By tim morris
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT John Rush works with 141-pound state champion Torey Toon at the Howell PAL Boxing gym on Aug. 7.
Through the peaks and valleys of boxing’s popularity, the Howell Police Athletic League gym on West Farms Road has kept running.
For more than a quarter century, the boxing program has been helping young boys find themselves through boxing.
"It was primarily designed for kids in the area to give them a place to stay off the streets and help them stay on the right track," said John Rush, who has been running the Howell PAL boxing program for the last five years. "For any gym to keep its door open is difficult.
"We have a good location," he added. "It’s pretty centralized for kids from all over the area. They are within 15 or 20 minutes of the gym."
Bob Marsiglia, of Jackson, jumps rope during a workout at the Howell PAL Boxing Club on Aug. 7.
People gravitate toward boxing for a number of reasons, Rush said, including self-defense, to stay in shape and its competitive nature. Rush said he won’t turn anyone away, but he knows it doesn’t take long for boxing’s demands to separate the serious from the passers-by.
"Boxing is very demanding; it takes 110 percent," said Rush, who was an amateur boxer himself. "You get what you put into it. It’s year-round with no time off.
"It takes total attention, total focus and discipline," he added. "It’s not something you take lightly."
And Rush doesn’t. It will be no less than a month before one of his students will actually get into the ring. Although youngsters are anxious to start boxing right away, Rush said he wants them totally prepared before they step into the square circle to spar. That means taking it step-by-step, his way or the highway.
"It’s a gradual process; you have to crawl before you walk," he said. "Everything has to be broken down."
Rush calculated that one in five of those starting off in the gym will be good enough to compete, and 1 in 10 actually accomplish enough to compete in a tournament.
"It’s up to you," said Rush. "We provide everything you need."
For those who are serious enough to get into the ring and then display some talent, the PAL can lead straight to tournament competition.
"There are so many opportunities through the PAL," said Rush. "There are so many tournaments around the country that the PAL will pay for."
Under Rush’s stewardship, the gym has produced a pair of champions. Morgan Quinnones won the 2000 New Jersey Diamond Gloves title at 139 pounds, and in 2003, Torey Toon captured the New Jersey state title at 141 pounds and was the Golden Gloves runner-up this year. Quinnones has retired from tournament competition but still goes to the gym to stay in shape and help out.
Toon, who lives in Neptune, is still on his way up, and is the ideal student, according to Rush.
"Torey Toon is the best I’ve had," he said. "I wish I had more like him. He’s the first one in the gym and the last one out."
Rush is coaching a 10-fighter team sponsored by USA Boxing that will be competing in Leeds, England, in Oct. 29. This is not the first time that Rush has coached a USA Boxing team, but it is the first time he has had boxers from the Howell PAL gym who have been good enough to compete internationally. It’s a sign of the progress being made, he said.
Toon and Freehold’s Greg Quarantello, who will fight at 170 pounds, are the two locals who will be making the trip to England.
While the PAL had young people in mind when it began its boxing program, the gym isn’t confined to teenagers and those in their early 20s. The oldest boxer at the gym is 50. He also coaches a 40-year-old stock broker who is involved in white-collar boxing. An amateur boxer can compete up to the age of 35.
Amateur boxing is divided into two classes — Open, for those with 10 fights or more, and Novice, for those under 10 fights. When matching up fighters for boxing tournaments, Rush said, the first thing he looks for when talking to other gym directors is the number of fights a boxer has. They try and match up fighters with equal experience.
Age is also a factor. Rush said he’s not going to have a teenager matched up with someone in their 30s, even if they have had the same number of fights, because there is two much of a physical difference.
Running the Howell PAL is a labor of love for Rush, who works as a private contractor. It has become all-consuming, he said. However, he said he is happy to be giving something back to the sport and helping youngsters discover what boxing can do for them.
"It builds character," he said. "It’s one sport that is in your blood. You do sacrifice a lot. You have to love the sport. I love it.
"I didn’t have coaching in mind," he added. "I was in the right place at the right time."
Rush, who started coming to the Howell PAL gym, like many other former boxers, to stay in shape and remain involved in the sport, was no stranger to the facilities. When he was an amateur boxer in Jersey City, he used to come to Howell to spar. Little did he know at that time that he would be back in the same gym as a teacher, and loving it.