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Oct-15-2021

Next Ring 8 Meeting – Tuesday, October 19th at O’Neill’s

Ring 8 will meet at ONeill’s Restaurant, 64-21 53rd Drive, Maspeth, NY 11378 on Tuesday October 19th, 2021 at 7pm.

Our Annual Christmas Party will take place on Sunday, December 12th at Russo’s on the Bay!

Celebrating 40th anniversary of the Larry Holmes-Gerry Cooney fight

NEW YORK (October 14, 2021) – The 34th Ring 8 Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony, highlighted by the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the epic Holmes-Cooney world heavyweight title fight, will be held Sunday afternoon (12:30-5:30 p.m. ET), December 12, at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York.

Ring 8’s 2021 award winners will soon be announced, and recipients will be honored at the Ring 8 Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony. Veteran trainer and Ring 8 Board member Tommy Gallagher will also be honored for his countless accomplishments in boxing.

What better way to celebrate our Ring 8 Holiday Party than bringing together again two legendary heavyweights to share with us their most talked about bout in Modern Boxing History,”

Ring 8 President Bob Duffy said. “But the real story is their friendship that still endures to this day 40 years later. This is what makes boxing great.

Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes (39-0) defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight World title belt against top contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney (21-0) on June 11, 1972, outdoors at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Holmes won by way of a 13th round technical knockout in one of boxing’s most hyped fights of the 20 th Century. Holmes and Cooney went on to become close, lifelong friends.

“Gerry Cooney, man, he was one tough fighter.” Holmes commented. “He really brought it. He’s a good guy, he’s like a brother to me. We talk all the time. I like hanging out with him. He’s funny. The Ring 8 event on December 12 is a great thing that, after all these years, they still remember us.”

“I had the opportunity to fight for the world championship against one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time,” Cooney said. “It was a great fight. He was a true champion and one of the top 3 heavyweights. I know, because we had 15 to 20 boxing reporters breakdown the heavyweight division from Jack Johnson to Lennox Lewis on our Sirius XM (radio boxing) show. Muhammad Ali was No. 1 and Larry was No. 3. Forty years later, we are the best of friends. I’m excited to be with Larry, as I always am, at the Ring 8 Holiday event.

“Today, we have trilogies but, for some reason, we didn’t have trilogies back then. It was a great opportunity for me. I learned so much from my one fight with Larry: how patient he was, settingup punches, and throwing combinations. It was great and amazing. Even though I lost, it was my best fight.”

Holmes was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, while Cooney went into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame, sponsored by Ring 8, in 2014.

Tickets are $150.00 and include a complete brunch with cocktail hour upon entry, followed by seating at the awards ceremony, dinner and dessert, and top-shelf open bar throughout the afternoon. There will also be a silent auction of boxing memorabilia. This event is expected to sellout, and everybody is urged to purchase tickets as soon as possible to secure favorable seating.

Tickets are available to purchase by contacting Ring 8 President Bob Duffy at 516.313.2304 or depcomish@aol.com. Ads for the NYSBHOF program are also available: Back Cover ($500.00), Inside Front or Back Cover ($400.00), Full Page ($200.00), and Half-Page ($100.00).
The deadline for submitting all ads is December 6, 2021.

Ads must be emailed (depcomish@aol.com) or mailed to Bob Duffy, 1112 Whitewood Landing, Massapequa Park, NY 11762. All checks (payable to Ring 8) for tickets or journal ads should be mailed to Duffy,
Donations of any denomination are welcome for those unable to attend the festivities.

For additional information contact Duffy.
On The Bay is located at 162-45 Crossbay Blvd. in Howard Beach (718.843.5055).

ABOUT RING 8: Formed in 1954 by an ex-prizefighter, Jack Grebelsky, Ring 8 became the eighth subsidiary of what was then known as the National Veteran Boxers Association — hence, RING “8″ — and today the organization’s motto remains: Boxers Helping Boxers.

RING 8 is fully committed to supporting less fortunate people in the boxing community who may require assistance in terms of paying rent, medical expenses, or whatever justifiable need.

Go online to www.Ring8ny.com for more information about RING 8, the largest group of its kind in the United States with more than 350 members. Annual membership dues is only $30.00, and each member is entitled to a buffet dinner at RING 8 monthly meetings, excluding July and August. All active boxers, amateur and professional, are entitled to a complimentary RING 8 yearly membership. Guests of Ring 8 members are welcome at a cost of only $7.00 per person.

