Ring Masters Championships continues tradition of crowning New York’s best

The boxers come from all five boroughs, plus Long Island and Westchester County, and as far upstate as Poughkeepsie. The Ring Masters Championships tournament gives boxers up and down the scales, male and female, from ages 8 to 68, the opportunity to fight for New York bragging rights.

The tournament, which kicked off on Feb. 2 and runs through April 11, will culminate at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, with the coveted championship rings at stake. This year, a total of 450 boxers, the highest ever since the tournament rebranded to the Ring Masters in 2018, from 91 different gyms will participate.

For open class elite boxers, winners also qualify for the National Golden Gloves tournament, which will run from May 12-18 in Detroit, Mich.

“The 2024 Ring Masters Championships is a testament to USA Boxing Metropolitan’s commitment to promoting the sport of boxing and providing a platform for emerging talents to shine,” said Ray Cuadrado, President of USA Boxing Metropolitan.

The tournament, formerly known as the New York Golden Gloves, has been a launching pad to success for amateur boxers who aspire to become professionals. Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, Mark Breland and Riddick Bowe are just a few of the many names whose success in the intrastate tournament translated to the professionals.

Though this year’s tournament will be without Donte Layne, last year’s champion who was rated no. 1 by USA Boxing at 165 pounds but has since turned pro, a number of other boxers are hoping to use the tournament to launch themselves to the next level.

Among those boxers is Sean O’Bradaigh, a 21-year-old from Manhattan’s West Village. O’Bradaigh won last year’s novice tournament at 165 pounds but is hoping to find success this year in the 176-pound open division.

“It’s massive, especially for an open class boxer like myself who is targeting the National Golden Gloves,” said O’Bradaigh, who is also a senior at New York University, where he majors in real estate.

“The fact that the final is at The Garden makes it the most prestigious local amateur boxing tournament in the country. Most important day of my life was me fighting at MSG.”

O’Bradaigh, who also won last year’s New York Boxing Tournament at 176-pound open, is by far the biggest local ticket seller in the local boxing committee (LBC), bringing about 300 people to last year’s final.

Sebastian Mazeneth, a 20-year-old who trains out of SweatBox in Staten Island, can relate. The College of Staten Island finance major made it to Madison Square Garden last year before falling in the 156-pound novice final. After dropping to the 147-pound division as an open class boxer, Mazeneth is hoping his sacrifices lead him to the championship in his 11-boxer bracket.

“It would mean everything to take first place this year. Ever since…