*LORENZO “TRUCK” SIMPSON WINS HIS SIXTH NATIONAL SILVER GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIP!*
Simpson won three fights in three days at the Ringside Boxing 2016 National Silver Gloves Tournament, held in Independence, Missouri.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A. – On Saturday night, February 6, 2016, fifteen year-old amateur boxer, Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson (Baltimore, Maryland), won his sixth Ringside Boxing National Silver Gloves Tournament Championship, held February 3-6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Independence, Missouri. In this year’s tournament, he competed at super middleweight (165 lbs), winning three fights in three days to win his division title. The annual tournament features competitors from the ages of eight to fifteen years, in several different weight classes. Simpson surpassed Oscar De La Hoya and Dominic Wade on the list of 5-time National Silver Gloves Champions, and joined Nico Hernandez (Wichita, Kansas) as the only other current amateur boxer to win six National Silver Gloves Titles. Simpson trains with boxing coaches Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis at Upton Boxing Gym, located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a tenth grader at Franklin High School in Reisterstown, Maryland. Following Saturday’s championship win, Simpson’s amateur record improved to 145-2.
Lorenzo Simpson said, “It is an honor to win another National Silver Gloves Championship this year, because it’s my last year being able to participate in the tournament due to my age. It’s a real accomplishment to win an event like this, because I’ve had to deal with things like nagging injuries, a head cold, plus you have to fight and win several fights back-to-back. In the pros, you fight just one fight and you get to rest for a few weeks. Winning six titles just shows the amount of work I’ve put in. It feels good to get recognized for doing something big in boxing and to show other kids where I’m from that anything is possible if you put the work in. Everyone that knows me or follows my social media knows that boxing is an important part of my life.”
Simpson talked about a lesson he learned from this year’s tournament. He said, “In this year’s championship, towards the very end of the last round, I got knocked down for the first time in my life. I was winning the whole fight, and I figured I had the fight won, but that’s when I got caught. I’m glad I won the fight, and I get to go back home with another championship. It just goes to show that you can’t relax at all until that final bell rings. Everything is a learning experience for me, and I plan to work on things with my coaches so that I can be better the next time I fight.”
Coach Kenny Ellis said, “In a multiple day, single elimination tournament, the boxers with the most skill advance, and then it comes down to the fighter’s will to overcome adversity and fatigue. Truck is one of the hardest workers in our gym, so I had no doubt he would win. In his first fight in this tournament, he won on a quick first round stoppage, then in the second fight, I though he was trying too hard to go for the knockout, but won by decision. He looked good in the championship fight, and displayed the athleticism we see from him on a daily basis in the gym. His defense needs to be tightened up some, and there are some other technical deficiencies we want to eliminate. Other than that, myself and Coach Calvin were pleased with his performances.”
Coach Calvin Ford said, “I’m proud of Lorenzo’s Sixth National Silver Gloves Championship. It’s another big story for the city of Baltimore and our gym, Upton Boxing Center, which is a Baltimore City Parks and Recreation facility. I can’t say we saw anything different in the set up of this trip compared to any prior trips, because Lorenzo has been traveling for boxing tournaments since he was ten years old. He did get a taste of adversity in the championship fight of his bracket. He was knocked down in the last round, but he got up, shook it off, beat the count, and finished strong. That experience will help him in future fights moving forward. Winning three fights back-to back within 24 hours between fights is a hard task for a kid. Going into the last fight, your body takes a beating and you have fight through those things.”
Ford continued, “I’ll give him a few days off from the gym. I would have liked for him to fight at 154 lbs, but he elected to fight at his walk-around weight instead. I’d like to work on that weight issue, build his strength, and those things should help as he moves to the next level of competition. He is still growing, so time will tell. We will continue to build off what we’ve been doing. Everything else is based on how he chooses to carry himself and the sacrifices he’s willing to make in order to continue to be the best. He has now graduated to the next level, so we’ll go back to drawing board, keep working, and see what’s next.”
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