Two prominent Oyster Bay figures participated in the 5th annual Long Island’s Fight for Charity boxing event before a sold out crowd at the Hilton in Melville on Monday, November 19th. President of Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce Alex Gallego of East Norwich and noted sports Newsday reporter Wallace Matthews, who lives in Oyster Bay, trained hard and volunteered to be at the Mercy of the ring as a means of raising funds and spreading awareness for local charities and the vital programs and services they provide.
Committing themselves to the arduous training and the $5,000 entry fee, these gentlemen joined 18 other participants in filling the fight card bill. Each of the ten bouts was broken up into 3 2-minute rounds. The fighters were required to work out three days a week with Tony Forntunato of Eye of the Tiger Boxing., who assisted each boxer in gaining the experience, skills and confidence needed to prepare for the main event.
Alex “El Torito” – the Baby Bull” Gallego, who is the first vice president/ branch manager at Stiffel Nicolaus, which is located at 50 Audrey Ave in Oyster Bay, has been active with the Long Island’s Fight for Charity for years, but this year was the first time he stepped into the ring.
With the gusto that he applies to every other aspect of his life Gallego both exceeded the training and the financial target goals. In addition to training at Powerhouse gym in Farmingdale with the other contenders, he utilized the resources in the Oyster Bay as he worked out at both Evolution Fitness and Fitness Together. Then the Baby Bull pulled together enough sponsors to raise almost $8,000 toward the $3,000 more than the requested donation.
L.I.’s Fight for Charity pools together all of the money raised and then distributes a percentage of sum to a charity of the fighters’ choice. Gallego chose to have the proceeds support the Hispanic Cultural Center’s (Centro Cultural Hispano) CARE program, which provides an after-school program to children at James H. Vernon Middle school in East Norwich and Theodore Roosevelt Elementary school in Oyster Bay for children whose parents’ first language is not English. It provides a safe environment for kids to receive help with their homework and language skills away from negative influences outside of the home. Gallego remembers that, “Once I found out my fighting would help CARE, it was an easy decision.”
On the night of their 12th wedding anniversary, Rosemarie Gallego watched from the crowd with their three children, Natalie, A.J. and Anna, in anticipation as her husband went up against Brian “Hyatt Hitman” Kramer in the 6th match of the evening. Kramer is the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Long Island at Wind Watch Golf Club. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as serving on Long Island Hotel and Motel Association’s Golf Committee and is involved in a number of charities including Relay for Life and MS Walks.
“I was so nervous watching him up there,” admitted Mrs. Gallego. She had been supportive of her husband through the entire process, but nothing prepared her for the sight of seeing him the ring.
Despite any anxiety, from the ringing of the bell of the first round until the final moments of the bout, Gallego dominated the match. Kramer spent most of the time blocking and covering, while El Torito chased him around the ring giving him an occasional jab or hook. Although the judges determined that all of the fighters were considered winners, the crowd screamed, “Bull! Bull! Bull!” upon the completion of Gallego’s match, affirming his dominance.
After the match watched by a crowd of about 1,200 people Gallego recalled the experience as “very exciting” but “glad it was over.” He stated that he was, “not really ready to fight in front of all these people.” He was amazed that, “when you are up there it goes by very quick.”
Wallace “The Oyster Bay Bomber” Matthews was sponsored by Newsday for this event. Matthews was one of the more experienced fighters of the evening. Although he had not competed in ten years, he has competed in numerous amateur and white collar boxing tournaments in the past. He even fought in the New York Golden Gloves as a middleweight in 1977. Since there were no fighters in the area who could match his skill, the L.I. Fight for Charity had to import an opponent for Matthews. Frank “Hands Up” Fitts, who resides in Stone Ridge and City Island with his wife and three kids, was willing to take on the challenge.
Matthews who can be seen regularly running throughout the hamlet of Oyster Bay, was full of adrenaline as he hit ring. Fitts appeared more as a stand in than a viable opponent. Matthews’ precision and speed was a reflection of his skill and Fitts was blinded by the Oyster Bay Bomber’s ability. There was no question at the end of the contest that Matthews was the better boxer.
