To win a Chicagoland Golden Gloves Championship is more than an honor for an amateur boxer. There is no cash prize – it’s simply a trophy or a belt – but for many boxers who grew up watching their parents or their grandparents compete in the annual competition, it’s about being a part of a long legacy of local boxing.

In 1923, Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward came up with the idea of a citywide amateur boxing tournament sponsored by the newspaper. Eventually, the New York Daily News caught on, and the city began holding its own tournaments. The winners of the local competitions would go on to battle each other at a national level. It remains the same today, only now there are cities all around the country that participate. Meaning that a national win is that much more of an honor.

Ted Gimza is co-director of the Golden Gloves Charity, which hosts the annual tournament and helps put boxers through college and donates boxing equipment to the Chicago Park District’s boxing program. He has been involved in the Golden Gloves organization for years, and has seen many a fighter go on to the national level.

He said before there was the Internet and video games and MTV, Chicago would see a thousand competitors come out each year. This year, about 300 people have signed up, which is up from recent years.

For him, it’s about creating an opportunity for many young kids to travel the country though boxing.

“What gets lost in the shuffle here is that this whole thing is not about someone going into a square thing and beating the hell out of somebody else,” he said. “It’s really about people learning discipline and respect.”

It’s the men and women who have never traveled outside of Illinois until they ...