This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Standing between three boxing rings, tournament director Larry Fullmer puts out one fire after another, solving problems right and left just minutes before "the show," as they call the nightly competitions in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, begins at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Moments later, Fullmer is in one of those rings, refereeing a bout. That comes after a last-minute visit to a table where his wife and other family members are selling T-shirts and other memorabilia, and a quick stop at the entrance, where various members of his church congregation check tickets.
Fullmer, nephew of former middleweight world champion Gene Fullmer, who died in April of 2015, does it all without making a dime. Also not paid are the roughly 300 other volunteers who work at the event every time it comes to Salt Lake City, which, lately, has been quite often.
Why do they do it?
"Personally, I get rewarded by seeing young people succeed," Fullmer says. "There are times when I get stressed out and think, 'why did I agree, again, to do this?' Then you get a kid who comes up and thanks you, and that makes it all worth it."
This is the fourth time the organization's premier event has visited Salt Lake City, and third time since 2009.
"We love it here," said Jim Beasley, National Golden Gloves Executive Director. "You have a lot of boxing savvy people here, led, of course, by the Fullmers. They understand the game, and they are very respectful to the young people who come to compete, and in turn the young people are respectful to them."
Jeff Robbins, President and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission, which has financially supported the Rocky Mountain Golden Gloves franchise's efforts to bring the last three tournaments to Salt Lake City as part of its "State of Sport" branding, said the 2009 and 2013 tournaments brought slightly more than $1 million to the local economy. He expects a similar windfall this time around.
"It's a nice piece of business coming to the state," Robbins said. "With the Fullmers and the infrastructure we have here, I don't think anybody has anything better."
Larry Fullmer said back in 2008, when a committee led by the three late fighting Fullmer brothers — Gene, Don and Jay — and Utah businessman Chick Paris traveled to Michigan to try and land the event in 2009, they had to outbid New Jersey and do a lot of persuading to get Golden Gloves to Utah, which isn't known as a boxing hotbed.
Now, Fullmer says, the national organization asks the Rocky Mountain franchise (Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming) which he oversees to make bids every four years or so. It helps that about 30 Fullmer family members show up nightly to do everything from media relations to overseeing the gloving table to judging and refereeing.
They are joined by 75-80 blue-shirted officials from the other 29 franchises in the Golden Gloves network who are also working for free and, in many cases, traveled from afar at their own expense.
"They give up a week of vacation, or beg off their jobs for a week, just to be here," Beasley said. "Only five percent are retired. These are working people who come to this event and give freely of their time because they love the sport, and love the kids."
Joe Strand, the new director of development for the sports commission, said it wouldn't happen in Salt Lake City without the Fullmers.
"They are the driving force behind it," Strand said. "They are the legs and the brains and the groundwork behind it. … We are happy to support and assist with anything that helps market the state of Utah, give the state of Utah a good face, as well as the economic impact. The visitors are filling up hotel rooms, filling up restaurants. So it is a good thing on both sides of the coin."
While the sports commission is the biggest monetary sponsor, Larry Fullmer said it couldn't be done without the help of other agencies such as Visit Salt Lake and dozens of corporations throughout the Intermountain region.
Renting out the Salt Palace Convention Center, putting on a banquet for boxers and officials, lining up transportation and housing and other logistics doesn't come cheap.
"It is a large endeavor," Fullmer said. "It is like sticking your neck out a little bit. The first year we did it [2009], I didn't know if I would be able to pay off my credit card until about two weeks after the event."
The event doesn't draw big crowds; fewer than 1,000 people attended the first three nights of the six-night show. Still, Fulllmer said this year's event is doing better financially than the previous two, thanks to the support of the many sponsors listed in the official program. Whatever is left when all the bills are paid will go to the Rocky Mountain franchise and the local clubs and gyms that it supports in its four-state footprint.
Next year's tournament will be held in Lafayette, La., and the 2018 tournament is scheduled for Omaha, Neb, according to Beasley. Beyond that, Cincinnati has expressed interest, and then it will probably be time to ask Utah and the Fullmers to submit a bid for 2020 or 2021.
And by then, Larry Fullmer believes he and his army of volunteers that includes his brothers Troy, Hud and Brad and his cousins DeLaun Fullmer, Cody Fullmer, Randy Tyson and Chet Fullmer will probably have forgotten the difficulties of putting on such a big event and be ready to tackle it again.
The late Jay Fullmer's two daughters — Shellie Crowther and Shareen Neff — are there every night to help as well. Jay Fullmer died a few days before Gene did last year.
"We do it for the kids, who come from all different backgrounds and all different parts of the country," Larry Fullmer said. "Some of these kids may not get any recognition the rest of their lives, so that is what keeps us going, and keeps us doing this. Of course, my family heritage got me started in this, so I feel some obligation to that, to the three [Fullmer] brothers."
Consider it a gift to the three brothers that put Utah boxing on the map from dozens of family members who want to make sure it stays there, he said.
Twitter: @drewjay —
National Golden Gloves in Utah
1968, Utah State Fairgrounds • George Foreman tunes up in Utah before winning the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal in Mexico City
2009, Salt Palace Convention Center • Utah's Rocky Mountain Franchise outbids New Jersey to get the event back after a 41-year hiatus
2013, Salt Palace Convention Center • Colorful heavyweight Cam F. Awesome, the former Lenroy Thompson, wins the second of his unprecedented four Golden Gloves national championships
2016, Salt Palace Convention Center • The nation's premier event for amateur boxing returns to SLC for the third time in seven years —
By the numbers
1 • Economic impact is slightly more than $1 million per tournament
4 • This is the fourth time SLC has hosted the event
300 • People who are volunteering their time and resources at the 2016 tournament
28 • Of the 30 franchises in the Golden Gloves national system, only Tri-State and Cleveland are not represented this week
250 • Around 250 of the country's best amateur boxers are competing this week
10 • Ten national champions will be crowned Saturday night