54th Annual New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame

The New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, under the dedicated guidance of Henry Hascup, held the 54^th Annual Induction Dinner, on Nov. 14, 2024. As always, the event occurred at The Venetian, a a posh catering hall in Garfield. Headlining the cited boxers was light heavy and cruiserweight title holder Tomasz Adamek, popular among North Jersey fans, who made the nearby Prudential Center the home base for his title fights. Speaking much like he fought, Tomasz was straight forward and to the point in recapping without boasting of his career. He was accompanied by mentor and honoree Ziggy Rozalski, an unfettered entrepreneur who brought fighters from Poland and made them stars…and rich. The pugnacious Ziggy pulled no punches with a hard-hitting acceptance speech. Also honored was former super feather and lightweight titlist Joey Gamache, only the second fighter ever to win a world title from Maine but whose career had relatively little to do with New Jersey. Joey was not in attendance. A fighter who certainly WAS prominent in New Jersey boxing was Newark’s Imamu Mayfield, who regularly headlined…and indeed, was often the reason for…club shows all over North Jersey on his way to the cruiserweight title. His career was up and down under the aegis of Don King and in recent years he’s been a principal in Freehold Boxing Club, teaching kids to box. Imamu presented a serious talk about the necessity for and significance of proper guidance in a boxing career. Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang was honored as Professional Boxer of the Year, having stopped Deontay Wilder in his most recent fight. Zhilei won numerous Olympic and other amateur titles in his home country before relocating here to pursue a professional career. Speaking through an interpreter, Zhilei was at no loss for words as he waxed philosophic on the sport of boxing.

Three Old Time boxers were honored posthumously: George Cole, Al Diamond and “Fireman” Jim Flynn. Cole competed anywhere from welter to heavyweight and from 1894 to 1916, engaging in nearly 200 bouts, and fought “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien, “Original” Joe Walcott, Dixie Kid and Joe Jeanette. Diamond was born in Paterson and turned pro in 1927, at the age of 14. He went on to defeat former middleweight champion Ben Jeby at the Paterson Armory, then lost a title shot to Vince Dundee at the same venue. His career spanned nearly 150 pro bouts. Hoboken’s Flynn had a checkered and controversial career during the infamous “No Decision” era at the turn of the Twentieth Century. He fought twice for the heavyweight title, being KO’d in the 15^th by Tommy Burns and then having his challenge to Jack Johnson stopped in the 9^th by the local sheriff in Las Vegas, NM. Flynn engaged in two one-rounders with Jack Dempsey, winning the first by what was branded a setup and losing the second.

An Olympic Trials and Bronze Medal winner, Tyric Trapp, from Red Bank, was honored as Amateur Boxer of the Year. From S. Orange and boxing out of Newark’s Raposa Gym, 14-year-old Jhasi Mtume was honored as Junior Olympic Boxer of the Year. Trained by Tremmel Southerland and Wali Moses, Jhasi has risen to a #4 ranking nationally. And speaking of Southerland, Tremmel was honored as Amateur Coach of the Year. Tremmel believes his greatest strength lies in his ability to inspire athletes to reach their full potential. He fosters a positive environment where realistic expectations are met. Similarly, Alexander Roman was honored as Amateur Official of the Year. From Newark and now Union, Roman engaged in numerous sports, but none of them boxing, until fight parties inspired him to take up judging. Joining USA Boxing, he has rapidly developed to the point of earning this distinguished honor. He asserts that Hagler won the Leonard fight.

Man of the Year was awarded to Stephen I. Plevins. He began as a teenager working with amateur boxers and volunteering at Laoma Byrd’s famed training camp in Pleasantville, where he worked with greats like Frazier, ”Gypsy” Joe, “Kitten” Hayward and “Yank” Durham. From there, he became Community Recreation Director in Prince George’s County, MD, where he supported the development of “Sugar” Ray Leonard. From there, he went on to Vineland Children’s Residential Treatment Center, where he managed to work boxing into treatment and rehabilitation. Tyson, Lewis, Briggs, Whitaker and Holyfield were among the big names who were part of that successful program that helped divert kids into a more productive channel for their future.   

