Atlantic City Press, Sunday, February 28th, 2010 - Bobby McCarthy is the epitome of a polite, soft-spoken but well-spoken, 16-year-old high school student. Inside a boxing ring, however, the Lacey (New Jersey) Township High School sophomore is not so polite. "He's nasty in there," said Shawn Darling, 39, McCarthy's trainer and owner of Forked River's Gladiator Gym. "He takes control of fights, constantly pressing forward, throwing tons of punches with all bad intentions. He is not your pretty Muhammad Ali type of boxer. There are not many grown men in this state who can even spar with him. He has been beating up grown men for two years now. He's very aggressive." That aggression is paying off. The fighter recently became the 2010 National Silver Glove Super Heavyweight Champion after beating four of the top teen fighters in the country, including a second-round knockout finale that made him the top-ranked 16-year old super heavyweight in the country. McCarthy, who lives with his parents, Ed and Debby McCarthy, in Forked River, New Jersey, began boxing 3 and a half years ago. When he came to Darling's gym, he was much smaller, younger and quieter. Now he is an intimidating 6-foot-2" and 250 pounds, and "is solid as a rock," said Darling, who has brought in former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion and Atlantic City native Bruce Seldon to spar with McCarthy. The Silver Glove championship will help McCarthy's confidence as he aims to make the 2012 Summer Olympics team. He will move into the men's division in the fall for various Olympic trials qualifying tournaments that will run through spring 2011. If he wins one of the five tournaments, he will go to the Olympic trials, which will be held in August 2011. "I have been watching the Winter Olympics, and what I like about it is that it's not just about how the individuals perform, but it's about the whole team and the medal count. It's one big family. I want to be part of that," said McCarthy, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, who credits Darling for his success as a boxer. "I love boxing because I can express myself with it. No other sport gave me that. Every time I see a heavyweight or someone in my weight class, I want to fight him. I want to get the belt or whatever. I want to do what no one else can." McCarthy, who is known as "The Bull," hits the gym six days a week, and would not even take a week off after his coach advised him to do so upon winning the Silver Glove. "I know if I am taking a day off, my next competitor is not taking the day off," said McCarthy, who would like to be a professional boxer. "I want to get in as many hours as I can. When I won the Silver Glove, I thought my heart was going to explode. I worked so hard and so long to get there. I just wanted to have the opportunity, to control my own destiny. I was so happy when I won, I felt like crying. But I didn't want to show that to anyone." The End Postscript: This kid is a wrecking-ball of a puncher. I have seen him sparring and even though it is very early to tell for sure I think he will go far. His style is suited to professional boxing even more so than amatuer. He is already 6'2 and 250 and has no baby fat. He is a dilligent trainer.
