Gleason’s-PUG London opens on January 9, near the Tower Bridge on the south side of the Thames.
It is managed by John Rooney, a former Irish amateur fighter and entrepreneur from Falls Road in Belfast. Steve Collins, the former world middleweight champion is a small partner in the venture between Rooney and Gleason’s Gym owner Bruce Silverglade.
The 35 year-old Rooney is the mentor to Irish Olympic prospects Martin Linsay (featherweight), Martin Rogan (heavyweight) and Paul Baker (flyweight); and the proprietor of Pugilist Urban Garment (PUG), a company that produces boxing equipment and apparel.
In a telephone interview from London at the weekend, Rooney spoke about his vision for Gleason’s-PUG.
“My goal is to get it as well known as Gleason’s in America, which is a tall order. But we have the facilities and have got good coaches and contacts with America, and that is beneficial,” he said.
The London gym is already the home of some 30 fighters, including Danny Williams, the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titlist, heavyweight upstart Mickey Steeds, super bantamweight Steve Oats and several Irish boxers.
According to Rooney, the idea to set up the gym was first mooted in conversations by Silverglade, who bought the New York Gleason’s in 1982, and Mark Seltzer, an English friend of Rooney’s a year ago.
“Mark and Bruce were talking and Mark brought up my name,” said Rooney.
Later when they met in New York, Rooney found that he and Silverglade, “both had the same idea and were both on the same wave length.”
Silverglade said if the London venture proves a success, the gym would expand to other major boxing centers starting with Belfast.
Gleason’s latest Irish connection continues its long identification with the Celtic culture, going back to its founding in 1937.
When Robert Gagliardi, a flyweight turned bantamweight, opened the original gym before the Second World War, the New York fight scene was predominantly Irish.
“The Irish were dominant in the unions and blue collar jobs,” Silverglade said, while a lot of people were annoyed with the Italians as war clouds gathered over Europe.
Gagliardi changed his name to Bobby Gleason in order to appeal to the Irish boxing crowd and christened his gym Gleason’s.
Over the years, Gleason’s’ reputation grew enormously as it became a magnet for boxing’s biggest stars.
Legends such as Jake LaMotta, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Julio Cesar Chavez and Thomas Hearns at one time or another made the gym their training base.
So did countless Irish prizefighters, including Barry McGuigan, Gerry Cooney and Jimmy McMahon. Most recently, John Duddy, the Derry-born light middleweight who is causing a buzz at local shows, has been working out at Gleason’s. In all, 117 world champions have trained inside the gym’s hallowed walls.
Originally located in the “Hub” district of the lower Bronx at 434 Westchester Avenue, near 149th Street and 3rd Avenue, the gym moved to Manhattan (30th Street and 8th) in 1974 before occupying its current space on the second floor of 83 Front Street in Brooklyn Heights in 1984.
Today, Gleason’s in New York boasts of some 700 members: professionals, amateurs, recreational fighters and approximately 40 professional wrestlers.
The 15,000 square foot gym is a boxer’s paradise. There are four full size rings, 10 heavy bags, an assortment of free weights, stair machines, treadmills, stationary bicycles and customary boxing equipment like speed bags, double end bags, and jump ropes.
Gleason’s pioneered white collar boxing in 1988, a now global concept that allows ordinary Joes and Janes to experience the thrill of boxing and boxing training. Registered amateurs or professionals are not permitted in the white-collar boxing program.