How New York City Lost Boxing

Someone once said that boxing for men is like prostitution for women: selling one's body for money. Should we miss what is described as a "sport" which has as its sole aim to scramble your opponent's brain. Not only can NYC do without it, so can every place else.

Hipster boxercise.

Take your choice: the NYT has run two offbeat stories about sports today--one is about hundreds of teams serving thousands of boys and girls playing indoor soccer, some of whom will win college scholarships. The other is about the death of pro boxing serving a small number of participants in a brutal sport. Rest in peace.

I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told...

Rumble and Shadowbox are boxing inspired fitness studios and claim to be as such. They are not boutique boxing gyms. How about you point your fingers at the likes of Overthrow, who masquerade as a "real boxing gym".

Once an avid boxing and football fan, I no longer watch or support either activity. The evidence is overwhelming of the toll both take on participants; particularly the extensive brain damage. I think too much of fellow humans to expect them to endure such risks for my entertainment. Frankly, I don't miss either boxing or football.

Boxing is hard to make a good career. It requires a lot of hard work and the lifespan is very short (10 to 15 years max). I have a few boxer wannabe friends and none of them made it due to many circumstances. Some of them were late to the game (in their mid 20s), some couldn't find sponsorships, some simply gave up because they couldn't handle the hard core training.

Maybe he can overcome his own worst enemy staring him back in the mirror. Unrealistic expectations? Play hoops for a year at a community college, transfer to an elite program like Notre Dame, and then get drafted? That takes hard work in addition to the requisite natural gifts. I don't see that "lean, powerful physique" Areliano Sosa is babbling about. I see a guy who's not chiseled and certainly not lean. A reflection on his lack of focus and laissez-faire attitude towards training. Look at the NFL combine currently taking place. The running backs and linebackers along with the wide receivers and defensive backs are completely chiseled, no room for excess body fat, just pure muscle. The bigger guys playing in the trenches almost always look like they could get leaner and more chiseled. Mr. Taylor's problem is that he looks more like the overweight linemen than the ripped linebackers. And those college kids at the combine are younger than he is. A reflection of his lack of training. He can make it, he just needs to look in the mirror and first defeat enemy number one staring back at him. They sign up professional boxers next year too, they don't just wait every four years to see what happens at the Olympic Trials.

Boxing is a sport that attracts the poorest and youngest people without any options. That last hope for a good life is what propels men to get in the ring and fight (and be punished). No wonder that as NYC becomes wealthier the boxing clubs have disappeared. Still Pryce needs move on with a career. Please go to school and make something of your life!

Great story, thank you! But as a footnote-quibble, could we please get one detail straight? The name of the amateur boxing tournament in New York City is "The Golden Gloves"!!!...Let's TKO this silly Ringmaster nonsense!.. some people just don't know who they are...

I used to work out and train (even did some sparring) at a pretty bare bones boxing gym in the Boston area. It's a wonderful, diverse (by race, gender, class, education) community onto itself. If you want to train to be a competitive fighter, there is a place for you; if you just want a great workout, there is a place for you. The owner has gone to great lengths to make the gym a welcoming place and runs an after school program, a girls program, and programs for people dealing with severe health issues. I tried some of the boutique gym around Boston and felt like I was being charged more money for far less benefit.

Like a few others here who have posted, I began boxing shortly after being inspired by the first Rocky film. I had had limited exposure to the sport (and a small amount of training) while in the Marines and our gym in Salt Lake was open, free and run by men who weren't exactly trying to create champions, but we're not opposed to helping you to learn the craft and perhaps compete in the state Golden Gloves. I was not naturally talented and I was built absolutely wrong for a middleweight. I was only 5'10" and I had short arms. But I noticed dramatic improvement and developed a real love for the sport. I eventually sparred with Golden Glove champs and even a pro heavyweight who was the Rocky Mountain Heavyweight champion and who would eventually move to Vegas and fought Randall "Tex" Cobb. I fought only three times and won only two of those. A very smart Angelo Curley, who had trained Don Fullmer in his WC loss against Nino Benvenutti in Rome took me aside and wisely told me that I could continue to spar, but should concentrate on my college education. I knew that he was right and that I possessed neither the talent of commitment to continue. I simply want to say that almost all of the adults I was around during this time were some of the most decent and supportive coaches I've ever met. Most of the boxers I met were truly good guys and the better pros I met were some of the finest athletes I've ever known and very good people as well.

