Boxer helping aspiring young athletes with nonprofit gym

By Ray Campos

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    ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — December 19 marks five years since the Rice Street “Old School” Boxing Gym in east St. Paul opened.

Since opening, the gym has taken in everyone who has wanted to join.

Mike Evgen, who co-founded the gym, helps anyone despite their financial burdens.

“We turn nobody away if they don’t have the funds,” said Evgen.

The gym’s journey began with Evgen himself and his long career in professional boxing.

“I started when I was 12 years old. I was 70 pounds,” said Evgen. “I’ve been the underdog in sports and life.”

Evgen dedicated himself to boxing after losing his cousin, Tommy Luger, to a shooting in 1979.

“Tommy was an amateur boxer. He was only 19 when he got killed. I tried to carry on his tradition,” he said.

After winning his bout at the Roy Wilkins arena and obtaining the IBO Jr. Welterweight Championship, Evgen had a few years left boxing. Through his last years in the sport, Evgen would see his hardest and most painful days.

“I was going through some personal struggles, the alcohol and going through a divorce,” said Evgen.”I was going through a really bad place. I wasn’t working. My boxing career was over. It was either take my own life or get my crap together.”

Evgen would use his champion spirit to lift him past his worst days.

“August 5th of 1996, I decided to get treatment, and I was ready. It was time. I’ve been sober ever since. Twenty-eight years and four months,” said Evgen.

Now, Evgen is giving back to the community that helped him rise in the ranks.

“A lot of boxers want to stay involved in some capacity. You never know who’s going to walk through that door and we might have the next world champion here in the gym. You never know,” said Evgen.

Respect for Evgen is seen in the gym by his peers and his students.

“Mike is a very well respected guy. He’s really nice,” said Steffania Piper, an aspiring silver gloves boxer. “He always gives a warm welcome.”

Owen Emerson, another young member of the gym, says he was initially nervous when joining, but Evgen quickly made him feel part of the group.

“I came in and I was scared. I didn’t know anything, but then someone came up to me and gave me a fist bump and I was like, ‘oh, this is a community. This is a family,'” said Emerson.

Many of Evgen’s students are seeking to reach new heights in their own boxing careers.

“I really want to be a professional boxer. Everyone wants to be the world champion and I really want to try,” said Emerson.

Some of the students also see how it will change their personal lives for the better.

“I think this will help me in life, mainly the discipline aspect,” said Angelo Catilleja. “What it really does is, with your mindset, to never give up. I’m trying to go for the championship and maybe I’ll look back on this moment.”

The gym accepts donations through Venmo, in-person or by mail.

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