Crowds pack Downtown Yonkers venue to cheer on young boxing hopefuls
The matches, sanctioned by USA Boxing, a national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, feature young competitors trying to make a name for themselves in the ring and beyond.
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The Roosevelt Ballroom in downtown Yonkers played host Saturday night to the third annual "Best of the Best" boxing competition, featuring young hopefuls from across the tri-state area.
The matches, sanctioned by USA Boxing, a national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, feature young competitors trying to make a name for themselves in the ring and beyond.
Evan Marin, of Yonkers, is a student at the city's Barack Obama School for Social Justice.
The 17-year-old started boxing two years ago and says he sees the sport as a step in the right direction.
"It feels good, especially since we're in the city we're fighting for...We're representing a team, the people of the city too. It feels good, it feels great," he said.
Organizer Darrell Jericko-Morrison explained why the event is dubbed "Best of the Best."
"It's not a violent sport...You go out, its' a competition and it's really a discipline to learn a skill outside, like with karate, like anything else you learn, like any type of sport," Jericko-Morrison said.
Jonas Florentino, of Queens, retained his belt in the match against his opponent and sees a professional boxing career as his destiny.
"I didn't want to be a waste of what God gave me. I felt like God gave me a lot of strength and a lot of talent, and I felt like it had to be translated. I tried a lot of sports to translate that, but boxing is the only one that I felt good doing it, I felt rewarded, and whether I'm going to do this in the future, I'm not sure yet but I do want to be pro," the 18-year-old said.
