Trending
WHEELING -- The Bull Pen Fight Club has been around for nearly 20 years. Located in the basement of the Nelson Jordan Center, the BPFC has enjoyed plenty of success with the likes of Mike "The Raging Bull" Napple; Travis "The Terror" Clark and Ronell "The Green Machine" Green.
However, last Friday night inside a standing-room-only ballroom at Wheeling Island Race Track, Hotel and Casino, the Bull Pen Fight Club showed a glimpse of what the future looks like at the East Wheeling training center by going 5-for-5 in the ring during Jim Frio Promotions debut of Revolution Championship Boxing.
"The guys did a great job … outstanding," Napple, who started the BPFC, expressed. "I really can't say how proud I am of all the guys. They are in here training every night of the week. They work hard to improve each night.
"I'm very thankful for Mr. Frio, Tommy Wilson and Revolution Championship Boxing for giving us the opportunity to showcase these guys locally," Napple continued. "It's nice to have a promoter that really wants to get behind the local guys and promote us. That's a big help to us and I think we showed our worth."
Napple said there can be between 15 and 30 guys in the gym at any given time.
"We have guys doing Ju-Jitzu on certain nights and we have guys that box a couple nights of the week," he said. "There are other guys that come in and lift weights or hit the bags to keep their training up."
In addition, children ages 5-12 can take classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m.
"We match them up according to their skills," Napple explained. "We'll work with them and move them along accordingly."
As for last week, Napple praised the work of Jacobsburg's Alex Quinn, Cameron's Hunter Haines, Bridgeport's Josh Baker and Wheeling's Eric Bledsoe.
"I'm very proud of all four of those guys," he said. "All four of them had outstanding performances."
All four of them also brought huge followings, which was also praised by Napple.
"They brought a lot of fans and they all put on a show for those fans. It was a great night."
Bellaire's Josh Fisher had his fight canceled at the last moment when his opponent suffered an injury during training.
"Josh has been doing well for himself," Napple said. "He's recently got a couple of wins under his belt to get himself back in contention for a W.Va. state title shot."
According to Napple, Fisher will fight on an Aug. 27 card at The Meadows in Washington, Pa.
"He's fighting an undefeated guy from Toledo that he lost to as an amateur," Napple advised. "This will be a big test for him."
Bledsoe will be competing in a King of the Cage event in Washington, Pa., in October.
With all those fighters in the BPFC, success wouldn't be possible without several assistant coaches, and Napple is well aware of that.
"I can't thank these guys enough. Obviously, I can't coach 30 guys at once, so these guys are the ones that primarily work with the younger guys and develop them to eventually work with me."
The assistants include Ron Green, Sr.; Justin Hastings; Steve Thompson and John "The Rooster" Wright.