Boxing is a fantastic sport, which can be beautiful in its own way, and it also certainly causes long term brain injuries. I tried joining a boxing club for a while and learned the basics but never made it to sparring, much as I would have loved it. I remember a fellow trainee asking our instructor how to avoid concussions. The instructor said "If you box, you're going to get concussions." So...I'm glad I didn't go further, but there's a little part of me that will always want to be a gladiator.

Why would anyone want a revival of boxing in New York? Have you heard of CTE? These young men need to find a different way to make a living. There is no future in damaging your brain.

I disagree with the author' s premise as an unwarranted generalization. Pryce Taylor is one person -- anecdotal evidence. The sport of boxing is actually doing pretty well these days.

You all don’t get the sport of amateur boxing. It is about the athleticism and not the knock out. Kids off the street learn discipline, structure, hard work and ambition. Amateur boxing takes kids off the street and moves them inside to a place where they learn hard work, respect and success the hard way. Amateur boxing saves lives and creates men and women who learn its is mental as well as physical. Olympian’s are a breed you cannot relate to, but to criticize the sport without understanding what it is defines the issue as perception. You will never find anything so physically demanding.

Have those in favor of professional boxing ever seen slow-motion footage of a punch landing on a boxer's head? It is hard to believe that a human face could distort so much. It's gruesome.

Very few no/low cost neighborhood boxing gyms are left, that's true. But Gleason's Gym in downtown Brooklyn remains an accessible boxing mecca for fighters at all levels. Owner Bruce Silverglade and his partners have innovative youth, veteran and additional programs in place that can significantly lower the cost. Barclay's Center runs regular fight cards now, as does MSG. The influx of fitness boxers is in addition to, not instead of, the serious amateurs and professionals who train alongside them. Women are another great part of the mix - so that on the floor at Gleason's at any given time you have diversity and interaction that makes this city great. True, Sunnyside Garden, the Felt Forum and similar small fight venues are no more. But boxing in New York more than survives. https://www.gleasonsgym.com/gakad

For those who don't care for boxing; substitute artist or musician for boxer and it's the same story. NYC is simply too expensive of a place for most to get by.

Good. Boxing is a barbaric sport.

Great article. I trained at Gleason's gym in NY by the Garden in 1982. That was immediately after seeing the first Rocky. Almost every week since then i still shadow box, will try to jump rope, and when i get the chance hit that bag hard and oh yes speed bag to. I'm glad Gleason's is still around and if i was in NY, I head there today. Boxing is the greatest sport on earth and the comments from boxing haters are deranged. Boxing is a controlled form of martial art, and requires great skills and expertise that most readers would be surprised to learn of. "Float like a buttterfly sting like a Bee" said the man

Why would wee want it? We finally got rid of it. If you think football players have head injuries think of all the punched up boxers.

This is not a "sport", it is a harmful practice that cuases damage to brains of poor people who self inflict them permanent damages to gain money. Our society should have long gotten rid of this "culture" of violence, pity you are promoting this with this article.

Come on NYTimes - BOXING? Police brutality, gender inequality, slavery reparations, parity in schools, income disparity and the list goes on.... when is this paper going to ask the hard question about boxing? Why do we allow, let alone condone, such a brutal practice to exist?

Just started boxing as a form of exercise last year, it’s my midlife crisis. I love it and have no plan to stop. I’m getting stronger and healthier too. But my coach’s been saying( he is a retired pro fighter), that young kids don’t want to do the required work to become a great fighter. They come to the gym he said to do pads, they don’t want to spar, they don’t want to run, etc. I met two great fighters over the summer and they both said the same thing. Young fighters are not that enthusiastic about the game anymore .

