Athletes planning to attend an accredited college or trade school for the 2022/2023 academic year may be eligible to receive a scholarship of up to $1000.   Please download and complete the document called Michigan LBC Scholarship Application 2022-2023, found on the Downloads page of this website (click here).  

Applications must be submitted to Paul Watson at the address on the form by no later than April 1, 2022 to be eligible for consideration for a scholarship.  

The USABoxing rulebook has been updated as of January 1, 2022. A link for downloading the new rulebook and a summary of the changes may be found here: https://www.teamusa.org/usa-boxing/usa-boxing-national-rulebook

Among some of the highlights are:

• Official in Charge replaces Supervisor
• Beards are permitted at local and regional events up to a certain length
• New weight classifications
• The number of rounds and time limits for rounds are updated
• Pee wee females may box pee wee males
• Dentists need not sign braces form -- Only the boxer's parents
• Red mouthpieces are permitted
• Sport Hijabs are permitted
• 10 ounce gloves up to 139 lbs.  12 ounce gloves at 140 lbs. and over.

See the new rulebook and the summary page for the complete list of changes.

Attendance at an IN PERSON clinic is MANDATORY to extend your certification by 2 years.  

If your certification lapses, you will not be able to work events until you attend a clinic in person and pass a follow-up exam afterwards.

The next officials' clinic will be held on Saturday, February 5,  2022 from 10am-2pm at 815 Kids Court, Lansing, MI 48917 (The office of Scott Dexter, DDS).  

These are the weight classes for 2022 Golden Glove Tournaments.  These will only be used for Male and Female, Open Class, 18 years old and up, Golden Glove tournament boxers, and NOT for any non-Golden Glove, or matched bouts:

Female - up to 106 - 114 - 125 - 132 - 139 - 146 - 154 - 165 - 178 - 178+ 

Male     - up to 112 - 125 - 139 - 147 - 156 - 165 - 176 - 189 - 203 - 203+ 

(all numbers are in pounds

Congratulations to the four National Champions from Michigan: Jasmine Hampton of Ann Arbor (119 lb. female division); Kahlil Harvey, Jr. of Canton (75 lb. male division); Joshua Pagan of Grand Rapids (147 lb. male division), who boxes out of Michigan Golden Gloves Association gym; Justin Lacey-Pierce of Grand Rapids (165 lb male division), who also boxes out of Michigan Golden Gloves Association gym.  We are all proud of your achievements. 

They earned their titles at the USA Boxing National Championships in Shreveport, Louisiana, December 5-11, 2021. 

See the Photos page (click here) of this website for pictures.

Great job!. 

Glenda Lewis of WXYZ-TV interviewed Coach Julio Hernandez about some of the positive things that World's Best Gym is doing to make a difference in the community.  Please follow this link to read the story and watch the video: 

https://www.wxyz.com/news/community-connection/breaking-the-cycle-nonprofit-helps-kids-of-incarcerated-parents-get-on-the-right-path

More pictures of World's Best Gym making a difference may be found on the Photos page of this website. (click here)

The following is a press release from October 8: 

Kronk Announces New Partnership 

Press Conference October 8, 2021, to Reveal Plan for the Future 

DETROIT (Oct. 8, 2021) - Kronk Boxing Detroit will announce at an October 8, 2021 press conference at TCF Center, a new partnership between Sylvia Steward-Williams, daughter of Kronk’s Boxing Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward, and Jeff Styers, founder and CEO of Arrow Strategies, owner of Norwayne Boxing Gym Youth Development Program and former professional boxer, who together plan to revitalize Kronk’s past and positively impact the lives of kids in the Detroit Metro area. 

The partnership will align Norwayne Boxing Gym’s highly successful boxing and life changing youth development programs with the famed Kronk heritage and brand name. The belief is that this powerful combination will inspire kids to achieve, and will develop them into the champions they may not yet know they can be, both in the ring and in life. All programs are free to youth. 

“My father cared deeply about the young people at the gym. He took care of them. When the opportunity came to partner with Jeff Styers, who has a track record of putting kids and their futures first, I knew we had to find a way to join forces,” said Sylvia StewardWilliams. Steward-Williams has been leading the Kronk brand for more than 25 years.

