Golden Gloves, the country’s oldest amateur boxing tournament, will hold its Semi-Finals on Saturday March 11, at the Rosecroft Raceway, 6336 Rosecroft Drive, Fort Washington, MD 20744 (Beltway Exit 4A)

Published: Sunday, 12 April 2015 11:45

Written by Minnie Larry

It’s a mad scramble to get busy at the very mention of his name. “Barry’s here!” sends boxing prospects to their posts, when a Headbangers Gym employee shouts the famed trainer’s arrival. What kind of person can scare young men and women into submission, by the mere introduction of his presence? Once Mr. Hunter walks in, he flashes a warm smile, and immediately begins shaking hands with everyone he comes in contact with. There’s something about him though, a story behind his resolute stance that commands respect.

Hunter possesses a street smart and academic richness that makes him easily connect to the businessman, and politician as well as the inner city. A glimpse into his childhood may answer some of the mystery behind this force, and offer insight as to why he has devoted his life to helping troubled youth. Opposite of the cities grandeur, Mr. Hunter grew up on the side of town that shines its most illuminating essence, on the contradiction of the American Dream. Growing up in the ‘Districts’ projects, introduced him to a side of manhood so frequently shunned by popular ideals. The neighborhood men would leave a profound effect on the young man, who would become one of boxing’s most respected trainers. “In the projects, I was raised by pimps; they could be thugs, pimps, pushers, killers, but at the end of the day they had a certain code they all lived by and they taught me that code, and that’s the same code I taught these kids here.”

While the “The Code” stems from the unlikeliest of childhood mentors, the simple phrase is palpable throughout the gym. The young men and women greet every visitor with respect. The teens and young adults shake hands; look you square in the eyes, and meet guest with a “sir” or “ma’am”. This type of youthful candor is not foreign to the members here; it’s a way of life. “Self-preservation, self-respect, love of God, love of self, then love everything else. I teach the kids to respect themselves first because if you don’t respect yourself, how are you going respect anyone else?”

“Barry don’t play that!” is often echoed around the club. His most noted fighter, Lamont Peterson, says “as boxers, Barry wants us to leave our problems at the door.” Once you enter Headbangers Gym, ego, selfishness, self-pity, and any other distraction is separated from the individual. The prospects know that here, whatever burdens shackle them, can be released if only for a training session.

In a sport, where accolades are sought out, Hunter veers away from the typical attention seeking celebrity type. His motto is simple; the entire team shines as a unit. “This is never about me, it’s about all of us. I trained so many people that you don’t know, because I do not look for the credit.”

While making his rounds, Mr. Hunter stops in his tracks, noticing one of his fighter’s mishaps while sparring. He methodically walks over summoning the teen to come and speak with him. While instructing the young man on the importance of “ring etiquette” he emphasizes tactics and technique, incorporating the grim reality, of prospects not taking the sport seriously. The warmth from his initial introduction, now gone, as he explains to the young man, how losing site of boxing fundamentals, whilst in the midst of battle, can lead to one dying inside the ropes. Before long, most of the members gather encircling him, as they too want the lifesaving information as well.

Hunter never anticipated coming into contact with the Peterson brothers, but after meeting them, his calling in life became clear. Before leaving to New York, to attend the Fashion Institute (FIT), he visits a friend’s gym, and his life was forever changed.

“When you hear these things, and these are young people who don’t have a choice in the matter (because they’re kids), what do you do? “Do you turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to it, or do you get up and do something about it. What we gotta realize is that you can do that, but it will come back and affect you and yours in a negative way, and I didn’t want that to happen.”

The Peterson brothers have become household names in boxing under Hunter’s tutelage. While he may shy away from speaking about the role he has played in the young men’s lives, the reality is, if not for his selflessness, and faith, the Peterson’s story could’ve ended up altogether different. “We will sit around and cry and moan and complain about what we see on the news and how foul it is but nobody steps up. They are too few and we need a lot more because this is a war.” While trying to extract information about the growing pains of raising two teens in addition to his already settled family, Hunter takes a deep breath, then coolly speaks of his better half.

If we hold what President Abraham Lincoln said to be true, that “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.” Then, the woman standing beside him is his strength, lending her arm to steady him.

It’s often said that beside every great man, is an equally great woman. This is especially true when he utters the very critical role Mrs. Cologne Hunter plays. Hunter sits in awe of his wife’s commitment and love toward the brothers. While he may not have had a well thought out plan of caring for them, his wife provided the landscape for making it happen. Those times when the boys would go without clothing, or electricity in the home, Mrs. Hunter would step in, ensuring their basic needs were met. The “team” theme is back, front and center. For the Petersons, the small village that helped groom them into the men they are today started with a young couple who had four children of their own, who didn’t have a well-established financial plan for helping anyone, Yet, the pair in spite of their circumstances made the boys a part of their family, made them their sons.

