New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame inducts new class

The NJHOF has thrived under the dedicated leadership of Henry Hascup and on Nov. 9 presented their 53^rd(!) Annual Induction Dinner. As it has for many years now, the event took place at The Venetian, a palatial hall in Garfield, North Jersey. A near sellout of 450+ enjoyed a full course dinner, excellent service, and plenty of time to mingle and chat with boxers, officials, promoters, managers, press, plus celebs and familiar faces. And of course the stirring acceptance speeches of the inductees plus their introductions.

Two of Philly’s popular and storied Fletcher Brothers, middleweight Frank “The Animal” (not present) and lightweight Anthony (present), were inducted. Frank’s fearless brawling style and relentless attacking made him a popular TV and casino attraction who fell just one win short of a title shot at Hagler, going 18-6-1. Unlike his brother, Anthony had a prolific and stellar amateur career, going 159-12 while twice beating “Boom Boom” Mancini. He became a popular pro during the Atlantic City era, going 24-4-1 (18).

It might be said that Maurice Harris, a difficult heavyweight spoiler out of E. Orange who was possibly robbed against Larry Holmes in ’97, never had an easy fight. His record of 52 fights with 26 wins includes most of the contenders and wanna-bes of his era. Popular welterweight Danny McDermott went 12-5-2 (5) in North Jersey clubs while also fighting in Madison Square Garden and AC plus foreign travel. He has remained active, with his own gym in N. Bergen.

Jerson Ravelo began as a multi-titled amateur, going 96-15, before a pro career out of Newark under Lou DiBella. His flashy, exciting style made him a popular attraction in MSG and AC as well as North Jersey clubs, going 22-5 with 13 KOs. Another accomplished amateur, cruiserweight Shaum George has the unusual accomplishment of attending Northern Michigan U. on a boxing scholarship. He upset Chris Byrd by KO before injuries retired him at 18-3. But he’s remained prominent as an international trainer, including two Chinese Olympic teams. Archak Ter-Meliksetian began as an amateur in his native Ukraine before moving to Brazil, where he had over 100 amateur bouts including two Olympics. Settling in Bogota, NJ, to turn pro, Archak fought at welter while compiling a 16-8 (13) record.

Paterson Super Middle Omar Sheika was a popular headliner all around the state, twice engaging in the ESPN Friday Night Fight of the Year, 2003 & ’04. While never a world titlist, he beat future champs on their way up while going 32-12 (21). Paterson welter Freddie Cadena, a multi-titled amateur who battled to #2 nationally in ’98, went on to a 15-1 (10) pro career as an exciting and popular attraction in North Jersey clubs. A special award as NJ Professional Boxer of the Year went to rare Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang. Zhilei was an Olympic silver medalist for China before translocating to Bloomfield, NJ, where he has gone 26-1-1 (21) in a still-active pro career. Speaking Chinese through an interpreter, one might have expected a short acceptance speech. But Zhilei made a long, inspired soliloquy that might have gotten him elected Governor.

The NJHOF duly honors outstanding achievements by amateurs. Amateur Boxer of the Year went to cruiserweight national champion Malachi Georges, 25-4. Junior Olympic Boxer of the Year goes to Newark’s Tyjir Smith of Boxing For Life Gym, who holds the Nat’l Junior & Youth Golden Gloves title. Amateur Coach of the Year went to Percy Gayanilo, a Filipino who emigrated to Camden County and uses his legal training in managing his own gym, Park Elite Boxing Academy in Roselle Park. Jose Antonio Medina, an amateur boxer and coach before becoming an amateur judge and working his way up to the Nat’l Golden Gloves, won Amateur Official of the Year. Charlie Norkus Jr, son of the famed heavyweight contender and referee, donated two tables to the families of the amateur inductees.

Trainer Angel De Jesus was inducted. Beginning under Bob Rooney before switching to Nelson Fernandez’ Mile Square Gym, Angel went on to train six world title holders. Introduced by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva, Jolene Mizzone gave an impassioned speech, beginning as receptionist at Main Events, through travel coordinator to matchmaker alongside The Great Russell Peltz, to VP of Operations. She recently left Main Events to launch Fighters First Mgmt, building her own formidable stable of fighters. Joe Botti was honored as a trainer who developed 34 NJGG champs out of Union City BC as well as dozens of pros. Joe’s own amateur career was cut short by a car accident, redirecting him to training fighters, where he was also instrumental in establishing the first women boxers in NJ. Honoree Charlie McGill became a sports cartoonist after listening to Don Dunphy’s radio broadcasts before TV existed. He went on to draw boxing cartoons for The Ring and Boxing Illustrated magazines as well as an in-house cartoonist for NJ newspapers.

Possibly the best honoree was veteran journalist Frank Bartolini. Introduced by Eric Bottjer, the affable and jovial Bartolini has been ringside correspondent for numerous newspapers and boxing publications for decades, including Atlantic City’s Golden Era that once rivaled Las Vegas. His singular presence at ringside made him a contributor more than an observer in the time before the internet when ringside coverage was much a part of the story.

Commissioner Larry Hazzard spoke of the noble work the NJHOF carries on and introduced several of the inductees. Notables among the crowd included Chuck Wepner, Randy “Too Sweet” Gordon, Melvina Lathan, Steve Weisfeld, NJ timekeeper Fred Blumstein, Bobby Cassidy Jr, “Big Bob” Mladanich, John DiSanto, Joey Eye, Matt Ward, Luis Cortez, Ron McNair, Randy Neumann, Ray Bailey, and Sean Sullivan, among many, many others.