![]() ![]() Sottile is well aware of the notoriously drug-fueled culture that often is associated with bodybuilding and is a strong critic of it. "And he had used health and fitness to combat and surmount personal inequities in his life that he was trying to make right. "I could tell in his voice he was a sensitive person," Sottile says. “It’s a manly sport.He knew he found one when he talked with Ciraulo on the phone for the first time. It was fascinating to see UFC fights,” Seturidze said. and is supporting them as they work toward their goal. He said their New Hyde Park landlord, Boris Saralidze, whose brother Nikoloz coached them in Georgia, sponsored their immigration to the U.S. Seturidze said he and Dvalishvili aspire to compete as pros in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which they saw on television in their native Georgia. “They’re so young, there’s no rush to turn pro.”Ĭorleone, who has operated the Kayo Gym for the past seven years, has been a professional kick boxer since 1992 and a professional boxer since 1994. ![]() “I truly believe that they will be Golden Gloves champions next year,” he said. Corleone said he thinks Dvalishvili will become a Golden Gloves champ this year and predicted both will wear out their opponents next time around. Whatever happens next month, both men plan to compete in the Golden Gloves again next year. We’re fighting for our country,” Dvalishvili said. ![]() “When we enter the ring, we are not just fighting for us. The Georgian dynamic duo carries a strong sense of national pride into the ring with them. Seturidze, is grateful for the opportunity he had to compete, saying, “I want to thank God that I had a great coach. He knocked them out in one round,” said Corleone, who has nicknamed Seturidze “The Gorilla.” He knocked out his first opponent and the next two he faced, losing on a technical knockout in a quarter-final match, ending his run in the tournament. He said he fasted for four days, drinking a half-gallon of water a day and running five miles each night. 23 to making the 201 pound weight for his first heavyweight Golden Gloves match five days later. Seturidze made a remarkable transition from competing in a muay thai match at 225 pounds on Feb. On March 26, he will fight a semifinal match for a shot at a match that could make him a New York State champ.īeyond that, regional and national rounds of competition could await the man Corleone has nicknamed “The Tornado” for his furious fighting style. “What makes them such exceptional students is that whatever I tell them to do, they do,” said Corleone, who is both trainer and manager for them.ĭvalishvili, competing in the 141-pound junior welterweight class, has one technical knockout and three decisions to his credit thus far in the three-round novice class Golden Gloves tournament. Seturidze was a judo wrestler before migrating and his good friend Dvalishvili was a sambo wrestler.Ĭorleone said they lacked boxing skills and both proved to be very fast learners. “We were mixed martial arts guys and we wanted to learn stand-up boxing.” “We are a country of wrestling,” Seturidze said of Georgia. Seturidze had read an article about Corleone’s son in a mixed martial arts magazine, and the two men sought him out to train them to box. “The first couple of days I worked with them, I realized they were very conditioned athletes,” Corleone said. Seturidze, 20, and Dvalishvili, 22, had modest experience in mixed martial arts competition in their home country before meeting Michael Corleone, owner of Kayo Boxing in Garden City Park.Ĭorleone started training them at Kayo Boxing, which is located in Synergy Gym at 190 Broadway, last December for their first Golden Gloves matches in February. I’m close to the final destination and my confidence is growing stronger,” Dvalishvili said through Seturidze, who translated for him. Giorgi Seturidze and Merab Dvalishvili emigrated halfway around the world to New Hyde Park from their native Georgia one year ago with the dream of eventually competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Ī year later the two men have taken several large steps toward that goal with the aid of a Garden City Park boxing facility.ĭvalishvili is challenging for the New York State Golden Gloves championship as a junior welterweight and Seturidze won three matches before losing in the quarter-finals of the heavyweight division. ![]()
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