Newark Boxer’s ‘Contender’ Spot Adds To City’s Legacy (VIDEOS)
NEWARK, NJ — Newark will have to wait another month to find out if it has another hometown boxing hero.
On Aug. 24, the relaunched version of boxing reality show “The Contender” is scheduled to air on EPIX. It will include 29-year-old John Thompson IV, nicknamed the “Apollo Kidd,” who lives in Newark and works out at Brick City Hitters Gym in East Orange, NJ.com reported.
Thompson will be one of 16 fighters from across the country who have a shot at winning $250,000 as part of the show, which follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition.
The new season will have a similar format to the previous ones, ESPN stated.
The sport has been at the epicenter of Thompson’s life since his father – a local boxer who raised him after his mother died from AIDS-related symptoms – taught him to fight as a 4-year-old, NJ.com reported. Read the full article here and watch a video of Thompson in action. (Story continues below the video)
As cool as Apollo Kidd’s upcoming television debut may be, it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Newark’s storied pugilistic past. Newark’s connections with boxing are intertwined deep in its roots, from its numerous hometown greats to a culture that’s seen enthusiastic support from city officials.
One of the city’s most recent success stories has been U.S. boxer Shakur Stevenson, who returned to Newark to a huge parade on “Shakur Stevenson Day” after capturing a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
In what is no coincidence, Stevenson is a favorite of Thompson, who recently thanked the Olympian on Facebook for “always being in my corner helping to push me to the max.”
It’s not the only connection that Stevenson has with the local boxing world. In 2012, the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame inducted “Wali” Moses, a former Team USA Olympic coach… and Stevenson’s grandfather.
Moses, a Newark native, was the honoree for first-ever Olympic Day 2017 at B.R.I.C.K. Avon Academy. He was presented with a resolution from the office of U.S. Congressman Donald Payne Jr. for his commitment to the community.
Another recent boxing success story to come out of the Brick City has been that of Clarence Coleman, a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame who was honored by the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders last year for his contributions to the sport.
Coleman – a proud father of 12 children who now works for the Essex County Hospital Center as a hospital attendant – was rebellious as a child and often made the “wrong decisions,” until a close family friend took him under his wing and got him into boxing, county officials said.
Beginning his training at the Southward Boys Club in Newark, Coleman eventually went on to win the New Jersey Golden Gloves lightweight boxing match in 1981 and the Sugar Ray Leonard Golden Gloves lightweight boxing match in 1982.
Boxing has been a spiritual boon in Newark – as well as an economic one – in other ways.
Earlier this year, Mike Steadman, a retired U.S. Marine and national boxing champion, started the Ironbound Boxing Academy in Newark with an ambitious goal: give inner city youth facing extreme poverty and tough odds a chance to change their future.
“One of the first things we try to teach them, more than anything in life, is just showing up,” Steadman told CBS New York. “Whether it’s a job interview, you want to do better in school.” (Read the full article here)
Newark municipal venues have also pitched in to help build the local boxing community. For example, the John F. Kennedy Recreation and Aquatic Center in Newark has hosted events that include amateur boxing bouts, and the Kasberger Sports Complex at North 5th Street hosted the “Mayor’s Belt Boxing Tournament” in 2016 following Stevenson’s Olympic silver medal win.
In his March State of the City address, Mayor Ras Baraka touted the recently installed, state-of-the-art boxing gym at the Boylan Recreation Center in the West Ward, which hosts the DORCA Boxing Academy, a year-round program designed to introduce and train residents of all ages in the technical skills of competitive boxing.
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Photo: YouTube / NJ.com
