Late Boxer to Be Memorialized Saturday

The will be memorializing a local sports legend this Saturday when it dedicates its boxing room to the late Joseph Rossi Jr.

The organization is hosting the 60th Annual Golden Gloves Boxing Show at 6 p.m. on April 14, and part of the event will be a dedication ceremony of the room that Rossi trained in for decades.

The ceremony is being sponsored by the YMCA in conjunction with state Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury.

Rossi, who died in 2010 at the age of 92, was a Golden Glove Award recipient, and a 2007 inductee into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame, according to his obituary provided by Buckmiller Brothers Funeral Home.

A veteran of World War II, Rossi competed at both the semiprofessional and professional levels and was the 41st Infantry Division champion boxer for General George Patton.

But, as noted by YMCA Assistant Executive Director Denise Sullivan, Rossi got his start in Naugatuck, in the very room at the YMCA that will be named in his honor.

“That was Joe Rossi central,” Sullivan said. “He was here every day, Monday-thru-Friday, for probably 40 years.”

Rossi established the Rossi Boxing Club at the YMCA, and could be seen training and mentoring others up until a few months prior to his death, his obituary noted.

Apart from the dedication, the new room will also included $6,500 in new equipment, which Hartley’s office secured for the YMCA, Sullivan said. She said this includes new headgear, gloves a ring and punching bags.

The YMCA is located at 284 Church St. in downtown Naugatuck.

Editor's Note: We previously incorrectly referred to Denise Sullivan as Denise Miller. This has since been corrected.