New Haven Independent

Rosa, a former pro fighter, is best known for his grand success at training Ayala, a professional “super middleweight” whom some see as a future world champ.

Rosa now trains students at a program at Hamden Middle School. He and his wife, Marilyn (at left) have wanted to open a boxing gym of their own for over ten years. “We want to be in Fair Haven because that’s where we need it,” said Marilyn Rosa, standing before the Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday night.

The pair asked BZA permission to convert a four-car garage at 132 Grand Ave. into a boxing gym. The garage sits behind an old Victorian home right next to the Fair Haven Middle School — a perfect place to for students to go after school, said Marilyn Rosa.

At a time when teen gun violence has prompted the same refrain across the city — “Kids need something to do!” — their proposal has been welcomed, and city approval is expected. The Rosas plan to train about 20 to 30 kids aged 9 to 18 years old. They want to run the program as a not-for-profit.

Ayala, who’s 25, approached the BZA members to support the project.

“I’ve got 16 wins and eight knockouts!” the unbeaten boxer told the BZA. Ayala, who moved to New Haven from Pennsylvania as a kid, met Rosa at age 20 and his boxing career took off. He credits Rosa for his support both in the ring and out.

“This is family right here,” he said, gesturing to the Rosas. Standing at the BZA mic in a basement room of the Hall of Records, the boxer voiced support for the gym. Then he slipped in a plug for his next fight: At the Athletic Center in New Haven on Nov. 24.