By Ed Randle
Long Island boxing royalty gathered Wednesday September 2 at Pro Fit Gym in Ronkonkoma as Long Island Boxing Charities held its fourth annual Night at the Movies fundraiser, honoring three generations of fighters who helped shape the region’s rich boxing tradition.
The evening recognized the careers of former world champion James “Buddy” McGirt, New York State Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Davis and rising professional prospect Peter Latorre.
McGirt, a Brentwood native, received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He made Long Island boxing history on Feb. 14, 1988, when he defeated Frankie Warren in Corpus Christi, Texas, becoming the first fighter from Long Island to win a world championship. He later became a trainer and worked with numerous world champions, including Arturo Gatti
McGirt finished his professional career with a 73-6-1 record, including 48 knockouts. A two-time world champion, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019. McGirt was one of the evening’s most celebrated honorees, recognized not only for his accomplishments in the ring but for his lasting impact on boxing in the region.
Gerry Cooney, Huntington’s iconic heavyweight contender, presented the award to McGirt.
“What a great night,” said Cooney. “What a collection of Long Island fighters. It was so great to see Buddy and of course, Johnny
Davis. This is a memorable evening.”
Johnny Davis received the Bobby Cassidy Sr. Award. The Hempstead native, brother of the late boxer Eddie Davis, was recently inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame.
Davis was a New York Golden Gloves champion and an alternate on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team. During a professional career that included some of the sport’s toughest light-heavyweights, Davis defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Yaqui Lopez. In 1982, he challenged Michael Spinks for the world light heavyweight championship.
Latorre, a former U.S. Marine and Hofstra University graduate student who lives in Elmont, was named Prospect of the Year. He’s 7-0 as professional and has six knockouts and is considered one of the promising young fighters emerging from Long Island.
“This is very humbling,” said Latorre. “It’s an honor to be included with so many great Long Island boxers.”
The gathering also featured a who’s who of Long Island boxing, including Zay Flaherty, Tommy Rainone, Cletus Seldin, Tyrone James, Buddy McGirt Jr., Scott Lopeck and Joe Gadigian. Other great boxing notables included two-division world champion Junior Jones, Hall-of-Fame boxing judge Steve Weisfeld, Hall-of-Fame boxing referee Al Lobianco Jr. and Ring 8 president Ron McNair.
The evening concluded with an exclusive screening of Ringside in the Mountains, a critically acclaimed documentary produced and directed by Evan Haiman.
The film explores the long tradition of boxing training camps in New York’s Catskill Mountains, where generations of champions and contenders—including Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney and Ray Mancini—prepared for some of the biggest fights of their careers.
The documentary also had a distinctly Long Island connection. Levittown native Chris Cassidy served as director of photography, while the film was produced in part by the late Tommy Clohessy, a Huntington resident.
Following the screening, Haiman was joined for a question-and-answer session by Cooney, the former heavyweight title challenger and one of Long Island’s most celebrated boxers, and Randy Gordon, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who is prominently featured in the documentary.
For a night, the gym in Ronkonkoma became a gathering place for generations of Long Island fighters, trainers and boxing fans—a celebration of a sport that has deep roots across the Island.
The event was hosted by Long Island Boxing Charities’ Matt Pomara and Tony Palmieri, who brought together a collection of fighters that represented Long Island’s boxing past, present and future. LIBC’s mission is to aid indigent former fighters and offer financial assistance to local boxing gyms and programs.
