DG Boxers Carlos Croswell (center) and Jarret Jeter (right) spar in a free style drill as gym founder David Gonzalez (left) observes. Photo by Gisela Merino.

In celebration of its 15 year anniversary, Long Beach’s DG Boxing is holding tryouts Jan. 15 to find the top 15 fighters, local or not, for a free 15-week training regimen that for the best two will end with a chance to compete in the 2015 Golden Gloves boxing tournament.

Participants who interview well, as determined by the owner of DG Boxing Gym on Pacific Coast Highway, David Gonzalez, will be tested and trained for two weeks. Of that group, 15 will be selected and filmed for Journey to the Golden Gloves, a DG Boxing-produced documentary.

“A lot of people we get are from the streets,” Gonzalez said. “There are people who can’t afford the gym fees, so I’m helping out.”

According to Gonzalez, it would take an average of three years for a boxer to otherwise enter the Golden Gloves.

The only qualifier Gonzalez has for the program is that the fighters’ weight must place him in the 141-pound weight class and that they arrive on time to every session.

Those among the 15 trainees who are disqualified will have their slot replaced by a previous runner-up.

“I want to teach them discipline,” Gonzalez said, “I want that 49-0 [wins] on-the-street boxer who thinks they’re the next thing; we teach them and they realize maybe they are, maybe they’re not.”

Journey to the Golden Gloves will air in multiple installments via YouTube.

DG Boxing is located at 5660 E Pacific Coast Hwy. For more information on upcoming programs, visit their website or call (562) 986-0421.

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