Over the past few weeks three boxers, each at a different point in his professional career, have made some noise in the ring. While they vary in age and weight class, their deep Dorchester roots have tied them together under the training skills of Savin Hill native Jay Kelly, a former fighter. 

Boxing has allowed Marc Anthony Muniz, Anthony Hines, and Zachary Fenton to go places they never thought was possible. Now, with Kelly’s help, they hope to inspire the next generation of local kids to leave the streets for the ring.  

 “It definitely kept me out of the streets,” said Muniz. “I think boxing is great. I’d love to be a positive influence on the kids because I felt like it was good for me. It kept me from hanging out with the wrong people and it kept me in the gym, in shape, and made me think about my health.” 

Muniz’s boxing career began when Kelly and his father opened the Dorchester Boxing Club in Fields Corner. “I was just a kid in high school at the time, probably about 15 years old,” Muniz, now 27, told The Reporter. “I basically got into boxing at that age, and we did well. We started winning a bunch of fights and I won a big fight at TD Garden.”

Marc Anthony Muniz defeated Austin Reed in a first-round knockout and is now 5-0 in his professional career.

That fight in the arena off Legends Way in 2013 was Muniz’s sixth bout as an amateur. While he defeated fellow lightweight Luca Lo Conte Botis, soon after he took a break from the sport.

Said Kelly: “Marc fought when he was 15 to 17, and then life got in the way. He looked back and realized he should have been boxing and tried to pick up mission impossible and come back when he was 26.”

Two years ago, Muniz reunited with Kelly, put back on his gloves, and made his professional debut. Since then, he has trained hard and proven himself in the ring. Most recently, on Sept. 7, he fought against Austin Reed at IBEW Local 103 Freeport Hall in Dorchester. 

That “Saturday night was a really exciting night for me,” said Muniz, who fought at 140 pounds. “I trained for a real tough opponent; I was expecting it to be a much tougher night for me, but we trained hard.” That training included running around Savin Hill, his favorite area of Dorchester. He defeated Reed with a first-round knockout and is now 5-0 in his professional career.

“It was amazing,” Muniz said. “It was an unbelievable feeling not too many people get to experience. When the punches are flying, and you hear the crowd, it’s super exciting and fun.”

Anthony Hines defeated Diego V. Perez, in the first round on Sept. 7. Emily Harney photos

Fights these days, however, are about much more than just having fun. Muniz is no longer a high schooler with a hobby; he’s a fighter and the father of two. Kelly said he has noticed a shift in Muniz since he became a dad.

“He was way better prepared for this fight than any of his other fights since coming back,” said Kelly. “It definitely showed; he was a different beast in there.”

But the fighter, who’s currently working toward fighting six rounds at 135 pounds come Christmas time, is far from done. “I do plan on stepping it up,” said Muniz. “I fought at TD Garden before and hopefully one day I can sell the place out. I want to be a positive influence for the kids in the community and set a good example.”

For his part, Kelly is also making time these days for Anthony Hines and Zachary Fenton.

The 36-year-old Hines also fought on Sept. 7 at the IBEW Hall. Weighing in at 158 pounds, like Muniz, he took but one round to defeat his opponent, Diego V. Perez. Also, like Muniz, he got into boxing to stay out of trouble.

“I grew up in Fields Corner. It was tough, I was right in where they would call the bad part of Dorchester,” said Hines. “There were always drugs, violence, and robberies. Boxing took me away from all that.”

Since he first took a jab at the sport in high school, Hines has spent years working on and off with Kelly. The pair have traveled as far as Columbia and Mexico throughout his 20-plus-year career. 

During that time, he formed friendships with other fighters in the community including Muniz and Fenton. “We’ve all known each other because we’re all from Dorchester and then when the Dorchester Boxing Club opened up, we became a lot closer,” said Hines, who plans on fighting next in November. 

While he and Muniz have been in the professional world for a bit, Fenton made his debut earlier this summer, beating Moises Rivera on Aug. 23 with a second-round knockout at Royale Nightclub on Tremont Street. 

Fenton got hooked on the sport at a young age after attending the Golden Gloves with his aunt. “I’ve been boxing my whole life. I had a lot of amateur fights. I was good when I was younger,” he said. There were “a lot of ups and downs and trials and tribulations in my life but I finally got it together. I had my pro debut and I’m going to fight again on Feb. 8.”

He added, “The gym has helped me. If I’m in the gym, I’m out of trouble and doing the right thing. I’m just grinding and helping people and super focused.”

Fenton isn’t just a 29-year-old fighter these days. During Covid, he also became a trainer. He owns the Fenton Boxing Club gym in Southie and it’s there that he wants to help younger boxers achieve what he has. 

“The feeling when you get your hand raised after a tough fight, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s better than anything I can think of. It’s just all the hard work put in,” Fenton said. 

As he continues to work hard with younger boxers, he will simultaneously be working out in anticipation of his own fight this winter. 

“I’ll be training with Jay, and I’ll be in the best shape of my life and I’m going to destroy someone,” said Fenton, who plans on fighting ten pounds lighter. “We can do something good here, we can make a big local name and do something.”

The athletes and trainers have a lot of work to do in the next few months, but they wouldn’t want it any other way. Kelly and the three boxers encourage more kids in the community to enter the gym and strap up some boxing boots, too. If they hadn’t, they say, they’re not sure where they would be today.

 “I can’t imagine my own life had I not boxed,” said Kelly. “You go through the rest of your life with a different self-esteem and a different sense of self-worth.”