“She is their surrogate, times where they were in a situation…rumors that they may have to go back to foster care, we (decided) we cannot let this happen, and she was all aboard. “it wasn’t something that you plan or think out, I just saw the need, not knowing really what I was getting into, and all of what it entailed. We have our own kids 2 boys and 2 girls…on my quest (it) took away from them. I was trying to save the world and lost sight of priorities… in all of that, my wife was holding things down at home”

Hunter wants to reach as many disadvantage kids as he can before “hellfire gets them”. The war he speaks of is not being fought abroad, but it’s the domestic one, glaring each American in the face. The war we are losing with regard to our Nation’s youth. Mr. Hunter doesn’t believe waiting until at risk children are entangled in the system before one can step in to make a positive difference.

Lamont (Havoc) Peterson faces Danny (Swift) Garcia Saturday Night, at the Barclay Center in New York. In what will be his highest profile fight on NBC, as part of the Premier Boxing Championship series. With respect to the bout, Barry believes, “Lamont is a more versatile fighter than Danny Garcia. Lamont has learned much since his loss to Lucas Matthysse. In the Matthysse defeat, Lamont abandoned his boxing mechanics once he was hit in the back of the head. In this bout, Lamont will not panic but will remain focused pulling out the victory.

And with this impending fight, the journey continues.

 

While you may not have the ability to suit up the gloves, you do have the ability to get in the ring and help; to ensure generations of capable athletes continue to attend the gym, free of charge, donations are graciously accepted.

 

Address: 100 Joliet Street SW Washington DC 20032

 

Phone Number: 800-745-3000

 

 

April 04, 2015

Before trainers arrive, and the structure of the day begins, one of the biggest fighters to ever come out of Washington, D.C., sits alone, in a newly built, state-of-the-art gym. While the building houses one of the districts most prominent and beloved boxers, These freshly painted walls will never bear witness to the backstory of its highly decorated brawler.  While slowly taping his hands, his head slightly tilted forward, he seems to be lost in thought. One of the gyms’ members says it’s a ritual, a time for the boxer to meditate before grinding out a hard day of work. From this vantage point, it’s hard to imagine why he’s nicknamed “Havoc”, given the stillness of the facility’s mood. The Boxing Champ; part of the Premiere Boxing Champion series, will take on one of his toughest opponents, Danny “Swift” Garcia in a matter of weeks, yet he appears unscathed by all of the publicity and attention he is receiving as a result.

 

Once gloved, the non-assuming Lamont Peterson I noticed earlier, takes no prisoners inside the ring, ‘Havoc’ is awakened. His alter ego takes form in spectacular fashion, leaving most in the room happy that they will not have to stand in his menacing path, in just two short weeks. The older of the Peterson brothers is well known for his all around athletic skills, and from the amount of sweat, and ear splitting sound echoing from his gloves, as they rip through the unlucky training partners body pads, it’s clear to see why Mr. Peterson holds the IBF Light Welterweight title. Once given the chance to talk with him, we find out why work ethic, ambition and vision drive a once homeless pre teen, into becoming a part of boxing’s elite.

 

Q & A

 

Minnie:  How do you feel, knowing you get to play a role in the PBC Bringing Boxing back to Prime time?

 

Peterson:  It’s a great feeling and I’m honored to be a part of this whole movement. Boxing is alive and kicking, like I always say, “a lot of people like to say that it is dead”, but I know different. I watch a lot of the old fights and you had great fighters.  They were great fighters because people recognized them as great fighters and champions. They (the fans) saw the actual bout; they fought in and they (the audience) fell in love with the fighters. Now if you’re not a boxing fan, you just hear word of mouth.  They never really get to see boxers actually compete, the actual fight, the actual enjoyment of the bout, the excitement, and even if they get to see the fight, they really don’t know us. So its not lot of stories out there to tell our background and what we fighting for, Cause we all fighting for a reason. Its good our stories are being put out there, our names are being put out there right now and I think it will help put out boxing in a big way.

 

Minnie: This bout is scheduled for 10 rounds instead of the regular 12, who will get the advantage if it goes 10 rounds?

 

Peterson: If it is a 10 round fight that’ll benefit Garcia, it’ll benefit his style but of coarse you know I’ll make sure that it benefits me in the long run, I’ll make adjustments and make sure it benefits me. Here I’m training, I’m sparring 22 rounds straight, my conditioning is really great right now. So 12 rounds would do me some justice. I normally turn it on in the second half of the fight. I like the later rounds. I’ve seen Danny Garcia lose rounds towards the end you know, lose stamina; so 12 rounds would definitely me.

