The Giovanni Beatdown

Girl Fight

Allentown Sportsfest 2007 Women's Division

Mauling Morton and Too Sharp

Classroom Experience : J & J

Cruising with John C and Jarod S

The Boxing Doctor

Sparring is a lot of different things. Sometimes sparring develops into an out an out war. Most often, the boxing coach is directing the boxers toward a learning experience of a particular type, be it a combination of punches, a defensive technique, or offensive and defensive positioning. Naturally,there are frustrations...

Jermaine Taylor : Boxing = Life

Jermaine!... Where you at? We heard you were in the Poconos training for your upcoming fight with Kelly Pavlik.

RJ Sockwell Sparring Rassin from Gleason's

Rassin visited the Jesse Harris Gym a while back. It was an opportunity for the Jesse Harris trained R. J. Sockwell to get some work. Rassin was among a group of others who were being trained by Harry Keitt at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, NY.

Two Boxers, Two Coaches: John vs Jarod

Amateur boxing provides an arena where boxers can learn but it also provides a classroom for coaches and referees. A well-paced sparring session should be geared to the skill level of boxers, but it should never be reduced to mere aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is terrific, and as much as “boxercise” contributes to fluid movement and general health, it is quite different from real boxing. Both these amateur boxers are new to the sport, both are strong punchers, and both have developed a general mastery of the fundamentals.

Heavyweight Anthony "Jug" Himmelwright

Girls Will Be Girls

Charlene Lacing Up

BF, GF, and F

Jarod Sharp vs Rashad Brown of Delaware's Bad Boy Barham's Gym

Dungeons and Dragons

Williams Street

Sparring The Dungeon fighter is R.J. Sockwell.

विल्लिंस स्ट्रीट

The Jesse Harris Fight Crew - Sportsfest 2007

Cruiserweights : Allentown Sportsfest 2007

James Moore (12-0) Sparring

Unknown opponent from Gleason's Gym sparring with Irish boxer James Moore (12-0) who hails from County Arklow, Ireland.

Allentown Sportsfest 2007

This annual summer event features a variety of sports including basketball, hockey, boxing, and a bunch of general family entertainments. People come from neighboring states to compete. Omar is from Delaware. Saul is trained at the Larry Holmes Gym in Easton, PA. In fact, Larry Holmes was one of the judges for the two-day event held in one of Allentown's beautiful parks.

La Vida Loca

Fighting is a historical art form which requires conditioning and constant refinement. It must be learned and then perfected. A person who is otherwise capable of high functioning can become visibly stupified and enfeebled when entering the ring. The person will ignore the rudimentary, forgetting such a simple thing as holding up his hands to protect the face. Another person will swing wildly with eyes seeking the ceiling and chin thrust forward to receive the blows. A superbly conditioned athlete who excels in the mile run will collapse with fatigue when faced with just 30 seconds of punching from a determined and disciplined fighter. Jarod and Morton are learning. Jarod has had three official fights; Mort is waiting for his first. They both have courage and resilience. You may see some flaws in their sparring session. On the other hand, if you would care to join them, I'll give you the address and set up an appointment for you. It's harder than it looks.

How We Do

The Ropes

Jarod Sharp vs. Mort Croughan

Pennsylvania Golden Gloves - Palo Alto

Middleweight Raul Franks

Middleweight Boxer Raul Franks laces 'em up at the Jesse Harris Gym. Franks comes from Guyana and fights out of Brooklyn with Harry Keitt as his trainer. Franks' has 27 professional wins on his record with 13 KOs.

Harry Keitt is the man in the background. Keitt was one of Ali's sparring partners back in the day. Keitt was the subject of the 1999 film "On the Ropes", directed by Nanette Burstein.

Blood Bank

Rafael Marquez Vs. Israel Vasquez (Photo Cred: Tom Casino - Showtime)


Mostly, this drift is about amateurs but it's inevitable there's overlap. These two 122 pounders met for the second time on Saturday Night. The first fight was a bloodletting, with Vasquez losing when he quit with a broken nose and trainer Freddie Roach stopped it. One or the other. Marquez got off the canvas to win that one. This second fight was billed as Vasquez' Revenge but when it was over I had the feeling that I'd seen a bad car crash. Both fighters were bloodied and cut early and it became a contest of will, power, and speed with both guys trapped in a circle of violence like one of those Basilio-Robinson-LaMotta old school battles.

Vasquez got wobbled a couple of times and Marquez got dropped but the fight played out to a bitter end when the ref had to step in with what Al Bernstein called "an early stoppage." I like Bernstein and it's true Marquez might have survived the round but this was no early stoppage. Marquez had that faraway look in his eyes when the referee waved Vasquez off. Marquez fought like a true champion but it wasn't his night. Vasquez was unrelenting and gave no quarter.

As for Bernstein's claim of an "early stoppage", I'd say you stand in there, Al, for just thirty seconds and then tell me it was an "early stoppage."

There's talk of a third meeting and, thanks to the referee, Marquez should be healthy enough to do it again.

Giovanni Vs Neito Allentown Sportsfest 2007

You'd think a guy who's been life-long prone to bloody noses would pick a sport other than boxing, but that wouldn't be Giovanni. Nothing ever slowed Giovanni down, not the bloody noses, and not the tendency to lead with his face instead of his fists. Giovanni came to the Jesse Harris Boxing gym armed with an idea and few skills. If ever a kid pushed himself to master a sport, few could match Giovanni in terms of work effort and determination. If anything, the tendency to bloody noses has helped him accomplish his boxing goals. Worried that the ref will stop the fight due to excessive bleeding, Giovanni does what he can to "get it done early" and get it done right. In this clip with an opponent in the 125 lb class, Giovanni goes on for the "W."