Jeff Styers founded Norwayne Boxing Gym in 2015 so that kids in the Detroit Metro area could learn the powerful life lessons that come from boxing training and competition. It quickly grew into a program that includes mentoring, tutoring, community involvement and leadership, in addition to athletics. He credits the lessons he learned as both an amateur and a pro boxer as primary reasons for his success in life. He has made it his mission to teach others. 

“My relationship with the Stewards, getting to know Emanuel, his wife Marie and daughter Sylvia goes back many years. Even as a young boxer, I revered the Kronk name and the boxers it produced. Seeing an opponent in Kronk trunks across the ring, I knew it was going to be a good fight. To say I’m honored to be a partner in the international Kronk brand and with this legendary family, is an understatement. To carry on Emanuel’s mission is a dream come true,” said Styers. 

More details about the partnership, its vision, its mission and its goals—both short term and long term—will be revealed in a press conference October 8, 2021, at the TCF Center in the shadow of the famed Joe Louis statue. All press is invited to attend. 

The new Kronk Gym will host an Open House the day after the press conference on October 9, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the Jefferson-Barns Community Vitality Center, 32150 Dorsey Street, Westland, Michigan. Everyone is encouraged to join in the festivities.

For more information: Kathy Heasley – 480-209-7293 (cell) Heasley & Partners, Inc. Kathy@KRONKSPORTS.COM 

To watch the press conference of October 8, 2021, please click on this link:   https://vimeo.com/626510037

For photos of the press conference, go to the Photos page (click here).

Gary Richards, former president of the Michigan Association of USA Boxing, received this year’s Julius Piazza Memorial Trophy in recognition of his leadership and support of amateur boxing across the Great Lakes region over the past 50 years. Richards, a longtime Saginaw resident, has played an important role in strengthening amateur boxing efforts statewide, working closely with area trainers and athletes throughout the Golden Gloves and Silver Gloves circuit. Richards’ impact on the world of amateur boxing extends far beyond Michigan, as he joined the USA Boxing Board as its Grassroots Director in 2010. Richards is the 49th recipient of the annual Julius Piazza Memorial Trophy, which honors the late boxing promoter who orchestrated several major boxing matches at Veterans Memorial Park in the 1950s and spearheaded efforts to bring the Golden Gloves to Saginaw in 1962. “We have been honoring outstanding local boxers with the Julius Piazza Memorial Trophy for the past 47 years, and Gary is our first recipient who is being recognized primarily for his extraordinary efforts outside the ring,” said Tony Piazza, who selects the award recipients in collaboration with the Piazza family. “Gary’s impact on the world of amateur boxing is truly incredible, and I am confident that Michigan’s strong reputation as a leader in amateur boxing is a direct reflection of his efforts over the past 50 years. My brothers, James and Andy, and I are proud to add Gary's name to our father's trophy." The Julius Piazza Memorial Trophy remains on display in downtown Saginaw at the Sports Hall of Fame wing of the Castle Museum, having previously been on display at the Dow Event Center for more than 40 years.

Contact: Tony Piazza, 989-751-0361, piazza.anthony1@gmail.com

June 17, 2021

(The photo at the left was taken June 5th at the Saginaw Golden Gloves tournament. Left to right: Tony Piazza, Gary Richards and James Piazza)  A larger photo is on the Photos page.  Click here to go to the Photos page.

The following is from the Interim Guidance for Athletics issued May 14, 2021 by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (a copy of which may be found in the Downloads section of this website, or by clicking on this link)  

Mandatory Provisions 

The following provisions are mandatory pursuant to the Gatherings and Face Mask Order issued on May 24, 2021: 

Testing Requirements for Unvaccinated Participants 

• Unvaccinated participants ages 13 – 19 participating in contact and non-contact organized sports must test for SARS-CoV-2 on at least a weekly basis. These requirements apply to both school and non-school sponsored sports. 

          * Unvaccinated participants ages 13 – 19 can only participate in organized sports with proof of a negative diagnostic test (antigen or RT-PCR) on at least a weekly basis. 

• Participants who have recovered from confirmed COVID-19 in the past three months and remain symptom-free may gather for purposes of sports practice or competition without testing if: 

           * they can provide a letter from their doctor attesting that they fall into this category, or 

           * they have proof of a positive antigen or RT-PCR diagnostic test within three months. An antibody test is not sufficient. 

• Fully vaccinated persons are not subject to the sports testing requirements set forth in Section 3(a) of the Gatherings and Face Masks Order unless they have COVID-19-like symptoms.