“The Rev”, Elvin Thompson, was honored as coach and trainer of scores of outstanding Philadelphia fighters out of Marian Anderson Rec and Kingsessing Rec, that have been the mainstay of Atlantic City boxing shows since the last century. They included, most notably, the unforgettable Frank “The Animal” Fletcher. Darren Antola was honored for 25 years as a cutman. He began working with Jimmy Archer and Jimmy Colotto and worked his way up to associations with Lou Duva and Tommy Brooks. Alphonso Bailey had promising football career before running afoul of the law, but an interest in boxing and confidence in his faith gave him a fresh start. He had notable success as an amateur including making the USA International Boxing Team before turning professional and building a 15-7-1 career. But most important was what has happened following his pro career. His story was featured in a documentary, “Down But Not Out”, and he founded an organization of the same name dedicated to supporting at-risk youth, offenders, and re-entry candidates through the Character First program. This includes a boxing program that combines boxing training with character development to foster positive change.

Boxing judge Ron McNair started as an amateur boxer at Times Square Gym under Jimmy Glenn. He later joined the NY State Athletic Commission as an inspector and worked his way up to judging. His acceptance talk included a colorful and interesting recap of his journey. Referee Ricky Vera began with pay-per-view parties that got him interested enough to want to visit the gym, going on to Red Brick Gym in Newark. Sparring led to an invitation to referee and he worked all the Championship Tournaments to the point where he joined Larry Hazzard’s team as an NJ State referee. Jaclyn Atkins already has more honors and awards than can be easily listed and has already been inducted in the NJHOF as Outstanding Amateur Boxing Coach in 2016. She has been awarded the Laoma Byrd Women of Excellence in Boxing recognition and the Dowling Child Advocacy Award for the state of NJ. She has chaired the National Commission of Women in Boxing and has completed the Krav Maga International Instructor training certification. She has been a trailblazer, opening doors for women in male-dominated areas, and is so honored here. Another pioneering woman honored was Jeanette Salazar, Public Relations Director for the IBF. Wife of former outstanding pro boxer Ricardo Salazar, Jeanette has been responsible for directing the IBF’s charitable endeavors, such as holiday toy drives, assistance to those in need in the boxing community, supporting amateur events, and more.

Finally, those who take the events from a gym conversation to a major sporting event viewed by millions; the journalists. Beginning as an amateur boxer out of the Knights of Columbus in South River and then New Brunswick PAL, Bill Dettloff moved over to writing for The Ring, KO and World Boxing in 1995. Most recently, he has been editor of the last in-print boxing magazine, Ringside Seat. Bill has also written numerous books on boxing, including Box Like the Pros with Joe Frazier, Ezzard Charles: A Boxing Life, and Matthew Saad Muhammad: Boxing’s Miracle Man. The celebrated Thomas Hauser’s career extends far beyond boxing, to history, socio-political commentary, and even the Movies. His book Missing was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and Bancroft Prize, and made into an Academy Award-winning movie starring Jack Lemmon. He then co-authored another movie-bound work, Final Warning: the Legacy of Chernobyl. The book Muhammad Ali; His Life and Times led to he and Muhammad co-authoring Healing; A Journal of Tolerance and Understanding, which led to the two cris-crossing the US to meet with student audiences. Thomas has written numerous investigative articles and testified before the Senate. The Boxing Writers Association have ten times designated his articles the best investigative reporting of the year. The BWAA has honored him with both the Nat Fleischer Award and the A. J. Liebling Award, both for outstanding boxing journalism.

And finally, Don Majeski, journalist, matchmaker and historian. He has been cited as possibly the greatest source of boxing information in the world today…although Herb Goldman might disagree. Don started with the “posse” who hung around “Flash” Gordon in the days when Madison Square Garden presented weekly cards in the old Felt Forum. He then worked for Bert Sugar at Boxing Illustrated and covered fights worldwide. The ubiquitous Majeski has served as booking agent or matchmaker for a list of names that would constitute a Hall of Fame in their own right, and has been a major connection in bringing Australian fighters into the limelight. There isn’t a single task on the business side of boxing that Don can’t accomplish. And despite all this, his acceptance speech was a masterpiece of self-deprecation worthy of a professional comedian. He was the highlight of a great night.