By Matt Gagne / DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Douglas Milano drops Junior Vargas to canvas en route to Golden Gloves victory.
Douglas Milano won't be able to keep his night gig a secret anymore.
The 25-year-old from Sound Beach, L.I., who teaches seventh and eighth grade in East Hampton, has tried his best to keep his boxing career from his students. He's gone so far as to claim that black eyes came from errant elbows in pick-up basketball games, and bad scratches from wrestling matches gone awry with the neighbor's dog.
But it's impossible to ignore Milano after his performance Friday night at Holy Cross High School in Queens. Competing in the 165-pound novice division of the Daily News Golden Gloves, Milano earned the P.C. Richard & Son Boxer of the Night Award after referee Jose Fernandez stopped the fight 31 seconds into the second round as Junior Vargas (Gleason's) staggered along the ropes.
"I would say anything for my students not to be like, 'Wow, my math teacher is a boxer,'" Milano said. "Sometimes the sport can be perceived as a negative because of how violent it is, but I feel just the opposite. They didn't know about tonight."
Two years ago, Milano (Veterans Memorial) made his Gloves' debut in Freeport, L.I., lasting all of 25 seconds after getting knocked to the canvas with a left hook as family and friends watched his first career fight end in horrifying fashion.
"It was a terrible experience. When I think about that night, it still upsets me that I let them all down," said Milano, who considered quitting the sport. "It took awhile to get over that. I'm an athletic guy, I played a bunch of sports, but I thought maybe this wasn't for me.
"I questioned my chin, I questioned my talent, but I tell my students and anyone that I run into in life that quitting isn't an option. If you don't do this, it's going to bother you for the rest of your life. ... I didn't show what I was made of that night, so I had no other choice but to get back in the ring. I've come a long way."
Edgar Reyes (FDNY Bravest) won the night's first bout when referee Danny Gant stopped the fight with two seconds left in the first round as Michael Omojola (Main Street BC) came out of his second standing-eight count in a daze.
"It was a combination, a flurry of punches," said Reyes, who works on Engine 84 in Washington Heights. "I didn't think it would happen that quickly."
Francisco Suero (Universal BC) bloodied Daniel Marmol (NY MMA) with a big left uppercut. "Once I saw blood, I wanted more to come out," the 16-year-old from Brooklyn said. "He took extreme shots."
The 25-year-old from Sound Beach, L.I., who teaches seventh and eighth grade in East Hampton, has tried his best to keep his boxing career from his students. He's gone so far as to claim that black eyes came from errant elbows in pick-up basketball games, and bad scratches from wrestling matches gone awry with the neighbor's dog.
But it's impossible to ignore Milano after his performance Friday night at Holy Cross High School in Queens. Competing in the 165-pound novice division of the Daily News Golden Gloves, Milano earned the P.C. Richard & Son Boxer of the Night Award after referee Jose Fernandez stopped the fight 31 seconds into the second round as Junior Vargas (Gleason's) staggered along the ropes.
"I would say anything for my students not to be like, 'Wow, my math teacher is a boxer,'" Milano said. "Sometimes the sport can be perceived as a negative because of how violent it is, but I feel just the opposite. They didn't know about tonight."
Two years ago, Milano (Veterans Memorial) made his Gloves' debut in Freeport, L.I., lasting all of 25 seconds after getting knocked to the canvas with a left hook as family and friends watched his first career fight end in horrifying fashion.
"It was a terrible experience. When I think about that night, it still upsets me that I let them all down," said Milano, who considered quitting the sport. "It took awhile to get over that. I'm an athletic guy, I played a bunch of sports, but I thought maybe this wasn't for me.
"I questioned my chin, I questioned my talent, but I tell my students and anyone that I run into in life that quitting isn't an option. If you don't do this, it's going to bother you for the rest of your life. ... I didn't show what I was made of that night, so I had no other choice but to get back in the ring. I've come a long way."
Edgar Reyes (FDNY Bravest) won the night's first bout when referee Danny Gant stopped the fight with two seconds left in the first round as Michael Omojola (Main Street BC) came out of his second standing-eight count in a daze.
"It was a combination, a flurry of punches," said Reyes, who works on Engine 84 in Washington Heights. "I didn't think it would happen that quickly."
Francisco Suero (Universal BC) bloodied Daniel Marmol (NY MMA) with a big left uppercut. "Once I saw blood, I wanted more to come out," the 16-year-old from Brooklyn said. "He took extreme shots."
No comments:
Post a Comment