After a 10-day hiatus brought on by heartache and financial problems, Brian Clark returned to the ring, putting another young fighter through his paces.
Faced with mounting unpaid bills and the collapse of a seven-year relationship with one of his boxing proteges, Clark (pictured) shut down the Ring One boxing gym last month. He needed time to consider whether it was worth pouring all his energy and money into an operation that was barely staying afloat.
Ultimately, Clark decided he had no choice but to continue. “This is my life. This is what I do. This is who I am,” he said upon reopening the gym.
Ring One, on Congress Avenue, has been an institution in the Hill neighborhood for over a decade. It was the home gym of light heavyweight champion “Bad” Chad Dawson , and it’s been a source of training and mentorship for dozens of young boxers from all over New Haven. It’s also the oldest boxing gym in Connecticut, according to Clark.
Ring One is a one-man operation and a non-profit labor of love for Clark, who’s 50. On top of a full-time job with the city’s housing authority, Clark operates Ring One by himself, teaching on most days up to 30 fighters how to bob and weave and throw a punch. He even lives in a little apartment above the gym.
A 14-Year Haircut
At 6 p.m. this past Wednesday, there were a dozen young boxers inside the two-room gym, shadow boxing, jumping rope, and working heavy bags. Above the rapid fire sound of the speed bag and the sharp exhales accompanying delivered punches, the beep of an electric timer pierced the air every three minutes, the length of a boxing round. Each three-minute workout interval is followed by 45 seconds of rest, to get the boxers accustomed to the rhythms of a bout.
Taking a break from coaching, Clark stepped over to a cluttered desk by the front door and produced a fistful of unpaid and partially paid bills, including an $818.81 heating bill.
Things have been tough for Ring One this year, which is funded only by donations from local businesses and the mostly teenage boxers that work out there. In the current economic climate, “that’s dried up,” Clark said.
In 2008, Clark received $4,000 in donations, plus $5,000 from the Woodbridge Rotary Club to fix brick work on the outside of the building. So far in 2009, he’s taken in only $400 in donations, he said. “They’ve just dwindled. They’ve disappeared.”
Clark said that he’s spent $3,000 of his own money in the last three months, trying to keep the gym alive by paying for the phone, gas, and water. He’s charged hundreds of dollars of gym expenses on his personal credit cards. Plus, the gym’s van just died, Clark said. He’s going to have to take it off the road.
On top of his financial difficulties, Clark recently had a falling out with one of his most promising teenage boxers, 16-year-old Tremaine Williams, the “Mighty Midget.” Clark had been coaching Williams from the age of 9. “He was like my son,” Clark said.
Williams wasn’t taking boxing seriously anymore, according to Clark. He said that the young boxer had started to goof around, and skip practices. Eventually, he had to kick him out. “I can’t keep him in the gym,” Clark said.
It was a heavy blow for the trainer, and he closed up the gym, unsure if he wanted to continue his 20-year career as a trainer.
“I had to reassess where I was in my life,” Clark said.
What he realized is that boxing is his life, and he couldn’t walk away.
On Tuesday, after a week and a half off from Ring One, Clark returned to the gym a changed man, quite literally. Not only did he realize that he couldn’t give up the gym; he also got his first haircut in 14 years. Last Friday, Clark cut off the long brown hair that had reached the middle of his back. “It was time for a change,” he said.
It Was Twice
Clark has reopened the gym with a new policy that he hopes will bring in a little revenue and increase the commitment level of his young boxers. After years of offering free training to kids in New Haven public schools, Clark is now asking for $10 a month.
“I don’t care about ten dollars,” Clark was quick to add. He pointed to a line on the second page of the gym sign-up form, stating that the $10 fee can be waived for kids who can’t afford it.
More than money, Clark wants commitment from his fighters; that’s where he find his real reward. He’s willing to continue to keep the gym afloat as long as he has young boxers who are committed to learning the art. “If you’re getting the reward, it’s worth the sacrifice,” he said.
Clark picked up boxing in the Navy, and it turned him around. He joined the service after a lackluster high school career. On his second ship he met a boxer who introduced him to the sport. “Boxing became more important to me than screwing up,” Clark said. “That’s why I do what I do.”
“This is an example of what I’m here for,” said Clark, calling over 10-year-old Jaquis Pullen.
A pint-sized boxer, wearing oversized sliver and black mitts, appeared and stood quietly by Clark’s side as the trainer praised him. Pullen (pictured), who goes to Troup Middle School, comes to the gym four days a week to train with Clark. After five bouts, he’s four and one.
“He’s the only boxer from the State of Connecticut to qualify for the national silver gloves competition,” said Clark. Unfortunately, the coach couldn’t afford to bring his fighter to the nationals in Kansas, as he has in years past.
Clark said that Pullen is one of several young boxers who are making it worth his effort to keep the gym open right now. Sending Pullen back to his workout, Clark called over another fighter who’s commitment to boxing is keeping Clark going. Her face shiny with sweat, 16-year-old Nephateria Miller stepped to Clark’s side.
“She doesn’t like me and I don’t like her,” Clark announced, as Miller (pictured) held back a smile.
Clark and Miller got off to a rocky start when the Hillhouse sophomore started coming to the gym five months ago. After a little while, Clark noticed that Miller wasn’t showing full dedication. He first gave her an ultimatum: shape up or ship out. When that didn’t work, told her to stop coming.
But Miller kept showing up, and started to quietly work harder than most everyone else there. One day, when Miller impressed Clark by being the only boxer who had remembered to bring her mouthguard, Clark put her in the ring.
“She beat the shit out of a boy. She dropped him twice,” Clark said.
“Wait, was it once or twice?” he asked.
“Twice,” Miller mumbled modestly.
Later, Miller explained what it was that had motivated her to train so hard. “It was Brian. It was just Brian,” she said. “He put me out.” She took their “beefing” as a personal challenge to prove herself, she explained.
“I guess we’re cool now,” she said.
Left Hook
Miller goes to the gym six days a week, training for her first bout, which might take place in May. When Clark shut down for a week and a half, she didn’t know what to do with herself. “I was bored,” she said. “But I knew he was going to open it back up. I wasn’t worried.”
Clark’s hiatus left his other boxers with a lot of time on their hands too.
“I felt lazy,” said 16-year-old Justin Tirado (pictured jumping rope above). “I was doing nothing.” He said he missed the discipline, and the hard work of training.
“I didn’t have anything to do,” said 18-year-old Danny Cordero (at right in photos above).
Being only the second day after its reopening, Ring One was quieter on Wednesday than usual. Clark said that it will fill up again as word gets out that he’s back in business.
Clark had one new face in the gym on Wednesday evening. Keeon Britton, an army recruiter based in Bridgeport, showed up for some last-minute training before an April 11 bout in Brooklyn.
Clark stepped into the ring with Britton and started working on the boxer’s left hook.
Can we get some info on where to send donations?