Reverend Sheldon Stoudemire is on a mission: To create young champions inside and outside the boxing ring.

“There was a concern with the young people and we wanted to help young people use their God-given talents to the best of their ability,” said Stoudemire, a former amateur and professional boxer who hails from Swissvale.

Stoudemire became interested in the sport of boxing after being picked on as a child. He competed as both a professional and non-professional boxer from 1978-1992, winning local and national titles including the Golden Gloves six times, the Silver Gloves and the European boxing championship in the late 1980s.

He left the ring undefeated to answer a higher calling—a call to serve the Lord.

 “The Lord was pulling at me and I knew I wanted to serve the Lord,” Stoudemire said. After serving in the Army, he began taking Bible courses at Geneva College.

Stoudemire is using his 30-plus years as a fighter to help Clairton’s young people deal with daily pressures by opening the Clairton Boxing Club.

Located at 623 Large Ave., the gym opened last June and boasts a roster of approximately 75 fighters who range in age from 11 to their early 20’s. The reverend estimates about a dozen kids practice at the Clairton boxing club on a daily basis.

Since its creation, the club has trained 16 Golden Glove fighters, two of whom have been nationally ranked, including 14-year-old Arlo Geletko.

Geletko won the 132-pound Golden Glove Championship. He is considered the best 14 year old in the 132-pound Junior Division in the country.

“Kids come from as far as Turtle Creek, Greenfield, Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills and the Hill District to train with us,” Stoudemire said proudly. “We’ve exceeded our goals.”

The boxing club was the dream of John Hodish. Hodish serves as a coach and assistant manager. He has been involved in the sport for 42 years,

“When a prospect enters the doors of the Clairton Boxing Club, that individual will be told that the nonsense stays out in the street and the work will begin immediately,” said Hodish on the Clairton Boxing Club’s website.

TAKING THEM OFF THE STREETS—Reverend Sheldon Stoudemire works with his prize student, 21-year-old Tika Hemingway.

Other coaches include Philly Turner and Tristan Geletko.

The pastor left Pittsburgh’s North Side where he worked as a youth minister to do a different kind of ministering in Clairton in 2005.

“The transition from the North Side to Clairton was like day and night, but I like Clairton and I’m here on a mission. One of my goals is to have more outreach. The Clairton Boxing Club has a lot of potential and there are people who have the ability to put Clairton on the map,” Stoudemire said. “I truly believe that.”

One of the fighters to watch out for is 21-year-old, 185-pound Hill District resident and two-time National Champion, Tika Hemingway. She has been boxing for four years under Stoudemire’s direction. She has been practicing at the Clairton Boxing Club for about nine months.

“I like the fact that you’re in charge of yourself and that boxing is a one-on-one sport,” Hemingway said. “I like the coaches at the boxing club because they are hard on you and that makes you a better fighter.

“The coaches also care about you and they make sure you do well inside and outside the ring. To me, it’s the best boxing club in the world,” said Hemingway, a Head Start teacher at the Hill House.

Hemingway scored a gold medal in the Pan Am Games and a silver medal in the Goodwill Games. She will compete in the Women’s Golden Glove Tournament later this month.

At the boxing club kids are taught the fundamentals of the sport as well as discipline. They also jump rope, do sit-ups and participate in recreational sparring.

The Clairton Boxing Club is free, but a $35 fee applies if a fighter wishes to compete in matches.

“My ministry is about street and outreach and bringing kids into the Clairton Boxing Club. That’s my thing for the next five years,” Stoudemire said.

(The club is open Mondays-Fridays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Weekend hours vary. For more information, visit www.clairtonboxingclub.com To contact Sheldon Stoudemire, call 412-758-8217.)