{"id":508656,"date":"2026-02-28T01:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T01:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508656\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T01:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T01:03:09","slug":"gainesville-boxing-coach-headed-to-2028-olympics-as-team-usa-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508656\/","title":{"rendered":"Gainesville boxing coach headed to 2028 Olympics as Team USA coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) \u2014 Lee Gladden has spent 52 years in and out of the boxing ring. Now, the owner of Gladden Boxing Club<\/a> says he is returning to the Olympics \u2014 this time as a coach for Team USA at the 2028 Games.<\/p>\n

Gladden said he received the call after competing on national and international stages, including helping coach 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medalist Omari Jones.<\/p>\n

Gladden, a New Jersey native, said his introduction to boxing came through watching ABC\u2019s Wide World of Sports, where Sugar Ray Leonard became his inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was mesmerized. I felt like I wanted to be there somehow through life. It led me to it,\u201d Gladden said.<\/p>\n

Before opening his club, Gladden enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after watching a Marine compete in the Olympics. He went on to compete for the Marine Corps boxing team, which led to a spot as an alternate for Team USA at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin four years, I had 125 fights. So, I was burnt out. I was boxing with Team USA with this hand, and on the other hand, I was boxing with the Marine Corps, so it was fight after fight,\u201d Gladden said.<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, after seeing the success of the University of Florida Men\u2019s Basketball and Football programs, Gladden moved to Gainesville and opened the Gladden Boxing Club. He coaches discipline and technique to people ranging in age from 7 to 72.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the little kid that didn\u2019t have much. I didn\u2019t have much money. I didn\u2019t have a whole lot of things, and I decided I wanted to give back to little me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gladden said his goal was to fill a gap in the region\u2019s athletic landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to extend my reach into the boxing area because it\u2019s something that Gainesville and Florida didn\u2019t have in general,\u201d Gladden said.<\/p>\n

Among his athletes is Jordan Bennett, 25, a Marine Staff Sergeant on active duty and a full-time University of Florida student.<\/p>\n

\u201cHard times create tough people, and we get tough together. So, it\u2019s a lot of fun,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Bennett said the accountability and structure Gladden provides keep him coming back to the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to utilize that aggression while also staying focused, maintaining my energy in the ring,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Gladden is scheduled to travel to Colorado next week to help train coaches for the 2028 Games and develop the game plan for Team USA. He said he will also be coaching international coaches during that trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hold only one of the distinctions of being only one of the people who has fought for my country and have fought for my country,\u201d Gladden said.<\/p>\n

He said the opportunity to coach at the Olympics is meaningful, but that he already experiences a version of that reward daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s more of a gold medal than an actual physical gold medal in the Olympics. When I see these kids beating the odds, defying all the things that, the negative influence that has come their way,\u201d Gladden said.<\/p>\n

Gladden is also looking for sponsorships or community partners to help fund the training and other expenses, including competitions. <\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to subscribe to our newsletter.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WCJB. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) \u2014 Lee Gladden has spent 52 years in and out of the boxing ring. Now,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,255127,255131,255129,255130,85,255128],"class_list":["post-508656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-gainesville-boxing-club","tag-gladden-boxing-club-gainesville","tag-lee-gladden-boxing","tag-omari-jones-paris-olympics","tag-sports","tag-team-usa-boxing-coach-2028-olympics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}