Go To A Private Boxing Gym

The Chicago Park District has a boxing program.  However, the park district does not run boxing gyms per se.  It runs boxing classes.  There is a difference.  A big difference.

Muhammad Ali helped found the boxing program in the early 1970s while he was living in Chicago.  The story goes that Ali had a bike stolen from him when he was a kid.  A cop overheard Ali expressing a desire to beat down whoever took the bike and led Ali to a boxing gym. I believe the initial lessons were free, hence why the park district offers boxing free for kids and teens.  Ali probably stipulated that the classes should be at no cost.  Later on, adult boxing classes were added.  As those classes were not a part of the original deal Ali and the park district worked out, those classes had a price attached.

Here's where many adults, particularly those with an interest in becoming professional boxers, miss the point.  The park district's focus is on providing recreational activities to youths.  The majority of all of the activities offered are after-school programs.  Boxing is an amateur program at the park district that gives youths the chance to compete and show off their skills.   The program only operates between four to six hours depending on the field house.  The days the gyms are open also depends on the field house as well as interest coming from the area where the field house is located.  It is not the only program at any field house; it has to fit in with the rest of the schedule.

Over the years, I've encountered many adults who have expressed an interest in signing up at park district boxing gym.  There is always grumbling about not being able to use the gym when they want, how they want, and for as long as they want.  Recently, I had an adult tell me that the hour-and-a-half class for adults where I coach was not enough time to work out. 

The solution?  Go to a private boxing gym.

Some of the park district boxing coaches know professional boxing coaches, professional boxing officials, and professional boxers.  Some of those who coach the amateur boxing classes also are qualified to work the corners at professional boxing matches.  But the Chicago Park District is not involved in professional boxing and has no plans to ever do that.  Those who think and expect that the park district gyms should operate as professional boxing gyms are trying to fit circular objects into square holes.

Many professional boxers got their start through the park district.  Rudy Cisneros, David Diaz, Michael Bennett, Junior Wright, and Fres Oqendo are just a few.  They got the basics of the sport at the field houses.  But when they wanted to move up, there was a realization that they needed to come out of the amateur boxing gyms.