Boxing helping athletes channel aggressive ways Ten bouts set Saturday in Bangor

HERMON – They ranged in age from early teens to late 20s and hailed from locations all over Maine as well as New England, but there was a common denominator with most of the 20 boxers assembled under the white big-top tent last month.

Besides their love for the sport, which all the participants gained almost from the outset of their initial exposure to it, the other thing most of the boxers share is a history of rebellious behavior at best and outright violence at worst.

Ironically, that propensity for violence was something they had before boxing came into their lives. Afterward, that trend declined dramatically.

“Sometimes you get angry and this is a chance to let it out without getting in trouble with the law,” said Zach Field, a 14-year-old Skowhegan High School student from Norridgewock. “I used to get into a lot of fistfights and get in trouble with the police, but the boxing club took me out of that and I haven’t been in a fight since.”

Bangor High graduate Josh McAuliffe can relate to that.

“I was young and stupid before. I used to get in fights all the time,” said the 25-year-old McAuliffe. “Now I’d just as soon walk away. I have nothing to prove.”

Well, not outside the ring anyway. Inside, he still has a lot of goals to reach and several thing to prove, to his opponents and himself.

“I’ve got two kids. I don’t want to stay in this forever and get all punched out like some people, but I would like to stick with it long enough to get a shot at going pro,” said McAuliffe, who has worked hard at transforming himself from brawler to boxer. “I just try to be patient because when I get in there and brawl with people, I’m dead. I’m trying to be more technical and not leave myself open.”

McAuliffe was successful in that quest May 14 as he earned his 13th win in 17 amateur decisions with an RSC (referee stopped contest, i.e. a technical knockout). His bout was one of 10 held in the first of five amateur boxing night events under the tent behind The Sports Arena on Outer Hammond Street this summer.

McAuliffe and younger brother Chad will again be part of a 10-fight card Saturday at 8 p.m. The other Saturday fight nights are scheduled for July 9, Aug. 13, and Sept. 10.

Boxing, long an afterthought in the Greater Bangor area, is gaining popularity judging from the capacity crowd of 500 on hand for the event in May. Despite cold weather, Saturday. night is indeed all right for fighting.

“They were a great crowd. It was just awesome… Awesome,” McAuliffe said. “I hope the word gets out and people hear it’s not a bad thing. Boxing’s not a bad sport. It brings a lot of structure into people’s lives.

“There are a lot of kids who don’t do school sports because they feel like outcasts or whatever, but they like boxing.”

Matt Field, an 18-year-old pizza delivery driver from Norridgewock who is 7-7 and starting to come into his own after two years as an amateur fighter, was like that.

“I didn’t do any sports or anything in high school, but I really love boxing,” said Field, Zack’s older brother and a Skowhegan High School graduate. ” I want to see how far this takes me and try to go pro.”

McAuliffe is a living testament to the positive effects boxing can have.

“Ever since I started boxing, I haven’t been in one street fight and that’s been five years,” McAuliffe said.

That’s typical for most boxers, according to Old Town native and longtime boxing devotee Norm Veilleux, the head trainer for McAuliffe Boxing Club and a former Maine amateur state champion.

“They get hit every day and they get a chance to release a lot of that energy or whatever and this is kind of a release,” Veilleux explained. “Plus it teaches them discipline. When they have discipline, it shows up in their work and everything else in their life.”

The 69-year-old Veilleux started boxing as a teenager and won the 1952 amateur title in the 126-pound class as a 118-pound, 16-year-old. He eventually gave up fighting and became a referee in 1978. He still officiates professional bouts.

“This benefits the sport and the kids. It keeps them off the street and gives them some structure and discipline,” he said.

Veilleux’s rugged build offsets his white hair and makes him look like he could more than hold his own for a few rounds. He certainly commands a lot of respect among his young charges.

“I lay the ground rules right away. I think any kid I’m training better respect their parents and teachers and authorities,” he said. “It’s strict discipline. If they don’t have discipline and can’t listen, they’ll take a pounding in the ring and they might as well quit.”

Veilleux is viewed as a father figure by many of his fighters.

“I know how to deal with them,” he said with a chuckle. “I enjoy training because a lot of these kids don’t know their left foot from their right and it’s great to see them develop from raw amateurs to good fighters.”

Even better is when they develop from immature, trouble-prone kids to productive, respectful members of society.

“Yeah, that really is a great thing to see,” he said.