-Faith RackoffCommitting themselves to the arduous training and the $5,000 entry fee, these gentlemen joined 18 other participants in filling the fight card bill. Each of the ten bouts was broken up into 3 2-minute rounds. The fighters were required to work out three days a week with Tony Forntunato of Eye of the Tiger Boxing., who assisted each boxer in gaining the experience, skills and confidence needed to prepare for the main event.
Alex “El Torito” – the Baby Bull” Gallego, who is the first vice president/ branch manager at Stiffel Nicolaus, which is located at 50 Audrey Ave in Oyster Bay, has been active with the Long Island’s Fight for Charity for years, but this year was the first time he stepped into the ring.
With the gusto that he applies to every other aspect of his life Gallego both exceeded the training and the financial target goals. In addition to training at Powerhouse gym in Farmingdale with the other contenders, he utilized the resources in the Oyster Bay as he worked out at both Evolution Fitness and Fitness Together. Then the Baby Bull pulled together enough sponsors to raise almost $8,000 toward the $3,000 more than the requested donation.
L.I.’s Fight for Charity pools together all of the money raised and then distributes a percentage of sum to a charity of the fighters’ choice. Gallego chose to have the proceeds support the Hispanic Cultural Center’s (Centro Cultural Hispano) CARE program, which provides an after-school program to children at James H. Vernon Middle school in East Norwich and Theodore Roosevelt Elementary school in Oyster Bay for children whose parents’ first language is not English. It provides a safe environment for kids to receive help with their homework and language skills away from negative influences outside of the home. Gallego remembers that, “Once I found out my fighting would help CARE, it was an easy decision.”
On the night of their 12th wedding anniversary, Rosemarie Gallego watched from the crowd with their three children, Natalie, A.J. and Anna, in anticipation as her husband went up against Brian “Hyatt Hitman” Kramer in the 6th match of the evening. Kramer is the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Long Island at Wind Watch Golf Club. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as serving on Long Island Hotel and Motel Association’s Golf Committee and is involved in a number of charities including Relay for Life and MS Walks.
“I was so nervous watching him up there,” admitted Mrs. Gallego. She had been supportive of her husband through the entire process, but nothing prepared her for the sight of seeing him the ring.
Despite any anxiety, from the ringing of the bell of the first round until the final moments of the bout, Gallego dominated the match. Kramer spent most of the time blocking and covering, while El Torito chased him around the ring giving him an occasional jab or hook. Although the judges determined that all of the fighters were considered winners, the crowd screamed, “Bull! Bull! Bull!” upon the completion of Gallego’s match, affirming his dominance.
After the match watched by a crowd of about 1,200 people Gallego recalled the experience as “very exciting” but “glad it was over.” He stated that he was, “not really ready to fight in front of all these people.” He was amazed that, “when you are up there it goes by very quick.”
Wallace “The Oyster Bay Bomber” Matthews was sponsored by Newsday for this event. Matthews was one of the more experienced fighters of the evening. Although he had not competed in ten years, he has competed in numerous amateur and white collar boxing tournaments in the past. He even fought in the New York Golden Gloves as a middleweight in 1977. Since there were no fighters in the area who could match his skill, the L.I. Fight for Charity had to import an opponent for Matthews. Frank “Hands Up” Fitts, who resides in Stone Ridge and City Island with his wife and three kids, was willing to take on the challenge.
Matthews who can be seen regularly running throughout the hamlet of Oyster Bay, was full of adrenaline as he hit ring. Fitts appeared more as a stand in than a viable opponent. Matthews’ precision and speed was a reflection of his skill and Fitts was blinded by the Oyster Bay Bomber’s ability. There was no question at the end of the contest that Matthews was the better boxer.
reprinted from the 11/23/07 issue of the Oyster Bay Guardian
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