Boxer from Crystal Lake Club to Fight in Great Lakes Battle

Charity event at Great Lakes Naval Base will be used to raise money for military families.

Bobby DeCore, a welterweight from Crystal Lake’s Pugs Boxing Club, will be on the card Saturday afternoon at a show that’s being hyped as “The Battle at the Great Lakes.” DeCore is planning on giving it his all for the sailors, marines and civilians that will be watching the bouts outdoors at Ross Field. “I feel honored,” DeCore said. “They’re going to watch us fight.” DeCore, a 20-year-old tool and die maker, said two of his friends are serving in the Army. DeCore has been training every day this week with his coach and cornerman Tony Prignits at the School of Hard Knocks on Main Street in Crystal Lake. DeCore said he'll be fine-tuned, ready to trade punches. Prignits echoed DeCore's sentiments, saying DeCore sparred 20 rounds and looks …

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Viewfinder: Fighters, Guitars and Jane

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Hand Injury Forces Fighter Out of Golden Gloves

Coaches at Crystal Lake Gym talk a reluctant Bobby DeCore into calling it quits for this year's tournament.

Bobby DeCore, an amateur boxer from a Crystal Lake gym, announced he was pulling out of the Chicago Golden Gloves due to a hand injury. The resident of Bartlett, who works out at the School of Hard Knocks on Main Street in Crystal Lake, showed a lot of promise, said coaches Tony Prignits and Gary Dobry. “We thought this could be Bobby’s year,” Prignits, a native of London, said. “I was training really hard for this,” DeCore said. “I wanted to ignore the pain and keep with it, muscle it out. But then I listened to Tony. I figure it’s for the better. I was just a little bit down after I made the decision. Like Tony said, 'There is always next year.'” Last week DeCore said he still had trouble making a fist. DeCore, a tool and die maker at …

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Viewfinder: Wolves, War and Oz

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A Day in the Life of a Fighter

Spending a day with Bobby DeCore, who is training to fight in the Chicago Golden Gloves

Bobby DeCore, a boxer that trains at a gym in Crystal Lake, got up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. He usually has a grapefruit for breakfast, but today he has a protein bar. He’s trying to lose a few pounds so he can fight in the 141-pound weight class of the Chicago Golden Gloves boxing tournament. He arrives at a tool and die shop in Carol Stream and punches in at 5:56 a.m. Scott DeCore is grooming his son for the top job at DeCore Tool & Mfg. Inc., to take over after he retires. This morning Bobby is operating a computer-driven cutting machine. He’s also sharpening drill bits, a tedious chore. Bobby said his job is both physically and mentally exhausting.  Scott DeCore said he wants his son to learn every aspect of the business. But Scott …

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A Night With a Fighter

Bobby DeCore tunes up for the Chicago Golden Gloves.

Bobby DeCore was chewing on his mouthpiece. Even though he'd be fighting in the first bout of the evening, that still wasn't soon enough. "I hate waiting around," said DeCore, a 19-year-old tool and die maker from Bartlett. Tony Prignits, DeCore’s trainer, was out of town visiting relatives. But Prignits left DeCore in good hands. Edwyne Ford, a veteran boxing coach, would be in his corner. And so would Johnny Lira, who, back in his fighting days, was known as “The World-Class Pug.” Lira has ties to The School of Hard Knocks in Crystal Lake, where DeCore trains. Lira's niece also trains there. On this Friday evening, DeCore was fighting in the banquet hall of a swanky social club in downtown Chicago. This fight was no big deal, just a tune…

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