 

 

Minnie: The last time I was here, once you were gloved, you stepped in the ring and never left, although training partners did. You instantly switched to work mode.

 

Peterson: It’s a lifestyle.

 

 

Now, the conversation turns to the days of darkness Lamont and his younger brother Anthony, endured before being found by boxing trainer, Barry Hunter. Its common knowledge that as pre-adolescence, the siblings were forced to live in deplorable conditions, which ultimately caused the 8 and 9 year olds to become homeless. Living in and out of Foster care, with no real support, or common familial structure, the boys would go without everyday essentials.

 

 

Minnie: If given the chance to tell your younger self something, what would it be?

 

Peterson: The first thing I would say to the young Lamont Peterson is “ You were right!” I always saw myself being here, I knew it would be tough, and I knew it would be a long road, but I knew I would be here, at this position at a young age. I knew at 5(or) 6 years old that this is what I’d be doing. Of coarse Barry helped and taught me a lot along the way.

 

The main thing I would say to myself is to relax a little bit more, because, at those times, I was kind of, well I was never a wild child but, I just wanted to make it so bad. I had to be a man early and I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. So if I can tell myself something, I would say relax, the weight of the world is to heavy, just relax.

 

I think at the end of the day any human being going through anything in life, eventually [you] will have to make a choice about what you want to do, once you make that choice stick with it, and give it all you got. You don’t take no for an answer. I looked at my situation and I realized, my situation was different most, it wasn’t the worst situation in the world, but it was different…so I wanted better. So when I realized wanted I in life, I had to figure out, how I was gonna get.

I was already into boxing, I didn’t take no for a answer, they’re were a lot of obstacles along the way. Tough times, [and] of coarse sometimes I wanted to stop, sometimes I wanted to quite, but I knew ultimately the goal at hand was to make it to this point. It was tough but I did it. That’s the way I go about anything, attack it head on. You know a lot of times people get down on themselves, and they make excuses, and they want you to feel bad for them, your sympathy makes them feel better, for me, that don’t work. For me its I’ll make it better, I’m gonna make it better and I go right at.

 

A lot of times people focus on the right now, [and] a lot of times what kept me grounded was looking ahead. I didn’t look at what was going on right now, I kept my head in my dreams, to 2015 to be here, and it helped me a lot of times, because, If you focus on right now, (yeah right now its messed up so your gonna feel some type of way). Sometimes I felt myself smiling…with a lot of hope. I didn’t understand then why, but now, I get it.

 

Minnie:  How has forgiveness played a role in your success?

 

Peterson:  Forgiveness for me, especially early on, my parents, you know of coarse, you go through a rough childhood, your gonna put it on your parents [because] likely its their fault. Even if they don’t wanna admit it or not. Because you didn’t ask to be here, Its their job to make sure that you’re ok and when that don’t happen, you tend to point fingers at them, feel some type of way about them, but at the end of the day, I forgive them both. I forgive them both because the main reason is it helped make me become who I am and I’m proud of who I am, and I’m happy and comfortable in who I am. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

Then you know we went through what we went through but I have no permanent scar, no permanent damage, those memories can easily be pushed away. I feel like I benefitted from the whole thing, so it was definitely a plus. Now that its over and I made it through, I can say, I’m glad I made it through. Yeah of coarse going through it, you don’t wanna go through it. If you asked me to rewrite my whole story, I wouldn’t change it. And another thing is, I understand people more now, human beings, so I understand my parents more, I understand who and what they are, and what they not gone do, what their capable of and what they not [capable of], so I have to respect that. One way or the other, they are who they are. I respect that and I embrace it, and its ok with me. I’m not just saying I forgive them because I’m supposed to move on, I really do, I truly, [have] not just forgiven them, but I understand them. I understand the whole situation, and why it happened, its just life.

 

Minnie:  Lastly, I just wanted to throw out some names and you give me the very first thing that comes to mind okay?

 

Peterson: Okay.

 

Minnie:  Anthony Peterson?

 

Peterson:  My other half, you can’t mention him without mentioning me, and you can’t mention me without mention him. Perfect combination, we mix pretty well.

 

Minnie: Head bangers Gym?

 

Peterson: Family

 

Minnie: Barry Hunter:

 

Peterson:  Hero

 

Minnie: And last, April, 11, 2015, Danny Garcia

 

Peterson: I feel like that’s when everything is going to come together. Everything in New York gone come together.