gloves tournament, we expect to be at the Garden,” he said. “I think the toughest thing for [our fighters] is that it’s such a big venue and so important that it’s sometimes devastating to go there and take a loss. But we do our best to make them understand that it’s just a boxing match like any other.”
The Ring Masters double elimination finals will be held on July 23 at John’s Boxing Gym in the Bronx. Champs Boxing Club is currently looking to cement a date for their next event at the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle, hoping to put on regular shows every two months.
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