Most of these high-horse comments resonate with astounding ignorance. Certainly, there are concerns to be raised about the health of professional boxers, but that's not the concern of this article that raises a plethora of others. This is lamenting the loss of a cultural touchstone for communities in a city that continues to push them out and made more maddening by being commodified by those same people doing the pushing out. There's culture and tradition present here that provides stability and structure, community and a safe place for people, frequently youth, who need it. They certainly aren't going to, let alone able to, go to these designer gyms. Suggesting that these kids should just go find a way to get a college degree and a career in spite of all hardship is tone-deaf and crotchety. On top of that, trainees do spar with each other in a controlled environment, but they certainly aren't subjecting each other to the blunt head trauma so many of these alarmist comments imply. And let's not forget that, while perhaps violent, it's occurring between consenting parties. If that's what they would like to do with their bodies in the time they possess it on earth, whose place is it to stop them? Do we cry foul at punk communities for the violence of moshing? No. (And if you do, why do you care?) I don't see any reason why combat sports occurring in controlled environments that, again, occur between consenting individuals should warrant this amount of pearl-clutching.

Former amateur boxer here. The shortage of bouts in the tri-state area is just a cost of living and weather story. It's cheaper to live in Vegas, Arizona, Florida, and other places where up-and-coming fighters tend to move. Also it's easier to run outside there 365 days a year without catching a cold. Also, there are many amateur fighters with a much better work ethic than this kid (at least as portrayed by the author), and most started boxing a lot earlier than he did. That aspect of his life is not really representative of most fighters. Best wishes to him though.

This is good news, boxing is a brutal modern version of gladiator matches. Sure it takes skill and strength to beat someone into unconsciousness, but it's not something we should be applauding. It'll be a great thing when we finally abandon boxing entirely.

One might ponder why we see ongoing ads on cable/satellite tv for very expensive views of 'prize' fights? I will not watch boxing if it is free, so why would I want to take a good part of a day's wages to watch it on TV, pay per view? Yet these seem to be well attended in person, and these promoters must sell a pay per view slot in order to keep doing it. What attraction is there for people to watch? Maybe there is something I don't get about boxing (which I personally feel is making progress along with eliminating other barbaric practices). There must be something people enjoy. It is like thinking about eating a raw oyster...enough to make most people gag, but there are plenty still being sold at oyster bars and fancy restaurants.

Boxing is no different than cockfighting, dog fighting or bull fights. All should be banned.

This kid is another lost soul seduced by unattainable dreams of professional athletics or entertainment without showing any aptitude for either. He would be much better off pursuing an education and learning a marketable skill.

Putting aside for a moment a reasonable concern that NY is losing character and diversity, and in particular places for the working class, I've got things to do today other than shed a tear for the disappearance of a sport where the point is to win by causing brain damage to your opponent.

Great article and great photographs. I read this earlier this morning and keep thinking about it. Seems what has happened to boxing in NYC is just another example of what is arguably happening to the city at large and the country as well. Boutique gyms are easy to criticize for a number of reasons, but the problem seems to be that it is impossible to run a true boxing gym and stay solvent in NYC. My advice to Pryce Taylor is to give himself a set period of time to follow his dream, and in doing so relocate to where he has the best chance to make it happen. Also, what about MMA in NYC? I'm just curious if MMA gyms in the area are popular and able to stay afloat. I'm not advocating for one over the other in any way, rather I just think it would be an interesting comparison that could shed some light on the subject at hand.

We could, in theory ban fighting in all its forms, but we'll never eliminate fighting. It's part of the human condition. Forever we've celebrated all kinds of warriors from the ring to the gladiators, football fields or even just little kids slugging it out over some other kids insulting someones mother. Pretending we'll ever eliminate the male gene of aggression is like pretending we can eliminate breathing in an otherwise polluted world. We still celebrate young men going off to die in pointless wars so perhaps the damage could be somewhat mitigated with yes, sad as it may sound, a controlled boxing ring.

People choose a variety of jobs (profession, career, whatever) that nearly guarantee physical deterioration. Would any of the readers posting about the inherent dangers of boxing suggest coal mining as an alternative? How about auto-body repairman/paint sprayer? Fiberglass insulation installer anyone? Do you realize how many work-for-cash men are used to demolish old lead and asbestos riddled structures with little more than a sledge hammer and a pair of gloves for protection? Should high-risk high-adventure sports be banned because of the potential for instant death? Where do you get off passing judgement on someone else's decisions?

