Leo Keglovic honored as Coach of the Year.
Leo Keglovic interest in boxing was reignited when his sons became interested in the sport and he became their trainer. Keglovic started his amateur boxing career in 1976 when he was trained by Frank Collica and Joe Polo at the Chuck Ross A.C. Keglovic wore a shirt with his motto, “No Excuses.” His philosophy was practice makes perfect, and he put in the time to be the best boxer that he could be. Keglovic’s amateur boxing career was from 1976 through 1977, and his amateur boxing record is 8 and 2. Keglovic returned to boxing in 1996 as a trainer when he started training his sons at the Pinzone Boxing Club in Parma.
When the late Chuck Pinzone retired in 2005, Keglovic took over the gym where he continued to train boxers until the gym closed. His sons, Matt and Leo Jr., became boxers under his tutelage. While training his sons, Leo Jr. and Matt competed in the Golden Gloves Tournament and won. Leo Jr. won the 147 pounds novice tournament in 1998; and Matt won the 147 pounds novice tournament in 1999.
Matt continued his boxing career, and he became a professional boxer in 2005. He had a short professional boxing career with a record of 1 win, 2 losses, and 1 draw. Keglovic coached Stipe Miocic, a former Golden Gloves champion, and ranked #3 in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also coached Jessica Eye who is ranked #5 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the bantamweight division. Continuing to train the next generation of boxers, Kleglovic is one of the trainers at the Old Angle Gym on Cleveland’s West side. Aside from training boxers, Keglovic has been employed for 29 years with Valley Ford Truck Sales as a truck parts specialist. He and his wife, Pat, have been married for 38 years. They have three sons, Leo Jr., Matt and Kevin, and a granddaughter, Isabella. Keglovic was inducted into the Ohio State Former Boxers and Association Inc., Hall of Fame in 2006.
Keglovic is being honored with the Clint Martin Coach of the Year Award. The award is named in honor of the late legendary trainer, Clint Martin, and Keglovic is the first to receive the award.