Griffin Hart started boxing in the seventh grade when he first visited Let’s Box in Mount Greenwood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He has been working for over three years now and is always looking to improve as a boxer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
His first taste of a boxing match was last May at the Christmas Without Cancer charity event at 115 Bourbon Street.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But the experience was irreplaceable. Hart fought in front of crowds and generally got a nerve-wracking feel for the fight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“It was my first match and it was a learning experience. I was okay with losing,” Hart said. “I’ve never seen how a fight went before. I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I sparred in the ring for practice and it didn’t happen.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hart returned to the ring for a second fight in December of this year and will unanimously claim the Junior Novice Championship at the 2022 Illinois Silver Glove Boxing Championships in Rockford on December 17-18. Earned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“From the beginning, I knew how everything would turn out. I knew what to expect from the crowd,” Hart said. “When the bell rings, adrenaline rushes. Your mind is gone, looking for what punch [the other fighter] throw. \u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After a defensively oriented first round, Hart continued to attack in the final two rounds, setting the pace and landing some hard punches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The fight went well. I was defensive at first to see what kind of person he was,” Hart said. I hit him and hit him in the head. It was a good duo.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Director Dan Letts, owner of Let’s Box, praised Hart’s winning efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Griffin didn’t stop in the second and third rounds,” Letts said. “He kept running, he kept throwing, he kept throwing and made him work. He had heart and he never stopped. That pushed him to victory.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Letz Box had a big day at the Silver Gloves tournament. Hart was one of his four individual champions, including Rylee O’Connor (Junior Novice Female), Vinnie Miceli (Bantam Novice) and Emmett Waters (Pee Novice).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Letts said it’s rewarding to watch his young fighters compete in the ring and win or lose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“It takes a lot of guts to do that and get in the ring. Not everyone wants that,” Letts said. “Some people are here to work out. It’s always special to get in that ring and pull out a win to see where your man started and grow and get better every day. The experience is always cool Winning is something special.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A freshman at Marist, O’Connor was one of the boxers who entered the sport for conditioning. She grew up playing volleyball, softball and soccer and thought her intense boxing training would go a long way in making her a better athlete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She won the Silver Glove fight by split decision. It was her second match and her second win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“I started boxing for conditioning, but then I loved it more,” O’Connor said. “I never imagined myself standing in the ring.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Greenwood Mountain resident O’Connor said he felt confident in his winning performance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt was a lot different than my first fight. “Well fought. Seeing all the effort you put in pay off. Good job.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A sixth grader at Mt. Greenwood Elementary, Miceli started boxing when she was eight years old. He lost his first two games, but won his next two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Won by technical knockout in Silver Gloves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“In the first round, I beat him once,” said Miceli. \u201cIn the second round, I kept attacking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Miceli took up boxing after his brother Nicholas died in 2019 after a battle with childhood cancer. He loves the chance to step into the ring, unleash his aggression and continue to grow as a boxer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Boxing was the kind of thing that provoked my anger in the bag and in the ring,” Miceli said. We were able to work together.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Nine-year-old Waters went 1-1 in his first two games. He won the silver glove by split decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI was happy to win,\u201d said Waters, a third grader at Mount Greenwood Elementary School. \u201cI really enjoy boxing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Boxing is in the Waters family blood. Emmett’s older brothers, Nolan and Will, were also boxers, and Will initially encouraged Emmett to try boxing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“I was six years old when I started boxing,” said Emmett. \u201cMy brother told me to give it a try, so I decided to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Nolan, a fifth grader at Mt. Greenwood Elementary, was runner-up at 70 pounds. in the Pee-wee Bantam department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Besides his brother’s encouragement, Nolan had another reason to try boxing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n