Come on now, let’s be realistic and get these young men into some apprentice programs for careers that can support them. They obviously do t have the guidance they need at home. Boxing is not a job nor is piecework in a gym. If they aren’t college bound how about cabinet making, welding, pilot boat or harbor related work. All good jobs with real middle class wages and benefits. We can do better.

It"s corporate control of a cottage industry, whether above board, or not, where the boxers never win anything.

Yes ! Totally agree with all the comments already published that boxing should be eliminated and banned in this country of ours ! My apologies to the late Muhammed Ali.....he was an inspirational speaker, but I never watched him fight. Oh yes, while we are at it, let’s dump the WWE Super Showdown too !

All these comments know nothing of the sport, but yet they talk negatively of it. I will make the assumption that just about every comment here is from a liberal ‘progressive’. I grew up with boxing, it was a sport my father and I shared. The comments say something about the country. When so many nyt readers have a one side view it shows me how real the divide is. I have been a lifelong Democrat, but the party no longer resonates with me. I guess I’m just an old school “toxic” male. Smh. ‘

Nostalgia is sweet. Brain damage is cruel. Let's not lament boxing's decline.

Boxing is a dying sport - not only in New York City, but across America. One of the main reasons - the head injuries sustained by fighters. The days of Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya and Muhammad Ali are gone - the class fighter who was a true professional has all but disappeared. The recent heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury over Deontay Wilder was comical - seeing the costumes of the each before entering the ring reminded me of WWF. The fight was pathetic. The sport is a parody of what it used to be - I boxed in the Golden Gloves back in the 1960's - the sport was admired and there were boxing clubs everywhere. Today, they're all gone - fighting has lost it's dominance and prestige in the US - it will never return.....and maybe it shouldn't.

This article rings true for me on so many levels as a relatively well-off white guy from the suburbs who has recently entered the world of boutique boxing gyms. It is actually difficult to find a gym where they will train you to fight and not give you a, admittedly great, workout.

when prospects improve people don't involve themselves in prize fighting as it's a terrible thing to be involved in. it attracts the marginalized. jewish fighters were common in the earlier part of the 20th century. when they became less marginalized and moved to the suburbs they quickly gave that up..

How can boxing be considered a sport in a society that considers itself to be civilized? Those who sponsor dog and cockfighting are arrested but promoting the brutal assault of humans is cheered. The two answers are money and maybe, we aren't that civilized.

Were there a sport that competes with the same skills but doesn't destroy the contestants and spectators with gladiatorial spectacle, pugilism would be ancient history.

"... the sports clientele has gotten whiter and more affluent..." What if it had just gotten more affluent? Would it still be whiter or would it just be green?

The sport of boxing is barbaric. There is no validity to it . The purpose is strictly to punch each other out...knock each other out...and basically hurt your opponent. So we tell young people to go into a ring to harness their aggressive behaviors, and risk being punched in the head many times over? And I definitely need an explanation of " cops and kids". Does this program teach boxing in a different way? It's all about hurting your opponent always..

So a profession that involves severe head trauma and minimal career prospects, where hardly anyone makes a decent living and where you’re washed up at thirty, is dying in New York? Beyond the promoters and gyms that make a living from the battered brains of the poor, should any of us be weeping?

It should be banned in America. Period. It is the only sport where harming the opponent is the main aim. We are past the Middle Ages.

I love boxing but its time is past. Pro sports is a long shot in any case, the toll of collision sport is prohibitive. The most excellent defensive fighter may escape severe long term damage, but that's a long shot squared. Boxing's reason and lure was escape from oppression, that escape is more readily achieved now by putting the same work into text books. Practice martial arts for the love of the contact, hit the books for everything else. Still going to watch it when it's good...

I hope Mr. Taylor gets another opportunity to use his gifts for a productive career. He needs to understand however, that while he rambles around until 2 or 3 in the morning and consistently shows up late for workouts, across America there are other, similarly gifted young men who show up for workouts on time, get their rest, and generally do all they can to make themselves great. The word is discipline and it is separates those that go to the Olympics from those who go home.