The Michigan LBC will comply with the MDHHS directive effective immediately.

Starting Monday February 8, Governor Whitmer has permitted gyms to reopen for training and competitions to resume.

According to the governor: "We are now ready to take a few steps forward in returning to some normal day-to-day activities,” Whitmer said Thursday February 4.  “Today the [Michigan Department of Health and Human Services] is issuing an epidemic order to allow in-person practice and competition for sports leagues starting on Monday, February 8....”   

The order, in part, states:  

At exercise facilities:

1. Gatherings must not exceed 25% of the total occupancy limits established by the State Fire Marshal or a local fire marshal;
2. There must be at least 6 feet of distance between each occupied workout station and physical layout of the space must be established such that exercisers can move between stations while maintaining 6 feet of distance from others at all times; and
3. Gatherings for group fitness activities or classes are permitted, provided that all persons maintain at least 6 feet of distance from others at all times and wear a face mask at all times.

Organized sports gathering restrictions.

1. Gatherings for the purpose of contact sports practice and competition are prohibited unless:
   1. Participants remain masked; or
   2. Where it would be unsafe for participants to remain masked, all participants are tested consistent with MDHHS’s document entitled Guidance for Athletics issued February 7, 2021.
2. Gatherings for the purpose of sports practice and competition are prohibited unless participants maintain 6 feet of distance from each other when not engaged in play.
3. Gatherings of non-participants for the purpose of observing sports practice and competition must be held consistent with section 3.
4. Sports organizers, venues, and teams must ensure that all gatherings for the purpose of sports competition and practice comply with the requirements of this order.
5. Even where it is not required, sports organizers are encouraged to administer a testing program as specified MDHHS’s document entitled Guidance for Athletics issued February 7, 2021.

For full details of the state order, go to this link.

When resuming gym activities, please follow all protocols recommended by USABoxing on their website: https://www.teamusa.org/usa-boxing/coronavirus

The boxing club at the University of Michigan has lost its final appeal to the administration to keep its status as a "club sport". This denies the boxing club the use of any University of Michigan facilities among other things.  Among the reasons given were  "...the nature of the sport and the frequency and force of purposeful contact to the head of the participants involved."  A copy of the full letter by the U-M administration may be seen by going to the Downloads section of this website (or clicking this link).  The boxing club's status will be reduced to a "Voluntary Student Organization," the lowest organizational status within the university.
 

The following is a letter by Michael Zlonkevicz detailing the denial of the appeal.

JAN 24, 2021 — 

The University of Michigan has denied our appeal to continue sponsorship. Our appeal presented the true impact of amateur boxing through academic studies, measures taken by USA Boxing and our college governing bodies to mitigate risk, and letters written by students,  alumni, and coaches explaining the club’s life-changing impact. Despite this effort, Rec Sports and Risk Management thought the risk too great, and upheld its decision to revoke our sponsorship.

The University and Club Sports had gone against its own protocol, disregarded the facts, and ignored students’ voices. They purport to be a resource for students and have blatantly demonstrated otherwise.

The decision is not only a blow to our club but the sport at a national level. We are the winningest program in USIBA, and the decision to axe it will have seismic consequences for college boxing, already facing significant challenges.

Last weekend, Club Sports required us to clear the Coliseum, our home for 30+ years, in order to make more space for group fitness classes this winter semester. All during a pandemic.

Our goal now is to survive. We have gotten news coverage from a number of local outlets, most recently by MLive - check out the article here. We are raising awareness of the University’s decisions to garner support in the following areas:

• Finding a new space to train as a newly branded club in the immediate Ann Arbor area.
• Getting financial support from both donors and sponsors to handle new expenses like space, insurance, and travel once normalcy resumes.
• Spreading word on the University’s hypocrisy to create public pressure and help a reinstatement case in the future.

If you have any leads on potential space, financial help, or spreading awareness, please reach out to mzlonkiv@umich.edu or (734) 934-8117. 

Here is the final decision on our appeal directly from Club Sports and Risk Management.

As we always have and forever will, we fight. TDSM.

To read another article about the boxing club's loss of "club sport" status, click here.

The club is currently looking for spaces to spar and train in Ann Arbor that are close to campus.  If anyone has any information about suitable facilities, please forward it Joe Kastely at chiefofofficials@michiganlbc.com , who will pass along any helpful information.

Under construction.