CONTACT:
Bob Trieger, Full Court PRESS, 978.590.0470, bobtfcp@hotmail.com , @FightPublicist

Ring 8

The NYS Veteran Boxer’s Association

Contact:
President, Bob Duffy

1112 Whitewood Landing

Massapequa Park, N.Y. 11762

Depcomish@aol.com
516-313-2304

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Jun-30-2021

Ring 8 Pictures & Notes of Thursday, May 27th, 2021 @ the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant

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Our meeting did have 39 members and it was quite a nice turnout

1. In the spirit of camaraderie we will support Bob McGuire boxing show on July 16 ( FDNY Boxing team ). Please call me after July 1 st at 516 313 2304 if interested in going …I would need a list . Depending on the number of request there may be a nominal fee of $10.00 on a per $30.00 ticket ( the $20 extra cost which would be picked up by Ring 8 )

2. On Sunday, Sept 19 will be our 2020 New York State Boxing Hall of Fame that was canceled due to Covid 19 . Please show support for this venture since it is a 100 non for profit event . All the proceeds go to both Ring 8/NYBHOF

3. On June 7th, I was honored to attend the Freeport HS Scholarship and Award program and the 2021 Patrick Day Sport Achievement award went to Victor Charles. A fine young man who will be attending St John’s University. I invited Mr Charles and a guest to our annual Holiday Party.

4. On Nov 11, 2021 Ring 8 will be supporting the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame. We will secure a table for this prestigious event. Anyone interested in attending please notify me. John McKaie.
a Ring 8 member and supporter will be in this induction class.

5. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday Sept 21 back at O’Neill restaurant 7:00 pm ( 6:00 pm board meeting )

We will have a holiday award event on Dec 12 . the Honorees will be announced at the Sept meeting

Have a safe and enjoyable summer

Bob Duffy

(All Pictures taken by Stan Janousek, professional fight name Stanley Yanachek)

Ring 8

The NYS Veteran Boxer’s Association

Contact:
President, Bob Duffy

1112 Whitewood Landing

Massapequa Park, N.Y. 11762

Depcomish@aol.com
516-313-2304

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May-19-2021

Next Ring 8 Meeting, Thursday May 27th @ the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant

After over a year Ring 8 is BACK!

Our next meeting will take place on Thursday May 27th at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant located at 1132 Hempstead Turnpike Franklin Square, NY.
6:00 pm board meeting followed by buffet at 7:00 for all.
No dues will be collected but there will be a $5.00 cost for food . .
It will be nice to catch up!

Up-coming Ring 8 and New York State Boxing Hall of Fame events:

Sept 19, 2021 (Sunday) will be the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame Awards Dinner The class of 2020

Dec 12 , 2021 (Sunday) will be the Ring 8 Holiday awards dinner

May 1 , 2022 (Sunday) will be the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame Awards Dinner The class of 2022

All the dinners will be at Russo s on the Bay

These dates are secured …..with Russo ……

As an organization I believe we must start to get back into the our goal of supporting the many entities associated with the boxing community

I will give a financial report in full but …While we did collect a few hundreds dollars on dues for the months of January and February we were still successful in giving out over $14,000 last year alone. I would be happy to answer any and all questions at any time before the meeting but A full report will be given out at the meeting on the 27th.

Stay safe
President, Bob Duffy

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May-5-2020

Greetings to All Ring 8 VBA members and guests

It is with sincere wishes that the Board of Directors hopes that you and your family members are well at this time of crisis. We here in the worldwide boxing community have lost quite a few members over the last few months; and many more have been sickened by this disease. Many of former Ring 8 Honorees and NYS Boxing HOF’ers have succumb to this disease. Our Prayers and respectful remembrances to those and their families from the Ring 8 Family at this time.

According to schedule, our next Ring 8 meeting was to be held on Tues. May 19^th, 2020 at ONeills Restaurant in Maspeth, Queens. The NYS Gov. has set a May 15^th date for PARTIAL re-opening of the state. We feel that this is not enough time to hold a meeting, if one was even possible, because of restrictions that are in effect.

Therefore, Ring 8 will re-schedule the meeting with a TEMPORARY date of Tues. June 16, 2020. At ONeills. Of course this meeting is predicated on certain terms with respect to the virus rules in effect at that time. Will ONeills or any other place be able to hold group meetings ? Will social distancing still be in effect ? Will ONeills themselves be open ?

All these questions must be answered as time goes on. As ALWAYS, Ring 8 cares about the health of our members and guests. It will never jeopardize that and will always side on the side of “safety over risk”. Therefore we will keep you updated on all our events as things get closer to their time. Thank You

Continuing to look after our Ring 8 members, a program for the month of April was set up by Bob Duffy, President of the New York State Boxing HOF, and in co-operation with Henry Hascup and our members and friends of the New Jersey Boxing HOF that afforded them a stipend if they were from those two states. Any member from the boxing community, if they applied through those organizations and was vetted, was given a un-repayable stipend if they did not receive a stimulus check from the government. This was for the entire month of April and the program has ended. The Ring 8 Fund gave out over $ 5,000 to those in need and received Thank You from All. We must mention that we received donations from of boxings top people to assist with these gifts. Thank You Bob Duffy for your hard work on this endeavor.

Please check back at the beginning of each month for updates. Ring 8 Board of Directors wishes everyone and their families a continued safe and healthy spring.

Charles Norkus Jr, President Ring 8 VBA

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Mar-12-2020

Next Weeks Meeting is Canceled because of the Coronavirus

The Plattduetsche Restaurant has advised us to cancel our meeting that was scheduled for next Thursday, March 19th because of the Coronavirus.

We will reschedule the meeting in the near future!

