The fighters train with State of Fitness Boxing Club in North Bergen

State of Fitness Boxing Club again won the Top Team trophy on Friday, May 27, after winning two out of two  bouts at Aces Boxing Club in Boonton.

State of Fitness opened in 2016 and is owned by Desmond Boyle, senior firefighter at the North Hudson Regional Fire Department. The gym has developed numerous amateur champions from tournaments such as the Golden Gloves, Diamond Gloves and Battle on the Beach.

Josh Vivar, a 15-year-old from North Bergen, earned a hard-fought victory over the 16-year-old Ahmed Ouedraogo in a 132-pound bout. Meanwhile, Yadir Ibarguen, a 27-year-old from Paterson, won his first bout with a disqualification over 25-year-old Ziad Amer in a 156-pound bout. Both train out of State of Fitness at 508 73rd Street in North Bergen.

Vivar utilized a stiff jab and the heart of a champion to pull out a victory over Ouedraogo, who had beaten Vivar’s gym mate Tommy Gutierrez the previous month. Vivar’s record improves to 2-1.

“Josh dug deep tonight when he needed to, and grinded it out to get the win,” said Vivar’s trainer Mike Pacheco, who first began training Vivar out of the gym’s kids class.

Ibarguen had been in control against the much taller Amer of Queens, using overhand rights to freeze Amer. The bout was called off after the first round after it was discovered that Amer’s corner was using an unapproved beverage between rounds.

State of Fitness was also represented by coaches Joe Matos and Ryan Songalia. The gym had won the same Top Team trophy at the venue’s previous show on April 29.

Three other boxers from the gym were scheduled to fight, including Jair Calixto, Hussein Harb, and Sam Bacharach, but their bouts were canceled prior to the show for various reasons.

State of Fitness will have a busy month of June, with four of their boxers scheduled to compete in the 2022 New Jersey Golden Gloves tournament. Harb of West New York, Abed Taha and Gianmarco Marin of North Bergen, and Emmanuel Martinez of Keyport, will all compete for Golden Gloves championships when the tournament kicks off on June 3.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

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