On June 21, 2015 Gleason's Gym celebrates the influence boxing has on Italians and Italian-Americans from the 1900s to today. It was in 1937 that Peter Robert Gagliardi decided to open up a boxing gym that would later create history. Because he lived in a predominantly Irish area of New York, Gagliardi changed his name to Bobby Gleason to gain more credibility.

Gleason's Gym opened and soon became one of the most famous boxing gym in the world, producing a total of 134 World Champions and two Olympic Gold Medal winners. Famous boxers like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson have both trained at Gleason's. Although the gym originated in the Bronx, it's moved to Manhattan and is now found in Brooklyn.

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Source: http://italianacademyfoundation.org/