Written by Ben Grieco
OSWEGO — There are heavy bags as soon as you walk in the door.
If you keep walking, a boxing ring awaits you.
Turn left, and some other exercise equipment sits, ready to be used.
But when you walk through the entrance of the Oswego Boxing Club on 135 E. Bridge St., it’s more than just a gym.
“The doors are open. Our arms are wide open. We welcome everybody,” club owner Derrick Falcetti said. “We don’t let social barriers define us. We knock them out.”
One of OBC’s trainers, Martin Orta, said the club was “built on dedication.”
It’s a dedication to people, Falcetti said. Every person that enters the club has a different goal. Maybe they want to go into competition boxing. Or they want to enter a weight-loss journey. Some people might be looking for a stress-relieving activity.
And it’s not just about competition, Falcetti said.
“We bring in 15 to 30 people in a class. When you look at that class — and you take the time to scan that class — what you see is a mother, a grandmother, a father, a competitive boxer, a 12-year-old that’s really advanced. But we bring them all into one room with one mission: hard work and dedication,” he said. “Everybody comes in here to work, and they leave feeling better. Their life infinitely improves for the better. Boxing, to me, it’s a springboard for improving your life.”
Falcetti, through boxing, has notably improved one life. Andre Mendez, 17, used boxing at a young age to help control his emotions after his father died.
Mendez was driving by the club’s old location above Murdock’s on West First Street when he was 7 years old. He begged his mother to let him take a boxing class.
The first day Mendez walked into the gym, Falcetti looked at the club’s other owner, Derek Breitbeck, and said, “We’ve got our hands full.”
Falcetti knew Mendez’s parents — he grew up in the same neighborhood as Mendez’s father. But after a few weeks, Falcetti noticed Mendez was a “natural athlete,” and had paired up with Falcetti’s son, David, who were like “two peas in a pod.”
But there’s one day that vividly stands out in Falcetti’s mind. He noted that Mendez “routinely” showed up late to class. Even though Mendez was just 7 years old, Falcetti decided one day that it was going to be the day he would get on Mendez for being late.
“I remember the look he gave me and he just said, ‘I was visiting my dad, Coach.’ In that split second I had to think, and it was the anniversary of the tragic event. I just turned around, and remember saying, ‘Get back in line.’ He said, ‘Yes, Coach,’ and I walked away crying,” Falcetti said. “I remember driving home that night, saying, ‘This kid is special. And I will never turn my back on him."
At that point, Falcetti didn’t see Mendez as a gym member — the bond was bigger, and Mendez became family. He was always at Falcetti’s house as he grew up.
Ten years later, Mendez said Falcetti is like a second father to him.
“He’s like a son to me. Even now, when he gets me a Father’s Day card, it’s the greatest thing in the world — bar none,” Falcetti said.
Mendez has improved his boxing skills — he’s made it an “art form,” Falcetti mentioned — and will return to competition in late February at the Buffalo Golden Gloves. He’s the first one to compete since the gym relocated to its spot on East Bridge Street.
The last time Mendez fought in a national tournament was when he was 11 years old. “He’s grown. He’s faster and stronger,” Falcetti added.
But it’s not just about winning. Mendez said he likes being a role model for younger kids that might not have an avenue for a “traditional sport.”
“Some kids can’t play certain sports. Back in ninth grade, I got cut from the basketball team,” Mendez said. “I’m showing kids that you can’t get cut from boxing, really. You come, join a class, and have fun.”
Falcetti said OBC obviously trains its competition boxers to win. But win or lose, there’s a motto he uses: “You’re either going to win, or you’re going to learn.”
Different mantras are what Falcetti has posted on the walls around OBC. “Born 2 Be Great,” “Champions Don’t Quit,” “Work Hard! Dedication!,” “A Champion is someone who gets up when he can’t,” “be BETTER” are painted all around the main area.
Falcetti and Mendez both said their favorite motto is, “We’ve got work to do.”
“(Falcetti’s) always said that my whole life. … I like that one,” Mendez said.
More importantly than improving someone’s uppercut or jab, Falcetti said OBC is committed to “creating the next level of leaders.”
That leadership spans even to the youth classes that OBC hosts.
“Not just Andre, but my son David, my son Dominic. They will come in and take a leadership role in the gym,” Falcetti said. “We don’t allow age to define them. We teach them right. It’s not just boxing; it’s leadership.”
OBC has youth classes for kids ages 7-13. But there’s also a space for other kids that they can work on homework while a family member trains. That way, there’s “no barriers” for preventing people from training at the club.
Eventually, some of those younger kids go on to train with OBC themselves.
“We’ll have tutors here for the kids with their homework. We’re actually talking about adding in more classes and structured time here for tutors to be here, and we’ll advertise that so that people see it’s not just boxing,” Falcetti said. “Boxing plus education equals success. That’s how we look at it.”
And anyone and everyone is welcome for the adult classes at the gym.
Coaches start boxers out in an “intro to boxing” class, then they roll into the regular classes with everyone else.
OBC recognizes that competition boxing isn’t for everyone. Falcetti said the club has just 10 competition boxers.
“Competition boxing is not for everybody, and we don’t push it. It is second for us, maybe third. Coming into a positive place, that’s No. 1 for us. No. 2 is getting people to do things that they were able to do,” Falcetti said. “That combination is pretty impactful.
“We see value in all kids and all members,” he added. “Our goal is to make each and every one of them better, and to have that domino effect where they help somebody else.”
With the gym’s open arms, a class may have three or four different coaches for one class, not only to help with boxing technique but with just connecting with boxers.
Some of those boxers go on to become coaches themselves.
Falcetti noted Sherri Hare — one of the coaches at the gym — was once concerned at the beginning about the environment of the gym, assuming “it would be a macho environment” with the competition boxers.
“What I told her was, ‘If any one of these guys give you a hard time, they’ll be out that door and you’ll stay. I don’t play those games,’” Falcetti said. “She helps us create that same environment — we welcome people in and we’ve got work to do.”
Being more than a gym means the OBC is more like a family, Mendez said. And boxing changes lives, just like it did for Mendez.
“We put a lot of thought into every move that we’ve made, and that really is to just serve all people,” Falcetti said. “There’s no excuses, and no limitations. We’ll find a way.”
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