Amid heavy punching bags, speed bags and sparring rings, visitors to the Fineflock & Stumpf Golden Gloves Center on Liberty Street in Lancaster watch boys, girls and men push their limits and watch the pictures on the wall. You will see him living according to his mantra. Behind the gym: “If you want to box, train. If you want to win, practice more.”
With his intense training and victories, 19-year-old Manny Pentz will fight for the light heavyweight title tonight at the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves State Championships at the Drexelbrook Hotel and Events Center in Drexel Hill. Given the opportunity, they embody this slogan.
Pentz first appeared at the gym a little more than two years ago, when the gym's owner and coach, Barry Stumpf, was recovering from a severe leg injury suffered after being hit by a van. Stumpf, who coached Manny's father Ryan in the early 1990s, remembers getting a phone call while in the hospital telling him that the Pentz kid was in the gym and wasn't getting any younger.
Stumpf recalled young Manny running around throwing toys in people's faces.
Today, Manny towers over the rest with his chiseled 6-foot-4, 176-pound physique, and he now throws jabs and hooks.
Stumpf assistant coach Juan Vazquez saw the then-17-year-old Pentz in the shadow box and immediately took notice. Pentz remembers another trainer commenting on the power of the punch, saying, “You could hear me before you saw me.”
Upon returning to the gym after his hospitalization, Stumpf recognized Pentz's potential.
“He's very smart, able to adapt to his size, utilize his reach, take punches, and has great footwork,” Stumpf said.
Once in the ring, Pentz quickly made progress. Typically, boxers fight 10 bouts in the novice category, but Stumpf elevated Pentz to the open level after overwhelmingly winning his first five bouts. He still remembers the fifth game that “sealed the deal.”
Pentz was competing against a boxer nicknamed “The Gravedigger,” who was the open class champion in the Baltimore-Washington area. Before the game, the opponent performed a pantomime as if digging a grave for Pentz. Pentz simply turned to Stumpf, smiled and said, “Wait until the bell rings.” He then gained the upper hand and knocked down his opponent three times.
Stumpf recognizes what boxing can do for young people because it changed his life. As a young boy, when he was doing community service by throwing out trash cans, a boxing trainer named Milton Finefrock encouraged him to put on gloves.
About 10 years later, Stumpf, a 24-year-old in trouble, ran into Fineflock again and reminded him, “This is your community.”
Fineflock trained Stumpf as a boxing coach, and over the past 54 years, Stumpf has coached 13 national champions. He sees the same potential and work ethic in Pentz that the former champion showed.
Pentz, who graduated from McCaskey College in 2023 and attended the Lancaster County Career Technology Center, followed a strict diet, ran 30 to 35 miles a week, worked out at the gym five times a week, and worked on his mobility. He has carefully cultivated a strength training program that balances strength and power. .
“It (boxing) created a big 360 in my life,” Pentz said. “I never thought I was good at anything, but now I'm addicted to it. Every time I step in the ring I learn something about myself.”
The younger kids watch in awe as Pentz works out between their own workouts. At least six of them will be traveling this weekend, driven by “Team Mom” Becca Toomey, to cheer on their local heroes.
But Pentz said he enjoyed watching them train just as much, reflecting that it was “like watching a young child learn how to walk.”
Although Pentz considers himself a student of boxing history and studies many fighters to hone his technique, it is the MMA fighters who most inspire him and energize him. It was Conor McGregor. “Every battle is a blank canvas. You paint the picture.”
Tonight, the Pentz will work on their latest effort as they try to win the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves Championship.