Greg Hatley, trainer for the Oak Cliff Boxing Team, created the National Black Gloves in 1999.  After traveling to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Ohio and other major cities and states, Hatley noticed a lack of urban flair in the tournaments held in his hometown.  So he aimed to bring a bit of rhythm and soul to Dallas in the form of his very own amateur event.  Over the years, in addition to top-notch fighters, the Black Gloves has featured local rappers, DJ’s, dancers and musicians.  Ever conscious of the family element, Hatley added cookouts, raffles and even bounce houses, which has resulted in the most perpetually entertaining amateur show in Dallas.  Frankly, if you can’t enjoy yourself at the Black Gloves, your heartbeat has stopped and you’ve already flat-lined.

The showbiz element was only half of what Hatley hoped to sprinkle Dallas with. As he explains, “I wanted to bring something different to local boxing, cause I wasn’t seeing the brand of boxing I wanted to see here in Dallas.”  This resulted in Hatley reaching far and wide, exploiting his various boxing contacts in the United States, and thus making the Black Gloves a true national tournament.

As such, some of the sports most noteworthy gyms have come to “Big D” to fight on Hatley’s cards.  Hall of Fame trainer, Emmanuel Steward’s Kronk Boxing Team competed in the Black Gloves for several years.  Kronk was the home of Thomas “Hitman” Hearns, Hilmer Kenty and Milt McCrory.  Evander Holyfield, Oscar DeLa Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, Lennox Lewis and Prince Naseem Hamed are among others who’ve trained at Kronk and utilized Steward’s expertise on fight night.  The equally historic Gleason’s Boxing Gym out of Brooklyn, New York, has also been represented.  Gleason’s has a list of clients that reads like a prizefighting encyclopedia.  Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Michael Spinks, Jake LaMotta, Carlos Monzon, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whittaker, Wilfred Benitez, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello and many others.  Literally, I could go on for days, typing the names of former world champions who’ve worked out at Gleason’s.  Ozell Nelson’s Arkansas Boxing Club (ABC) is a regular visitor to the Black Gloves.  For those that don’t know, Nelson is the trainer of former middleweight champion, Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor, and ABC is the gym he grew up in.  Most of the major cities in Texas bring squads to Hatley’s tournament and you can always count on Oklahoma chipping in with one or two.  Needless to say, the Black Gloves provides a yearly dose of quality pugilism.

If you’ve kept your bouts sheets over the years (as I have), do yourself a favor and re-read some of the names of the fighters.  The Peterson brothers, Anthony and Lamont, have been here.  Anthony (27-0, 19 KO’s) is a world ranked lightweight and Lamont (25-0, 12 KO’s) can claim likewise at junior welterweight.  Both are anticipating title shots in 2009.  Others include Nick Casal (17-3-1, 13 KO’s) and Johnathan Banks (20-0, 14 KO’s), a cruiserweight prospect out of Kronk.  While in Dallas, Banks fought a local mixed martial artist by the name of Marcus Hicks.  Hicks, who does MMA full-time these days, is vying for the WEC lightweight title on August 3rd.   Two-time national golden gloves champion, Eric “Danger” Fields, was another entrant.  In the ensuing years, Fields has appeared on "Friday Night Fights" and has a record of 11-1, 9 KO's.  Amateur standouts, Karl Dargan, Johnathan Nelson, Dominic Dawson and Mike Martinez have also appeared.

Elite level Lone Star state talent has frequented the Black Gloves.  Luis Yanez, captain of the 2008 United States Olympic boxing team, has a special place in his heart for the tournament.  Known for his flamboyance, Yanez points to the Black Gloves as his first opportunity to be himself without fear of retribution.  Hatley gave Luis and the other fighters the opportunity to select their own music for the ring walks and Yanez chose “Danger” by Mystikal.  Killeen’s Marcus “Too Much” Johnson was another yearly visitor.  Johnson was ranked number two in the nation at 178 lbs and lost at the 2004 Olympic Trials to eventual gold medallist, Andre Ward.  Johnson is now a can’t-miss super middleweight prospect with a record of 15-0, 12 KO’s.  The undefeated Roberto Marroquin is yet another accomplished Texas product that put in work at the Black Gloves.

Hatley himself has consistently brought one of the stronger teams, the Oak Cliff Boxing Club, to his own tournament.  “Big” Greg Corbin, former national golden gloves winner, the late Dominic Littleton, a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifier, and his sons Greg Hatley, Jr. and Charles “The Bodysnatcher” Hatley have headlined the Oak Cliff squad for much of the last decade.  Charles, a certified celebrity and borderline super-hero in the hood, won his division every year he competed, from 1999 thru 2006.  He was the 2007 U.S. National champion and took the number one seed into the 2008 Olympic Trials, before losing to Demetrius Andrade.

Though they didn’t compete this year, the Hatley brothers, Yanez and Marroquin were all in attendance at the 10th annual Black Gloves, and as usual, the tournament didn’t disappoint.  Several bouts ended in stoppages; there were slugfests, skillful displays and a blood bath or two.  And after the show, Hatley all but guaranteed that the 11th annual Black Gloves would be even better.