By Marc Raimondi
Success in the boxing ring came quickly and easily for Will Rosinsky. He started late — his first amateur fight was a day before his 18th birthday — but he was a natural. He’s won a U.S. national championship since then and is the only 178-pound fighter in history to win four consecutive Golden Gloves titles.
But don’t let all the accolades fool you. Committing to the fight game for the long term wasn’t an easy decision for the Richmond Hill native to make. That was never more apparent than last year. Rosinsky lost early in the national championships, where a win would have qualified him for the Olympics Trials. It was an off night against a lackluster opponent. But, he thought, what if I have an off night as a professional? The consequences might not be as light as some disappointment and regret.
It was something he needed to think about, so he took a few months off from training — the most time he’s spent away from the gym since he started fighting. With a promising future as a teacher and a coach ahead of the Queens College student, did he really want to continue with boxing?
“I was kind of weighing it out,” Rosinsky said in a phone interview Monday. “Do I want to get hit in the head for a living?”
The decision was made for him. He couldn’t keep himself away. He was in this for the long haul.
“I couldn’t stop it,” Rosinsky said. “It became like an addiction.”
If boxing is Will Rosinsky’s addiction, Wednesday night will be his ultimate high. After winning his fourth straight Golden Gloves in April, Rosinsky will make his professional boxing debut when he fights Valentine Fontanelly at B.B. King’s in Times Square. Also fighting on the card will be Bayside native Vinny Maddalone and Maspeth resident James Moore.
It’s the beginning of a hectic stretch for the Archbishop Molloy HS graduate. He’s still working toward his degree at Queens and, starting in the fall, he will be a student teacher at St. Francis Prep HS and PS 207 in Howard Beach. Somehow in between taking classes and teaching them, he’ll have to juggle the intense training of a pro boxer.
“It’s probably gonna be the craziest four months of my life,” Rosinsky said.
But right now he’s focused on his first professional fight. Rosinsky has sold more than 200 tickets to friends and family and the 42nd Street club only holds about 500. He’s shown an uncanny knack for marketing already. His “Got Will Power?” shirts have been a staple of the last four Golden Gloves events at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s gonna be crazy, man,” Rosinsky said. “The way I envision it is when I come out everyone, is gonna stand up and go nuts…It gets contagious, too. The other 300 people will catch on. They’ll be like, ‘Who is this kid?’”
He hopes people won’t have to ask that question anymore. It’s every boxer’s dream to become a household name. That’s where finding the right promoter comes in. The card at B.B. King’s is being run by Lou DiBella’s DiBella Entertainment company, but Rosinsky hasn’t signed with any promoter yet. DiBella and Irish Ropes, the company that promotes Middle Village resident John Duddy, are certainly suitors.
“I want a promoter to move me slow, but not too slow,” Rosinsky said. “The pro game is a different game. I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’ve been told…When the time is right, they can start pushing me to a title fight.”
He has no delusions of grandeur, though. Rosinsky said he’s not looking for millions. He still has a career to fall back on if boxing doesn’t work out. That’s why he was so adamant about sticking with school despite all the boxing success.
“I do it because I love it,” Rosinsky said. “I do it because I want to. Not because I have to.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
