Main Street Gym's 'Alternate to Nationals' club show features local amateur fighters
The Main Street Gym in Salisbury has been a staple of the local boxing community for almost three decades, growing and training local talent, and hosting fight nights for the community to come out and watch young boxers on the lower Eastern Shore.
Main Street usually hosts at least two boxing events a year in Salisbury, and its second one this year will bring boxers from all around for 19 bouts in its USA Boxing "Alternate to the Nationals" club show.
"Saturday was the beginning of the national tournament in Texas, but a lot of kids and coaches can't afford to go to that," Main Street founder Hal Chernoff said. "Some kids that are good enough to probably win there, are not there. So that's why I call this 'Alternate to the Nationals,' for those that couldn't go."
Chernoff says that Main Street's Alternate to the Nationals show was a hot ticket for coaches that were trying to get their boxers into the event after the USA Boxing Nationals last week.
With Main Street's stellar reputation when it comes to producing solid boxers and putting on shows and tournaments, it wasn't difficult finding people to come down to Salisbury to compete in this event. Twenty gyms and 115 boxers called in to Main Street to attempt to get on Saturday night's card, according to Chernoff.
And for these young fighters competing in Salisbury next week, they'll face off against their opponents in front of packed crowds that typically come out for a Main Street show.
"The strange thing about it is, when you go to those big tournaments, there's not a lot of spectators. It's all coaches and boxers," Chernoff said. "But here, you're gonna have a packed house of people that are just watching boxing. They're going to be cheering and screaming, and it's actually more fun for the boxers than the national tournament."
Main Street, the gym where local boxing star Fernando Guerrero trained, will have seven local amateur boxers fighting at the event: Jeremiah Lyons, Sheena Stevenson, Anthony Drummond, Bryant Clark, Jesus Gomez, Corey Moore and Zack Mitchell.
For some of them, they will be looking for revenge against opponents they have previously faced and lost to, while others are just looking forward to gain added experience, and some want to put on an explosive show for the fans that come out.
Main Street Gym, a nonprofit organization, trains young boxers in the gym for the types of bouts they'll face on Saturday, usually from a very young age. Along with being given the chance to compete in high-level competition, boxing instills them with traits that go with them when they step out of the ring.
"Boxing means a lot to me," Stevenson said ahead of her match on Saturday. "It helped me to develop self-discipline and a lot of self-confidence I didn't have before. So just seeing everyone work hard just gives you a different sense of energy to keep pushing forward in life."
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If you go:
Where: Main Street Gym, 310 Bowl Drive, Salisbury
When: Saturday, Dec. 10, Doors open at 6 p.m., fights start at 7
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Main Street Boxing hosting club show featuring local amateur fighters
