Page 10 - IssueNo101

10 Issue #101 June 2021
Boxing Gyms in Uncertain Times
By Jorge Luis
i folks and fight fans. We are
Hcertainly living in interesting
and uncertain times. It’s amazing
to see people buying up exercise
equipment to workout at home.
It’s also amazing how the price
and availability of equipment has
increased dramatically. You don’t
need a lot of money to get fit. Even
fighting fit.
The other day, I was browsing
through an old book called “The
Greatest”, the autobiography of the
one and only Muhammad Ali. In it,
he describes how he began boxing
after getting his bicycle stolen. He
joined Joe Martin’s gym, who was
a local policeman in Louisville,
Kentucky. He began training and
competing shortly after. Joe Martin
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showed him some basics and church basement was cold, while the bag, jump rope, get in the ring,
fundamentals, but little else. Joe it was warm in Joe Martin’s gym. and flail at each-other.
Martin’s gym had nice, modern His heavy bags and equipment were
For years, Ali went to school,
equipment and made money by also inferior to Joe Martin’s gym.
having amateur fights on a local But, year after year, Fred Stoner’s went to work for the Catholic
sisters after school, and trained at
TV station. One night at another boys went to Chicago and brought
Joe Martin’s gym from 6-8 pm.
fight show, Ali lost decisively to back most of the amateur titles. Ali
From there, he would get the real
another fighter from a crosstown, describes them as beautiful boxers -
training, after 8 pm, at Fred Stoner’s
rival gym. As he examined the they had sharp hooks, they danced,
gym. All of the good amateurs and
boxers from this gym, he noticed they could jab and move. They had
professionals were developed by
the boxers from Grace Community pretty footwork and could duck and
Mr. Fred Stoner in Louisville in the
Center were better boxers with weave. Though they were young,
50’s, 60’s and 70’s. All the publicity
better rhythm. Their timing was their bodies looked mature. Young
about Ali’s boxing origin and early
better, and punches were sharper. Ali wondered how they got that
development of his boxing skill
Joe Martin’s gym allowed no way. He decided he needed to learn
and prowess describe Joe Martin
association with this other gym. the science of boxing and improve
as the incubator, while Ali’s style,
Joe would not put any of the boxers his skill and so he went to train
stamina, and skill were molded in
from Grace Community Center on across town at Fred Stoner’s gym.
the basement of a church in the
his local TV fights. It was strictly
The discipline in Stoner’s gym was east end of Louisville. Martin kept
forbidden to train there.
tough. Running was like religion. Ali on his roster despite knowing
The trainer at Grace Community Stoner was relentless in making he trained with rival Fred Stoner,
Center was a slightly built man his boxers develop certain muscles simply because Ali was so good and
named Fred Stoner. Fred was a which he believed were necessary brought good publicity to his gym.
barber by day and boxing trainer for survival in the ring. His boxers
by night (imagine that!!). He was were required to run and shoot 200 Joe Martin was a good man and
very intent in his work and watched jabs in a row at every practice, along great volunteer. He helped many
every move his boxers made. He did with hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, young men. Fred Stoner toiled
not have the facilities Joe Martin and knee bends. In Martin’s gym, in the shadows and never got the
had. In the winter, his gym in the all that was required was to punch credit. Ali even had Fred in his
Continued on page 12
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