Bonilla heads list of boxers from Freeport PAL in LI tournament

It wasn't the best of fights for Jared Bonilla.

He gave some shots and he took some, including a hit in the second round that prompted the referee to give him a standing eight count.

Bonilla thought he took the fight, but the judges thought differently and awarded the win to his opponent, Raphael Acosta, in a three-round, junior Olympic, 130-pound final bout at the Long Island Amateur Boxing Championship tournament in Lawrence on Friday night.

Although disappointed, Bonilla, a junior at Kellenberg High School who started boxing only last summer, didn't offer any excuses. "I have to be able to go at it the whole fight," Bonilla said. "I tired out near the end and wasn't throwing as many punches as I should have."

Bonilla also had to deal with a case of nerves, something he said happens just before he steps into the ring.

"I get real anxious before a fight," Bonilla said. "And it takes a round to shake it off, usually."

Bonilla's trainer, Joe Higgins of the Freeport PAL, agreed and thinks a little more experience and conditioning will do the trick.

"He's a little green and it shows. It's only his third fight," Higgins said. "But you can see the potential. If he doesn't run out of gas in fights, he can be special."

Before joining the Freeport PAL boxing program, Bonilla was boxing in Hempstead. But Bonilla said the workout regimen wasn't as extensive as the one Higgins offers.

"We just put together a road workout for him and he's doing pretty well with it," Higgins said. "He's not quite conditioned with his legs yet, so it'll take five or six weeks before it really starts showing."

Most importantly, Higgins said, he wants his fighters to learn something new every time they step into the ring, win or lose. And he believes Bonilla has every intention to put in the necessary work.

"He didn't make any excuses. And that's what's important to me," Higgins said. "All we have to do is follow the plan to get that stamina and speed up and he'll be OK."

Bonilla is one of several young boxers under the tutelage of Higgins at the Freeport PAL who took part in Friday's tournament.

Patrick Day, who lost a close decision Thursday in the 165-pound open division, Konard Harris (152 novice) and Herve Duroseau (165 open) are among more than 60 fighters in Higgins' program.

Harris, in only his third fight, earned a victory over Westbury's Joseph Consiglio, and Duroseau took on Akil Frederick-Aguste of the Mendez Boxing Club in a late bout Friday.

"About a third of those kids compete," Higgins said. "Tournaments like this are just what we need to get our guys the right experience."