Nick's story

From the gutter to the gym

This is the incredible story of how Nick Delury, owner of Westchester Boxing Club took up the noble sport of boxing and turned his life around and became the successful business man and entrepreneur he is today and turned his boxing gym into the place it is today. This shows what someone can accomplish if they are disciplined, diligent and committed.

Many years ago on his way to pick up his breakfast of beer and cigarettes, Nick Delury collapsed in a gutter in White Plains. He was homeless, unemployed, dependent on drugs and alcohol and constantly in trouble with law enforcement authorities. Today, Delury is a healthy, sober and successful business owner. He is the proprietor of The Westchester Boxing Club - independently owned boxing gym in White Plains.

Delury credits his commitment to boxing and friends like former champion Kid Sharkey, with helping him turn around his life. “I had a nervous breakdown that day when I was sitting in the gutter, but I looked up and saw The Cage and decided to go in.“ he said “The Cage” a former city and state funded boxing program in White Plains, was where Delury met Sposato, 81 and retired boxer Kenny Mack Sr. “Kenny and I talked for hours, then made a pact to quit drugs and alcohol together.

“ Delury recalled. “It was a pact for life.” Boxing soon replaced the need for substance abuse, and Delury was able to hold down a job. “I guess it was I’ve basically been on my own since I was 14. My mother was a drug addict and took off soon after my father was killed. This prompted him to open Westchester Boxing Club. “That was the best program in the teen center and I was angry that they closed it down. I’m alive because of that program.” To find the enterprise, he worked at a gasoline station during the week from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., then opened his gym from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, long hours soon took their toll, and Delury had another nervous breakdown. He quit his night job and began working with local sports clubs as a boxing and aerobics instructor.

Believing he couldn’t secure a bank loan, Delury continued using his own money to fund Westchester Boxing Club. “I just did what I had to do to keep it going. There were a lot of times I couldn’t eat.” Initially, Delury funneled almost every penny of profit back into the business, allowing him to purchase weight training equipment and a regulation size boxing ring. When Mack died, Delury nearly had a setback. “I felt like just going out and getting drunk, but I remembered that we made that pact for life and I was still alive. “ Lacking any formal business training, Delury made plans to expand Westchester Boxing Club, which began to grow in popularity among a very diverse crowd. “We have construction workers, college students, teachers, bankers and a lot of women.”.

“Boxing is the best thing for cardiovascular training and muscle toning. It’s an intense workout because every part of the body is moving.” Said Delury. According to the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, CA, many health clubs offer classes in non-contact boxing. “I think people are ready for something new, and this is more challenging,” said Holli Spicer, director of professional development. Spicer, who has taught step classes for nine years, said boxing also demonstrates self-defense moves. “If you’re watching a class and it may not look like you’re getting a hard workout, but when you’re doing it, you can feel it. The fast punches really get your heart rate up.” Spicer said that they’ve also worked with Thomas “The Promise” Trebotich, a former boxer who is developing “Boxerobics” classes nationwide.

Sposato, who once fought Sugar Ray Robinson to a draw, doesn’t let his age get in the way of his job as head trainer. Besides, he said, he has too much energy to retire. “It’s something I never get tired of.” A boxer since 1932, Sposato said his ringside name of “Kid Sharkey” was a spinoff of Tom Sharkey, “a boxer in the old days.” Though he may walk a little slower these days, Sposato can still climb into the ring and demonstrate the punching bag and speed bag. Over the years he has worked with Carl “The Truth” Williams, Larry Holmes, Buster Davis, Cleo Daniels, Jose Torres and Lou Savarese. Sposato’s picture in the boxing heydays now graces the walls of Westchester Boxing Club, along with those of “Boom Boom Lenny Mancini, Jerry Quarry, Muhammad Ali among others.

Delury said he feels lucky to have Sposato with him. He also makes a point of involving himself in local charitable efforts to benefit children. Working with Children’s Village in Dobb’s Ferry, Delury often organizes bus trips to boxing events and offers disadvantaged youths a chance to learn boxing, in exchange for helping out the gym. The Cage gave me life and now it’s time for me to give something back.”