By Sam Gregory: When legendary hall-of-fame trainer Angelo Dundee moved to the city of Oldsmar, Florida several years ago, he always made it a point to visit where it started for him in South Florida.
Those visits won’t be pure nostalgia for Dundee anymore as the 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach will reopen next month and Dundee will again play a role with the new facility.
The new gym will be located on the same corner as the original gym, 5th Street and Washington Avenue and will accommodate everyone from professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters training for upcoming bouts as well as men and women needing a place to work out.
When asked what he thought about the reopening of the famous gym Angelo Dundee said, “I think it’s wonderful because the original gym should not have been torn down…the 5th Street Gym is Miami Beach.”
89 year old Dundee is a partner in the new gym’s ownership group. Dundee’s brother Chris, who died 12 years ago, opened the original 5th Street Gym in 1950 when he began promoting big time boxing in Miami Beach.
Chris, who was known as the “Wizard of Oz” and brother Angelo, the “Prince of Oz” were the overseers of the gym in those days which quickly became a magnet for a wide range of international celebrities including Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Jackie Gleason, Malcolm X, The Beatles, Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra, Sylvester Stallone among many others who were drawn into the gym’s legendary mystique.
Boxing people all over the world sent their fighters to the 5th Street Gym to have their boxing skills honed by the “Wizard” and his brother the “Prince”. Countless world champions were produced in the legendary gym such as Carmen Basilio, Willie Pastrano and the most famous heavyweight of all time Muhammad Ali who in those days was still known as Cassius Clay.
The gym helped shape the history of Miami Beach
The 5th Street Gym grew to become a tourist attraction during the 40 years of its existence in Miami Beach. As time went on so the money moved north to higher class venues like the Fountain Bleu and Eden Roc. But it was the mystique of the magical gym that drew the tourists even in the old run down area of Miami and the names of legendary fighters that passed through the gym. Names like Ali, Basilio, Griffith, Archie Moore, Willie Pep, Sonny Liston and Roberto Duran; the list could go on forever.
“This new 5th Street Gym is like a monument to my brother.”
“Everybody knew my brother, Chris,” Angelo said. “If he were around today he’d be kicking all these other promoters to the ground. He was that great!”
The original 5th Street Gym was a Miami Beach landmark that seemed destined for the history books but was torn down in 1993.Chicago based businessman Tom Tsatas will head the new 5th Street Gym ownership group and is looking forward to reviving the Miami Beach landmark.
“We’ve been looking at different locations for a while now,” Tsatas said. “When this location opened up late last year everything just fell into place. It was like a final piece of a puzzle”.
“There is so much history and tradition with the 5th Street Gym. Although you can’t go back in time, you certainly can recognize the value of what the gym meant to the city.”
South Florida isn’t nearly as busy these days as it was in the 50’s and 60’s when Chris Dundee was promoting weekly Tuesday night cards at the Miami Beach Auditorium and Convention Center but there are still some aspiring young fighters who will be training at the new facility.
The public is invited to attend a preopening reception on September 25th and 26th. For information call 305-763-8110
Comments are closed.