By Kevin Coughlin
THWACK! THWACK!! THWACK!!!
To a first-time visitor the sound is jarring, even frightening.
But it’s sweet music to the regulars at Morristown’s K.O. Boxing Club. On this particular evening, the violent symphony is being played by Amy Cascelli, a sturdy woman sparring in a ring that leaves no room for error. Get knocked against the ropes here, and you will bounce off cinderblock walls cushioned only by banners of ancient slugfests.
Jaime Burdette and Eric Sansone await their turn, patiently taping their knuckles and bobbing and weaving in front of a mirror to get loose.
These two are training for Saturday’s Diamond Gloves tournament, next door at the Neighborhood House. The amateur bouts start at 6 pm and feature opponents from Newark and Paterson. Admission is $10.
The surprising thing about K.O. boxers is they all seem laid back and friendly—outside the ring. Their backgrounds are diverse. Amy is a barber. Jamie is in culinary school. Eric is a computer technician. They don’t appear to have any anger management issues.
What draws them to this sweaty hole of a gym in Manahan Village is the guy they love to thwack, a burly 51-year-old whose vocabulary definitely was not learned in Sunday School.
“When we part you will see how much you miss me!” K.O. Boxing Trainer Esteban Rodriguez reminds Maurie Colin, a Morristown High School senior who by all accounts is much improved since getting bloodied in his first match a few months ago.
Esteban Rodriguez learned boxing the hard way, after moving from Puerto Rico to Paterson as a teen. He turned pro too soon, he says, without the long-term mentoring he strives to provide to his proteges.
These days, he delivers tiles for a carpet showroom. Most of his evenings for the last decade have been spent in this gym, first as a volunteer and then as a member of the Neighborhood House staff. Veteran cornerman Steve Agre of Parsippany is his faithful No. 2.
Despite some hard knocks, Esteban loves the fight game and makes no apologies for it.
“It is primitive,” he says. “The purpose is to hurt your opponent. It’s human nature. We’re very irrational animals. We try to hurt and take and steal and break.”
Esteban sees his job as making sure his boxers don’t get hurt. He knows their limits, brings them along methodically, stresses technique and smarts.
“He’s very technical. He makes me think more when I’m sparring,” says Jaime Burdette, a 21-year-old from Morris Plains who tips the scales at 178 pounds.
Jaime wrestled and played lacrosse in school; he explored boxing on a New Year’s Eve dare that he dimly remembered on New Year’s Day. He learned from his first three losses and won his last bout.
“On the outside, it looks primitive. Why would I subject myself to it?” Jaime says. “In the ring, it’s completely different. Part of it’s the self-discipline. You find out a lot about yourself.”
Maurie Colin, who fancies a career as a chef, says Esteban has taught him to lay off fried foods—a challenge at his house—and to box with control.
“It’s more about being smart than fighting with anger,” he says, explaining that boxing suited him better than soccer or basketball.
Esteban is generous with praise.
“He’s very natural, he’s athletically gifted,” the coach says of Maurie, who will fight on Saturday as a junior lightweight. “He picked up the basics right away. And he’s very humble.”
Amy Cascelli does not compete. She got hooked by the camaraderie and fitness aspects of Esteban’s gym eight years ago and keeps coming back.
“He’s totally awesome, like my best friend. He’s an amazing man,” Amy, 32, says of Esteban. His coaching has boosted her confidence, she says, noting she’s only hit someone outside the ring once. That ill-behaved customer never returned to her barber shop.
When Esteban dons his sparring mitts—thick slabs of leather resembling mini-sofas—he becomes Dr. Rodriguez, Professor of Pugilism. Round after round he goes, dissecting each boxer’s game. With Amy, he works on conditioning, making her work for three rounds. With Jaime, it’s all about footwork: Don’t let me hear those feet dragging! He throws looping roundhouses at Eric, teaching him to step in close to compensate for a short reach.
“He’s a passionate guy, and he’s a good person,” says Farrel Brenner, a personal trainer from Morristown. “Others want to be around him. I learned from him.”
Eric Sansone, 23, of Boonton Township says he’s gotten an education from Esteban, too.
“You have to be calm and think about what you’re doing, where you’re going to move, what you’re going to hit. You have to be aggressive, but you have to be calm,” says the former high school wrestler. He trains with Esteban four times a week, mostly for fitness. Eric’s “horrified” parents are slowly getting used to his new sport, he says.
Boxing has a long history at the Neighborhood House, a nonprofit organization that has been helping immigrants for more than a century in Morristown. Youth Director Lashone Murphy says the K.O. Boxing Club teaches pride, respect and discipline to at-risk kids. It’s free for anyone under 18 and $5 a week for adults, adds Steve Nebletts, assistant executive director of the Neighborhood House.
“Not everyone wants to play basketball or soccer,” Steve says, citing examples of kids who thrived at K.O. Boxing.
To him, Esteban is more than a Doctor of Jabs and Uppercuts.
“He’s got one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met,” Steve says. “Who else do you know who busts his back installing carpets and floors, on his hands and knees at a back-breaking job every day, and then comes here for three hours Monday-through-Thursday, volunteering his time for years, taking kids to tournaments, being a mentor?
“Esteban and Steve, they care about the kids, they’re like father figures. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
I like to said, Esteban Rodriguez is my older brother. I live in Williston FL, but most of our family still living in Puerto Rico, also my parents. We want to tell to my brother, from his 6 brothers and sister also mom and dad ‘We are so proud of your success and we pray to the Lord this event be fabulous, also one of many to come” I wish i can be there with you and give you a big hug and kiss and share with you. Be bless and everyone on the event.
your sister, Maritza