Boxers eye chance to fight on Battleship Massachusetts in August
Aaron Bernardo talks about the road to the Battleship Massachusetts along with additional boxing bouts this coming July in Fall River
Aaron Bernardo, a former victim of bullying, found confidence and purpose through boxing and now gives back to his community.Bernardo owns and operates Bernardo’s Boxing and Fitness gym, providing training to youth at little to no cost.He is hosting “Gates to the Trident Title,” an event featuring boxing matches, vendors, food trucks, and music performances.Bernardo has a background in public service, having worked as an EMS and correctional officer.
Growing up in Fall River, Aaron Bernardo experienced bullying like no other.
This led to a lack of confidence as well as high levels of anxiety for Bernardo. So, he turned his attention to the sport of boxing as a seventh grader. Soon those troubles eased up.
Now the Fall River native is gratefully giving back to his community.
“I started boxing back in 2006,” said Bernardo, who is the owner of Bernardo’s Boxing and Fitness gym. “I got picked on and had low confidence. When I started boxing, I learned how to protect myself and carried myself the right way. (Boxing) did everything for me and formed me into the man I am today.”
Bernardo and his wife of eight years, Samantha, recently purchased the building on 403 Anawan Street — formerly known as the old CYO historic structure — earlier this month. He had been leasing the abandoning property since 2023.
The Bernardos bought the building, intending to keep boxing and other sports well and alive. Now he also runs Bernardo’s charitable foundation, training the city’s youth for little to no cost (100 kids free). He has 94 New England state champions under his banner, 70 youth members and trains men along with women as old as 60.
“In two years, our program has grown so much,” Bernardo said. ” I love that I can give back to kids here. There’s a lot of kids suffering out there. Here I talked to these kids and they tell me their problems. I have so much confidence in them. When they are here with me, nothing else matters. All that matters now is how tired they are finishing that round.”
Gates to the Trident title
Bernardo is putting together an epic show on Aug. 2, located at the Gate Ponta Delgada Boulevard in Fall River. The eight-hour event, called the ‘Gates to the Trident Title’, which is sponsored by one of main sponsors Trident Environmental group LLC, starts at 3 p.m.
There will be between 20 and 30 small-business vendors and food trucks with activities for children. There will be music performances by several artists including Fall River’s own — local rapper Ya Boi Loco, who will perform prior to the main boxing event.
Then at 6 p.m., 20 fights will start, featuring an Olympic style amateur championship boxing with boxers ranging from 8 to almost 40 years old. The winners will be awarded a belt with the Portuguese flag on it.
“It’s going to be a pretty amazing day,” Bernardo said.
Tickets range from $60 dollars VIP seats to $30 general admission. For more information, visit this link.
Public servant
Bernardo, 30, started coaching 2014 and started his own team, ‘Punishment Striking Systems’, in 2017. Then in 2019, he co-owned a gym called Pro Fitness and MMA.
When COVID first hit, the gym shut down and Bernardo trained people in his basement before opened his first commercial gym, Punishment Striking Systems, in 2020 that had 2 locations in Swansea.
Since graduating from Diman Regional in 2012, boxing wasn’t the only thing on the card for Bernardo. He also turned his focus on being a public servant.
After high school, he worked as an EMS before becoming a correctional officer in Dartmouth. He also worked some constable work and private security duties.
“That’s what I learned how to do,” Bernardo said. “I wanted to help people more. Public servant, public safety and boxing. That’s my whole life. I love boxing at the end of the day. I know that’s what I’m put on this earth to do. I know what I’m doing and my mission with these kids.”
Bernardo resides with his wife Samantha, who is a administrator at the gym, and their four children Lana 7, Merric 6, Lawton 3 and Mae 2 in Swansea.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @Chezsports