By Jose Hernandez
OSWEGO – Oswego saw a surge in new faces on the weekend of January 10th-11th. Last month’s Regional Silver Gloves tournament brought families, teams, and volunteers.
Boxing lovers filled Curtis Manor for a day filled with bouts featuring the region’s youngest boxers.
Coaches Derrick Falcetti, Andre Mendez, and Jorge ‘Tito’ Delgado worked hard to train and corner their fighters at the state and regional event, while also taking on the task of working with USA Boxing to plan the event.
“Planning an event of that caliber was stressful, it’s different from our hometown events,” said Falcetti, “for Silver Gloves, you have the best of the best of the region travel to Oswego, and it’s very specific by age and weight.”
Silver Gloves serves participants ages 8-17 and separates them by weight class. The weight classes range from 50lbs to 201+ lbs. Typically, kids end up fighting people their own age.
Local boxers King Cook and Kevin “KJ” Firenze were the Oswego boxers to compete in this year’s Silver Gloves competition.
Cook initially lost a close split decision at the previous Silver Gloves tournament in Rochester. This event was only for New York State and served as a qualifier for the next stage, as the recent regional tournament is a qualifier for the upcoming national tournament.
The fighter competed in a tournament in Lubbock, Texas, recently, and became ill. To avoid having Cook worry about his weight, he was moved up a weight class to 80lbs.
Although Cook lost his initial bout, he stayed ready and secured a spot at the regional tournament in the higher weight class.
“I’m confident he should have gotten the victory. It was a close fight; it went the other way. That’s part of the game here,” said Falcetti. “After King had lost that bout, it took him out of the tournament. There was a vacancy in the 85lb weight class. Due to King’s skill, we elected to put him into that slot.”
Both coaches, Delgado and Mendez, were proud of King’s performance. “A lot of people don’t think 5 pounds is a lot, but in the fighting game, that means a lot. For him to jump in and still give a guy twice his size a run for his money is good for King Cook,” said Delgado.
KJ has been going to the gym for a short period of time so far. Despite having no prior boxing experience, he won his final bout in the New York State Silver Gloves tournament, earning a spot at the regional tournament.
The coaches decided not to place KJ in the novice bracket, given his skill level and tenacity.
“KJ was probably the fastest person to start to spar. We elected to have KJ fight in the open bracket, which means he could have faced someone with 10+ fights,” said Falcetti. “KJ is a natural athlete who was able to mold his style off the guys in the gym.”
Two of the fighters he molds himself off of include Menedez and Delgado.
“KJ surprised me,” said Delgado, “he only had a few fights and made it to the finals. Put up a hell of a fight. Was his first time ever fighting 3 minutes. People who don’t compete might not consider it 3 minutes long. I would like to see if you can do 3-3-minute rounds.”
Mendez found doing corner work for King and KJ to be a full-circle moment, having competed in Silver Gloves tournaments in his childhood.
“It was my first time stepping in the ring coaching. I saw what the coach goes through during every fight. The difference between sitting on the stool getting talked to, then going to doing the talking to a fighter on the stool. It was a cool experience,” said Mendez.
The Silver Gloves tournament is recognized by USA Boxing and is considered Tier 2 by the sanctioning body.
All amateur boxers and trainers must register through USA Boxing to compete in sanctioned events.
Every event run by USA Boxing features volunteers who officiate, referee, and serve as ringside physicians.
Armando Munoz is the Chief Officer for Niagara LBC. USA Boxing has divided the regions into sections, with Niagara LBC covering Niagara Falls to Binghamton.
“I think the event went well, it was well organized. I give kudos to Mr. Falcetti, his wife, and his team,” said Munoz.
More than 140 children and their families were at Curtis Manor.
“There will definitely be more events in Oswego. Mr. Falcetti has a good relationship with the Oswego community. We’re talking about another event coming up soon.”
“Everything is volunteer-based, I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” said Munoz.
Munoz has run the youth boxing program in Rochester for 33 years. He also trains fighters for pro bouts, including Bryce Mills, a 24-year-old professional boxer from Liverpool.
The event’s biggest beneficiary was Oswego businesses.
“It was great publicity to have all these #1-ranked fighters come to little ole Oswego,” Delgado said with a smile, “we had people from Connecticut, New Jersey, NYC, and Massachusetts. It was good for our community to show people our hometown, and show them what we’re made of.”
The success of Silver Gloves bodes well for Oswego’s future with USA Boxing. It seems likely that there will be more sanctioned events, and, consequently, more money for local businesses.
Hosting the Regional Silver Gloves in Oswego is yet another historic milestone for Oswego Boxing Club and its founder, Derrick Falcetti. The prestigious amateur boxing tournament not only showcases some of the region’s top young talent but also delivers an estimated $1 million in economic impact to the City of Oswego, filling hotels, restaurants, and local businesses throughout the weekend.
Falcetti expressed his sincere gratitude to Mayor Corradino and the City of Oswego; Port City Hearing; USA Fire Door; Broadwell Hospitality Group—including GS Steamers, Best Western, and the Clarion Hotel; Anthony Pauldine and Curtis Manor; and the many dedicated OBC volunteers whose efforts made the event possible.
He also emphasized the importance of recognizing Armando Muñoz and Don Simpkin of Rochester for their leadership and support in bringing the Regional Silver Gloves to Oswego, calling the event a powerful example of what collaboration and community investment can accomplish.
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