In its 100th year, the National Golden Gloves week-long tournament will make its way to Harrah’s Casino in Chester, Pa, on May 8th, where 30 Regional Franchises will come head to head to battle it out.
The local Golden Gloves Championship finals will be taking place on April 1 at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington and the winners will advance to the Regional Championships to be held April 15th at 7 p.m., also at Rosecroft Raceway.
The Potomac Valley sanctions the local USA Boxing event.
It was 1971, 52 years ago, when Bobby Magruder took over the Golden Gloves Tournament for the Potomac Valley. He is still the face of the local Golden Gloves today and enjoys the friendship, fellowship, and all it entails.
In 2019 Magruder was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame after being nominated by George (DeFabis) of Georgia, who passed away last year.
“My family was there which was nice,” Magruder said. “They handed me this heavy 40-pound plaque. It’s beautiful. It’s a great honor. They also gave me a really nice hall of fame ring. We had a nice dinner there in Chattanooga Tennessee in my honor. It was very nice.”
“We’re gearing up for the national championships now,” Magruder added. “It’s being held in Philadelphia this year. It will be the first time in 40 years that we won’t have to fly. We usually have to get on a plane to go compete. We have a full team going. We have about six to eight officials and a ringside physician going. It’s going to be great. We can’t wait.”
Southern Maryland’s Knowledge Boxing Center under the direction of coaches Daryl Hinmon and John Richardson has seen immense growth over the last few years and will soon see one of its own become a professional boxer soon.
DeVante Alexander will be crossing over to the professional ranks this year and has lately been reaching back to assist others in the gym.
He’s been getting Yasir ‘Lionheart’ Ruffin (125 pounds) ready for his next match-up.
Ruffin (4-0) has been back in the gym for a year now and on April 1, 2023 at Rosecroft Raceway will be named the Golden Gloves Junior Champion.
On February 11th Ruffin defeated Bashir Ward (Uptown Boxing – D.C.) by decision and followed up with a decision over UK Ceu (Cherry Lane Boxing – Laurel, Md.) on February 18th.
The 16-year old Great Mills high student is quickly shining in the ring with the support of his coaches and family.
“He performed very well in his fights,” Hinmon stated. “He’s humble. He comes to the gym and doesn’t say much. He’s a smart fighter. He puts in the work. In his first Golden Gloves fight, he performed spectacularly. I usually call the fighters the day after their fights just to see how they’re doing. I knew he was physically fine, but he shared with me that he was struggling mentally.”
Ruffin shared openly with his coach that he had lost his father after a long illness.
Hinmon, concerned for his wellbeing asked if he needed to postpone his next fight.
“I asked him if he wanted to ‘sleep on it’,” Hinmon said, “but Yasir was adamant about fighting. It’s a testament to his heart and drive to take on a fight after such a tragic event. We have a lot of respect for him and everyone in the gym is behind him fully. I know he wants to make his family proud and we’re going to do everything we can to get him to where he needs to be.
“We knew there was something special about Yasir when he came into the gym. We knew what he was capable of, and now he’s seeing it. He was in our gym before and we boxed him up [levels] and he didn’t know he could handle it, but we did. Last night he sparred with DeVante Alexander, who’s going Pro soon and to his credit he stood in there. His skills are really developing.”
Yasir said his father didn’t make it out to his fights but his very first match-up was on his mother’s birthday, which was special for her. She’s definitely his biggest supporter and you can find her standing up ringside when her son is taking on an opponent.
“It’s been a long year,” Ruffin said. “I do just want to make him [father] proud and keep with it. Whenever coach thinks I’m ready, I’ll be available. I definitely felt prepared for my fights and will be ready for the next.”
Alexander will be live in action on Saturday night fighting against Malik Smalls (Upton) in a 132 pound Open Class match-up.
Keith Saunders, Jr. (Triple Threat) will take on Christian Hamilton (Champions) in a 165 pound fight. 2022 National Golden Gloves champion, Quincey Williams (Headbangers) will also be fighting this weekend, taking on Mark Bickerstaff (Oxon Hill Boxing) in a 156 pound brawl.
Hinmon is seeking a bout for Ruffin in April, but he will definitely be on the May 6, Southern Maryland Smoke 5 card. That event will once again be held at the Willows Rec Center located off of Willows Road in Lexington Park. For tickets, please visit knowledgeboxingcenter.com.