Team boxing looking for a knockout in Sussex County

VERNON — Tucked in the woods across the street from Rolling Hills Elementary School sits a brand new, 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility which its operators hope will become home to future generations of boxing champions. The private gym, which opened on Tuesday, June 20, was built by David P. Mastrogiovanni, a boxing promoter from Sparta who has sunk more than one million dollars into the facility over the past three years. The location of the building, which includes offices, a full weight room, a cardio exercise room, a locker room with showers, steam room and sauna and, of course, a regulation-size boxing ring, was chosen for its isolation, says Mastrogiovanni. “Seclusion is important for fighters to concentrate and train,” says Mastrogiovanni, President and CEO of T.E.A.M. Services, Inc., which also opened a gym in West Palm Beach, Fla. last month and plans to open a gym in Las Vegas within a year. “Pro fighters love this area,” he adds, harkening back memories of Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson who trained in nearby Greenwood Lake in the middle of the last century; Robinson owned his own fight camp there. “There are no gyms like this around this area.” Although the facility is new and doesn’t smell like a gym yet, it still oozes boxing. The entire facility is decorated with nostalgic boxing programs, robes, autographed gloves and other items. Most of the memorabilia was donated by the late Al Gavin, a famous ‘cut man’ who was an early influence on Mastrogiovanni. Team Boxing has a distinguished faculty to help draw amateur and professional boxers alike. Don McAteer, a 38-year resident of Vernon who grew up with Mastrogiovanni’s father in Paterson, is the organization’s general manager and coordinator. McAteer, the New Jersey heavyweight champion from 1961-67, trained with Robinson, Archie Moore, Rocky Marciano and Kid Gavilan. McAteer fought Chuck ‘The Bayonne Bleeder’ Wepner in 1967 and lost by knockout in the sixth round. Wepner later fought a courageous fight against Muhammad Ali that became the inspiration for the first “Rocky” movie. “Now, we’re hoping to develop a few world champions and make a social contribution to get kids off the street and keep them from fighting in school,” says McAteer. Mastrogiovanni says he’s currently in negotiations with a few professional boxers to train at the gym. Also in Mastrogiovanni’s stable is Harold “Shadow” Knight, Team Boxing’s head trainer who helped train former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis and has trained heavyweight contenders Monte Barrett and Malik Scott. The staff includes two other trainers, a nutritionist and six office workers. Team Boxing also plans to draw amateurs and youngsters who have an interest in the sport. Cameras are placed around the ring to record sparring and training sessions. After these sessions, one of the gym’s three trainers can review a fighter’s techniques with him or her in a nearby multimedia room. “A fighter will always have someone available to supervise him,” says Mastrogiovanni, who placed the cost of amateur and student training sessions at $10 to $15 each. Mastrogiovanni is planning children’s boxing programs (The Vernon PAL also offers youth boxing programs.) and an amateur competition in the fall in which the winner will receive a promotional deal to help him turn professional. The facility includes an outdoor skateboard park for kids between training. Still, Mastrogiovanni made it clear that this gym is for serious fighters. “The guy who’s 5-5 and fighting four-round fights isn’t willing to pay to train,” he says. For more information, call 888-680-TEAM or visit www.teamboxing.com.