New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘It’s my passion’
New Haven’s Get ‘Em Boy Boxing Gym cultivates champions in and out the ring
NEW HAVEN — In a steamy corner gym in the heart of the city, with posters of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Floyd Patterson on the walls, Solomon “Coach Solo” Maye is building something that reaches well beyond New Haven.
Maye’s Get ‘Em Boy Boxing Gym at Orchard and Henry streets is building champions — in some cases, national champions.
But more importantly, Maye is mentoring good, solid young men — and one young woman. He’s helping teenagers avoid pitfalls he once faced.
Maye had a rough early life.
As a youth, he was kicked out of his house at age 13. He went to prison for selling drugs at age 16 — and spent 18 months there, with several return trips to follow.
But he eventually found a better path — learning to box along the way.
After winning three straight Golden Gloves titles in his early 20s under the guidance of his then-manager, Devonne Canady, who owns the Elephant in the Room boxing club, which used to be in the Get ‘Em Boy space, Maye became a pro boxer at the advanced age of 39 in 2013.
Now, at age 48, he’s helping others along a better road.
It’s a road that for Get ‘Em Boy boxers Amare “Triple R” Foster, 10, his big brother Amir “No Fear” Foster, 12, and Troy “Trigga” Moore, 13, includes big, red leather National Silver Gloves 2023 championship belts and gold and bronze national Junior
Olympic medals.
All three boys won national titles in their respective weight classes in the National Silver Gloves 2023 in Independence, Mo., Feb. 9-11. Amir was named the outstanding fighter out of 1,400 participants.
Then, at the National Junior Olympics in Lubbock, Texas, June 3-10, Amare won a gold medal in the 85-pound class and Amir and Troy both won bronze in the 110pound and 114-pound classes, respectively.
But for Maye — and the
boys — it’s about more than just winning.
“The things I went through at 13 were criminal. That’s why it’s my passion” to help kids now, said Maye. “I don’t want these kids to have to go through the same kind of thing. If there was a me around when I was 13, I would have never gotten in any trouble.”
He began as a personal trainer in 2016 when the gym was still Elephant in the Room. He eventually had a falling out with Canady and had to leave. He started Get ‘Em Boy Boxing in the same space at 746 Orchard St. in 2021 after Canady moved to a new location.
“Training kids was never in the plan, but I started doing it. I started liking it. It was natural,” Maye said. “The kids started training, and they started winning fights ... Now, everything I do has something to do with coaching.
“There’s nothing for kids to do now, nowhere for them to go,” Maye said. “I know because I’ve got a gym full of kids just dying to train.”
For youths to join, it’s $150 to register then $75 per month, he said. Details are available at www.getemboyboxinggym.club or by calling 203-415-6812 or emailing getemboy2374@gmail.com.
For the Foster brothers, both students at WexlerGrant Community School in New Haven, and Moore, who will be an eighth grader at Carrington School in Waterbury, Get ‘Em Boy Boxing has provided a place to go besides home or the streets when not in school.
Working with Maye has instilled a strong work ethic and taught them humility.
Amare Foster, who will be a sixth grader at Wexler-Grant, wasn’t surprised that he took first place.
“I expect to win,” he said. “We train a lot here. “
He doesn’t think he’s better than the other kids, but he does think he’s better prepared.
“It’s our work ethic,” Amare said. “A lot of people don’t work as hard as us.”
The boys won “because we train” and “work hard in the gym — harder than anyone else,” said Moore, whose mother drives him from Waterbury to New Haven to train.
“It’s the discipline,” said Matthias Cruz, 16, of New Haven, who has been boxing with Maye for 10 years.
Amir said working with Maye has taught him that “even if you’re not in school, you’ve got to not do dumb stuff in the streets.”
In a gym full of boys and young men, Tiana Arias, 14, stands out. Tiana, who goes to New Haven Academy and is the only girl at the gym most of the time, is four months into her journey.
“I was really sad. I was going through depression,” Tiana said. “I just wanted something to get me out of depression.” It worked.
“Every time I come to the gym, it puts me in a better place,” she said. “I want to learn to box. I want to compete.”
Working with Maye “taught me a lot of discipline,” Tiana said. “It taught me how to control my emotions. Now I don’t get so angry. I’ve got a lot more patience with people.”
At first, she felt funny as the only girl, but “they made me comfortable,” she said. “They’re like my brothers.”
Tiana is not the first girl to put on the gloves at Get “Em Boy Boxing. Brianna Alers of Hamden, who also just won a 2023 National Junior Olympics title after
previously winning a 2023 National Silver Gloves belt, used to train there. She now trains at the Chick Rosnick Boxing Club in Stratford.
Maye jokingly said he’ll take credit for her success, too.
Not all people training at Get ‘Em Boy are champions.
A few feet from Tiana, four young men were working on heavy bags as the room echoed with the rhythmic “thud” of boxing gloves making contact.
Bilal Naseer, 25, of
Hamden, has been training at Get ‘Em Boy for six months on a personal training membership.
“I’ve always wanted to box,” he said. “When I came here, I had a conversation with Solo and I could hear the passion in his voice.”
Maye “pushes you to the limit,” Naseer said.
Jaden Moorhead, 18, who grew up in New Haven and lives in Durham, is a wide receiver on the football team at Saint Thomas University in Miami. He has wanted to get
into boxing for a while, just to stay in shape. “This summer, I had some time,” he said.
Last week, he was hitting the bag on his third day at the gym.
“Coach Solo definitely pushes you and motivates you,” Moorhead said, and the training “toughens me up.”
After he began there, his little brother, Jonathan Moorhead, also decided to try it.
“He’s good,” Jonathan said of Maye. “He really pushes us.”