King in ring – & life
He has fought his way from the streets to the suites to a sweet science bout at the Barclays Center. Travis Peterkin was a kid of 11 in the Ville, as he calls Brownsville, Brooklyn, when a few older kids picked on him at the Van Dyke projects.
“I told my father I wanted to learn how to fight,” says Peterkin at a training session in Gleason’s Gym in DUMBO. That’s where he’s preparing for his Aug. 1 light-heavyweight bout against undefeated Gilbert Lenin Castillo, a 2008 Olympics contender.
“I saw all these shows about guys like Tommy Hearns and Mike Tyson fighting in fancy gyms and making millions,” Peterkin says. “That’s where I thought I was going when my dad took me to the Howard Houses PAL gym. Instead, it was a dirty sweatbox that stunk like death with the biggest cockroaches I ever seen. There was a 12-by-12-foot ring where tough guys pounded each other. Other guys hit bags. That was on Dec. 11, 2001, three months after 9/11.”
His father, Bernard Peterkin, who’d banged his way to the 1987 heavyweight Golden Gloves semifinals, introduced Travis to the trainer.
“He told me to put on trunks and let’s see what I got,” Peterkin says. “He made me shadow-box. I knew nothing. He taught me jab, jab, hook, right hand. Over and over and over. Then he wrapped my hands, gave me bag gloves and taught me how to hit the heavy bag.”
Then he made young Peterkin learn to skip rope for wind and speed, do situps, and pushups for upper body strength.
“He worked me like a dog,” says Peterkin. “There was nothing glamorous about it. In the morning, I was sore as hell. But I’m no quitter. So I went right back to the gym and I’ve been going ever since.”
Dad Bernard adds, “And I told him, Trav, if you wanna fight, I’m with you all the way, but I’m gonna work you hard, be mean and tough as hell on you. There’s no shortcuts in this sport. I told my daughter the same thing about school when she said she wanted to be a lawyer. Today, she’s in Howard University Law School. I’m as proud of her as I am of my son, who’s paying his dues he needs to pay to someday become champion of the world.”
Travis graduated with a Regents diploma from Canarsie High School and moved to the Kingsway Gym. In 2010, he won the supermiddleweight Golden Gloves championship in Madison Square Garden.
“When you wear these in the ’hood, people give you respect,” he says, flicking his Golden Gloves necklace, a gleaming reminder that self-respect comes from discipline, sacrifice, hard work and a dream.
“The gang guys in the Brownsville street give Travis a pass,” says his father. “They know he’s a legitimate fighter on a path out. They don’t try to recruit him. They root for him.”
“My idea of a tough guy is someone with mental toughness,” Travis says, tapping his temple, then his breast. “And heart. A fighter gotta dig down to find strength you didn’t even know you had in your heart, without any homeboys at your back. In the ring, it’s just you and the other guy.”
After Travis turned pro, he took a job at Barclays Center as a “suite runner,” delivering food and drinks to the rich fans in the arena’s high-end suites. “I’d bring the fans pretzels and food and drinks at Barclays ballgames and big-name concerts,” he says, smiling. “After the gym, I took the 4 train to Atlantic Ave. in 20 minutes to Barclays, and on fight nights I told co-workers someday I’m gonna fight right here in Barclays. They’d say, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ I said, ‘Watch me.’ ”
On Aug. 1 they can watch Travis Peterkin (photo), 15-0, seven KOs, fight the biggest fight of his career as two undefeated light heavies battle to become serious contenders. “I know what a great opportunity this is,” Travis says. “But I’ll rise to it because I come from the Ville that gave us Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Eddie Mustafa, Zab Judah, Danny Jacobs. My friends from the Ville will be taking the 4 train to Barclays to come see me. And my old Barclays co-workers can finally watch me between suite runs.”
How sweet it is.