Brick City Boxing

Patrick Neumann is in the FINALS of the New York Golden Gloves Tomorrow Night April 17th

If any of you are near Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, you might want to check out 6-foot-6, 250-pound Patrick Neumann. He is the son of former Heavyweight Contender and now World Class referee, Randy Neumann.

Thank you in advance and, enjoy the enclosed video of Patrick's semifinal fight in the New York Golden Gloves.
Henry Hascup

Also, here's an article that was in today's Bergen Record on Patrick.

St. Joseph graduate trades pads for gloves

By KEITH IDEC
STAFF WRITER
NEW YORK - Once Patrick Neumann deter­mined he didn't love football nearly enough to under­go risky back surgery last summer, his father asked him about entering the "family business."
That business entails getting punched in the head, but Patrick Neumann didn't hesitate. So far so good.

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Neumann, a Ridgewood native who gave up his football scholarship to Boston College, will fight for the heavyweight title in the novice division Friday night at the 82nd annual New York Golden Gloves tournament. The former St. Joseph two-way tackle is scheduled to meet Joseph Williams Jr. in a three ­round match in the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Neumann won three fights to reach this championship match, the last two of which were stopped. He remains green, but his trainers at the legendary Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn have been pleased with his progress since his father, former heavyweight contender Randy Neumann, brought him there to train in September.
Former welterweight champion Mark Breland, a five-time New York Golden Gloves champ who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and Har­ry Keitt are Neumann's co-trainers. Neumann lives with Keitt in Brooklyn, which enabled him to enter the New York Golden Gloves.
"He just learns in leaps and bounds," said Randy Neumann, also a respected professional boxing referee. "He learned a lot quicker than I did."

Randy Neumann, a Cliffside Park native, went 31­7 in a nine-year pro career that ended in April 1977. He won one of his three fights against Bayonne's Chuck Wepner and was beating Jerry Quarry on points before Quany stopped Neumann in the sev­enth round of their January 1973 fight at Madison Square Garden.

Randy Neumann made his living in boxing by out ­thinking and outmaneuvering his opponents; skills he, Breland and Keitt are trying to pass along to his son.

"What I'm concerned about teaching him, No.1, is how to get out of the way," Randy Neumann said. "Because anybody can throw punches. I based my ca­reer on not getting hit and winning decisions, because I wasn't a puncher. But this kid, he doesn't get hit ( much, he's a terrific athlete, he's got a great jab and he's a banger. He knocked these [two] kids cold in these [last two] fights."

Everyone involved realizes, though, that Patrick Neumann can be compared to hard-hitting heavy­weight champion Wladimir K1itschko only in size .. Unlike former Notre Dame football standout Tom Zbikowski, he figures he'll fight much more than once as a professional to learn the trade.
Zbikowski, a second-year safety for the Balti­more Ravens, knocked out Robert Bell in the first _ round of his lone professional fight nearly three years ago at the Garden.

Football was Zbikowski's true love, however, so he hung up his boxing gloves to pursue success in the NFL. Neumann never loved football.
"I was good in high school because I was a big, strong kid," Neumann said. "I figured it was a good way to get into a good college, so I worked out really hard and was fortunate enough to get a full scholar-
ship."
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He arrived on Boston College's campus last June, ready to continue working hard, but he quickly aggra­vated three herniated discs in his back by participat­ing in the Eagles' weightlifting program. He spent about a 45 days in Chestnut Hill, Mass., after gradu­ating from St. Joseph before he threw his possessions into two trash bags and boarded a Newark-bound train.

"[Boston College coaches] were talking about me having back surgery," Neumann recalled, "and I'm like, 'I'm [18] years old. I don't want to have surgery on my back at [18].' There's not even a 100-percent chance it's going to work. It's 50-50. It wasn't worth taking the risk for something I didn't love. I was re­ally interested in boxing and I found that I really love it."

Randy Neumann, who runs a financial services company in Paramus, loves the idea of managing his son's pro boxing career, so much that he'll gladly re­linquish his referee's license to do so. For now, they're concentrating on Patrick Neumann learning the sport.

"I don't really know much about boxing right now," Patrick Neumann said. "It's only been six months. I'm trying to learn something new every day. My dad tells me, Harry tells me, Mark tells me and all the guys in the gym tell me I'm progressing much faster than the average person would."