Proceeds to Benefit Area Charities
Area businessman Lorenzo Gentile has announced a new venture, Gentile Boxing. The organization will hold its first event in February.
Gentile’s goal is to give back to the Lorain County community by producing family-friendly events to benefit one or more local non-profit organizations while also enabling him to spend more time with his father, boxing hall-of-famer Joe Gentile.
“My parents raised me to appreciate the opportunities I have had and the people around me,” Lorenzo Gentile said. “This community is what made me who I am today. I am a firm believer in giving back and I can’t think of a better way to start than right here in my hometown, with my dad by my side.”
Joe Gentile went from being an Italian immigrant who began fighting to defend himself against ethnic taunts to an amateur boxer with an impressive 52-5 record. He then became a boxing trainer and promoter, training dozens of Golden Gloves champions and promoting multiple events. He also served as a chief official for the Lake Erie Association, judging more than 5000 bouts during his 13-year tenure.
He has been inducted into the Ohio State Former Boxers and Associates, Inc Hall of Fame, the Summit County Boxing Hall of Fame, the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame, and the Legends of Leather Hall of Fame. Joe was named Man of the Year by the Ohio State Former Boxers in 2005 and by Legends of Leather in 2007. He was also honored by the Ohio State Former Boxers in 2015 with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Perhaps more meaningful than the accolades he has earned is the respect of the fighters whose lives he has changed. Joe was known for taking many troubled youngsters off the streets and, using boxing as the vehicle, showing them they could achieve more with their lives. Local police stations often called Joe when they had young men they felt could benefit from his guidance and he would bond them out and bring them to the gym. Gentile also had the opportunity to train a fighter inside the Mansfield Reformatory who not only became a champion but also a productive member of society with a solid career and family. Many of his former athletes credit him with turning their lives around and he is known in the boxing world for far more than his record.
“Joe Gentile’s contribution to the sport of boxing is immense,” said Ohio State Former Boxers President Mike Galassi. “He is a stand up guy and his legacy in this sport is not only in the ring but also in the neighborhoods with the way he cared about his fighters and the lives he changed.”
Although Gentile Boxing is a new organization, Lorenzo Gentile is not new to the combat sports arena himself. Licensed as a promoter beginning in 2009, Gentile formed Gentile Promotions LLC and held three Mixed Martial Arts events locally under the “CageStars” banner. Gentile then became the promoter for another organization which held an additional 20 MMA events in multiple states from 2010-2013.
“I definitely miss the energy of promoting an event,” Gentile said. “But what makes this model so exciting to me is the fact that 100% of the profits will benefit a cause and a community. To me, it’s a way to pay forward what my parents taught me through a sport that has played such a huge role in our family.”
Born and raised in Elyria, Gentile returned to the area after college. He is President of Gentile Real Estate and Vice-President of Somers Agency. He and his wife, Denise, live in Avon with their daughter. Gentile’s parents, Joe and Francesca, continue to reside in Elyria.
A major announcement regarding Gentile Boxing’s inaugural event in February is expected next week.