Willowbrook senior fights his way to a Chicago Golden Gloves win

Willowbrook senior Joey Ryan follows the no fighting rule inside school walls – but outside of school is a different story. Ryan is a competitive boxer, whose future is looking bright in the boxing world.

Ryan began boxing at 13 years old, following a long line of boxers in the Ryan family. His grandfather, Jim, won the Chicago Golden Gloves competition, and his uncles and father, John, were all champion amateur boxers as well.

Since Ryan began boxing, he has had 25 fights. He won the Chicago Park District Championship at 15 years old and the Junior Olympics tournament at 16 years old.

In April, Ryan competed in the Chicago Golden Gloves competition (known as one of the great traditions in boxing) and was one of the youngest fighters in the tournament. After three preliminary fights, Ryan made it to the championship. He won by unanimous decision and was named the 140-pound Chicago Golden Gloves Champion.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of my son,” John said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment to win the Golden Gloves at the age of 17. It’s nice to see my son’s hard work, self-motivation and dedication during the past two years have paid off. I can’t wait to see what’s next for him.”

Ryan’s most recent fight was at St. Alexander School’s fundraiser, Fight Knight. He won by unanimous decision. His overall record to date is 22 wins and 3 losses.

Ryan plans to attend College of DuPage while he continues training for local and national tournaments.