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Mar-9-2020

Next Ring 8 Meeting Thursday, March 19th at the Plattdeutsche, Guest speakers Scott Lopeck, Cletis Seldin and the family of Bobby Gleason

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The next meeting of Ring 8 VBA will be held at The Plattduetsche Restaurant, 1132 Hempstead Tpk, Franklin Square, NY on THURSDAY March 19, 2020. Doors open at 7pm

New members welcome and yearly dues renewal are $35. There is a $10 meal fee collected at door for the evenings all-you-can-eat buffett.

Our guests for this meeting are Trainer Scott Lopeck, Boxer Cletis Seldin and the Family of the original Bobby Gleason of Gleason’s Gym Fame. Bronx ,NY.

Scott Lopeck

Ring 8 is proud to have Long Island boxing legend and trainer Scott Lopeck here tonite. This long Island raised athlete got his start as a Football star at Maria Regina HS, then Nassau Community College. He then played semi-pro ball for the Brooklyn Mariners. Hearing about Tommy Gallagher’s famed boxing gym, he decided to walk in and at age 23 was hooked on a new sport- Boxing.

As a amateur he went to the New York Golden Gloves Semi Finals and the Finals of the NY Metro Championships in only 9 amateur fight career.

He turned pro in 1992 and scored an impressive win over Maurice Harris in only his 5th pro fight. In 1997 he scored a 10 Rd decision over ranked Kevin Pompey, which earned Scott the New York State Title. Scott went on to fight Willie Monroe for the NABF title fight, but Scott broke his hand and had to retire. It was the 5th broken hand injury in his career.

Scott turned to youth training at the Westbury PAL Gym and now trains Champion Cletis Seldin along with Pete Brodsky.

Scott received Ring 8’s “Trainer of the Year Award” this past December 2019 for his great efforts and dedication to the sport.

Cletis Seldin

Cletis is a long time friend and member of Ring 8 VBA. He is coming off a title defense victory 2 weeks ago at Joe DeGuardia’s card in Huntington, NY. .

Cletis scored a 7th Rd TKO victory over Luis Florez in a fight filled with power punches from both corners.

It was Cletis’a first title defense of his NABF Light Welterwt. title which he won from Zab Judah.

He is presently 25-1 with 21 KOs to his credit.

He was Ring 8’s “Contender of the Year” in 2016. Welcome back Cletis Seldin.

The Family of Bobby Gleason

Gleason’s Gym in the Bronx was one of the two gyms that had the top boxers of its era 1930’s – 1960’s. The other being Stillman’s Gym in Manhattan.

Bobby Gleason will be inducted posthumously this April 19th in the New York Boxing HOF along with other New York legends.

Bobby ‘s real name was Peter Gagliardi when he came over from Italy in the early 1900’s. The name changed when he fought illegally in New York City (Boxing was outlawed in the early 1920’s)

to Kid Gleason to draw the Irish crowd that controlled much of the fight game. He earned money which eventually was turned into a fleet of Taxi cabs he had for his business. But Boxing was always an interest and opened up his gym in the Bronx in 1938. Besides ca gym owner he went on to train a few names in the game.He managed and Trained heavyweight Nino Valdes to a respectable career as well as Archie McBride in the 1960’s when he brought Archie to Germany to fight Karl Middenberger for the title. He led Phil Terranova’s career to the featherwt title.

The gym eventually moved to Manhattan near the newly opened MSG in 1972 but Bobby passed away in 1977.

He was awarded Boxings ” James J Walker Award” at the Waldorf Astoria in 1975, handed to him by Muhammed Ali.

Bobby’s daughter Bernadette Savarese and grandson John Savarese will be on hand to discuss the gym and Bobby’s long history.

Reminder: New York State Boxing HOF Induction dinner to be held Russo’s on The Bay, Howard Beach, NY Sunday April 19th, 2020 at 11:30 am. Tickets are $ 150.00 Children price available for 12 and under.

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Jan-22-2020

Ring 8 Pictures & Notes of Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at O’Neill’s Restaurant

The first meeting of the New Year took place on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at O’Neill’s Restaurant. President Charlie Norkus opened the meeting with our Flag Salute followed by the 10 count by Boxing Judge Ron McNair!

President Norkus announced several changes for 2020, including the annual membership dues going up to $35, our buffet will now cost each member $10 and Ring 8 will have a by-monthly meetings, instead of monthly ones!

We had several Outstanding Guest speakers which included Mathew “Lefty Gunz” Gonzalez, who was interviewed by President Norkus and talked about his career and his future plans. We also had Bobby McGuire the Head Coach/ Mgr of FDNY Boxing Team, who will be running bouts March 13th Hulu Theatre FDNY vs Police Depts.

Bob Duffy talked on the up coming New York State Boxing Hall of Fame event on April 19th and Fred Romano who talked on his newest project “The Boxing Genome Project.” A large scale future boxing reference to identify, collect and categorize, preserve and publicize the existence of various content related to the sport of Boxing.
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(All Pictures taken by Stan Janousek, professional fight name Stanley Yanachek)