With the acquisition of Lebron James, Miami sports fans have several reasons to be excited. Although basketball will take center stage, boxing hopes to make a comeback in Miami as well with the reopening of the 5th Street Gym. Tom Tsatas, Angelo Dundee, Dino Spencer, and Matt Baiamonte will reopen the 5th Street Gym in August. As the legendary training grounds of Muhammed Ali and several other famous boxers, the gym possesses a proud boxing history and it hopes to reclaim some of its past glory in the coming years. "It's going to be a gym and museum; we want to keep it open and preserve its legacy so people can live the nostalgia," said Tsatas.
Dino Spencer, who trained under Freddie Roach, and Matt Baiamonte, who trained under Angelo Dundee, will be leading the gym's training. "We found the original location of the gym, and we're really excited about bringing the gym back to Miami; it's the university of boxing," said Tsatas. "We talked to Angelo, and he's going to be a part of it."
With such a rich tradition of producing world champions, plans for the gym include courting world class boxers. "I've put in a call to Louie DeCubas, and he has a lot of Cuban fighters," said Tsatas. We definitely plan to get Cuban fighters in the gym; they're going to be down there." The lure of having the experienced eyes of Dundee watching may prove to be the deciding factor for some aspiring fighters. "Angelo also has some guys; he's not going to be there day to day, but he's still looking for his next champion," said Tsatas. "There's only one Angelo Dundee; he's been so great and has so much energy. He's just an unbelievable guy."
In addition to training amateur and professional boxers, the 5th Street Gym will reach out to the general public. "It's definitely going to be a boxing gym; but we're going to have MMA classes, kids' classes, and people can come in and take boxing classes or do aerobic boxing," said Tsatas. "We also want to help underprivileged kids, so we'll have times where kids who don't have money or troops who want to rehabilitate can come in and use the gym to take classes." The gym will also serve as a museum to its rich history. "We're also going to have plenty of memorabilia that Jimmy Dundee and his father are donating," said Tsatas.
In its reincarnation, the 5th Street Gym will offer a glimpse into the past while adapting to the changing times of the fight game. From training aspiring boxers and offering MMA fighters refinement on their stand up game to proving thrills for the casual weekend warrior, the 5th Street Gym is sure to please the sports fans of Miami. Welcome back!