BOXING EVENT NEARS
Thursday, October 8th, 2009 -- 1:44 PM
When we think of sporting events these days, we think of basketball, baseball and football. There was a time when boxing was just as popular.The ?sweet science? is still the focus of some dedicated area athletes.
The Flossy Gust Memorial Boxing Show will be held at the Old Armory in Marshfield Saturday, October 17th. The bouts start at 7 p.m. and will feature athletes from all around the state, including here in Neillsville.
Dale Berger, a Neillsville City Council member, started boxing when he was only 10. His final bout came when he was 26, but he still loves the sport.
"I had a choice to box or join another activity. Boxing was something not everyone was doing when I was young, so I chose to do that," Berger says.
He trained at a gym in his hometown of Spencer. His father eventually took it over. When he started in 1981, the sport enjoyed more popularity than it does today. It included names like Hearns, Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and others.
"It was a popular sport back then. It was on prime time TV on the weekends, and the big names were on," he remembers.
Of course, boxing has a reputation of being a brutal activity, but Berger says it?s just as much a mental game.
"And amateur is completely different than pro. It's a point-based system. You don't see a lot of knock-outs, you don't see a lot of fights stopped." Berger explains, "It's closely watched by the refs, if there are problems, it gets stopped quickly."
Berger says the late Flossy Gust was influential in keeping the boxing tradition alive in central Wisconsin.
"He was a great trainer. Everyone knew him. (He trained) in an old school house. It was rundown. Just like you see in the movies. It was a small gym, just a hole in the wall," Berger remembers. "He was a great coach. A great man."
He?s not quite sure of his final record, but Berger knows he won more bouts than he lost. He won a Silver Gloves state championship when he was 10. He even got to fight at the Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Michigan.
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