- James Thorpe,
Boxing coach
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Cale Lamberti takes a break from training at the Academy of Mixed Marshal Arts in Bloomington. (Photo by Leslie Limbaugh / Staff Photographer) |
NORMAL- Cole Lamberti is a lot like any other 23 year old. He’s bright, energetic and has specific ideas about what he wants to do with his life. He likes video games, girls and occasionally likes to party. He cares about his family and friends and tries to support them any way that he can. In fact, probably the only thing that distinguishes Cole Lamberti from your average 23 year old is that he enjoys hitting people. And not only does he enjoy it, he’s really good at it.
“The feeling of hitting someone is something I like,” Lamberti said. “Especially if you hit ‘em and they drop. You get that feeling that ‘I’m a bad motherfucker.’”
Lamberti is an amateur boxer who trains at the Academy of Mixed Marshal Arts (AMMA) on the west side of Bloomington. He is committed to rigorous training in hopes of someday going pro. Though he enjoys the physical aspect, he’s really more interested in perfecting the craft.
“It’s not so much that I’m trying to hurt them,” Lamberti said, “but if I hit ‘em with a one- two-three combination, it’s that, I’m good at it.”
It’s another Wednesday night, and Lamberti is starting his usual workout routine at the AMMA. First the warm up and then some glove work on the heavy bag.
Lamberti is an imposing figure. He carries a certain weight to him, a pure physical presence that suggests an immovable object, but as a boxer, he is far from immovable. As he pummels the bag, his feet move in a delicate dance with his own weight. He squares himself, then shifts to the left and delivers a flurry of punches, inside, inside and then out with a violent blast.
Lamberti is a permanent fixture at the AMMA. He’s been training there on a daily basis for over three years. In that time, he has gotten to know everyone that frequents the facility including the owner Brandy Tuley.
“Cole is a great guy,” Tuley said. “He is a level-headed young man, hard working inside the gym and out. He really wants to make a career out of boxing.”
Though boxing is a sport that carries a certain macho stigma, Tuley says that has never been a problem for Lamberti.
“In this industry, we have a lot of testosterone,” Tuley said, “a lot of muscle heads, but Cole always keeps it real. He never forgets who he is.”
However, it hasn’t always been that way for Lamberti. In the beginning, Tuley remembers an angry young man.
“He just wanted to beat things up.” Tuley said. “It was definitely a stress reliever for him when he first started.”
Part of that anger came from Lamberti’s working class background that included his parents’ separation and his father becoming a paraplegic when Lamberti was just seven years old.
“This is his outlet for a lot of things,” Tuley said, “and he needs that outlet, but it’s definitely taken a different channel and moved in the right direction.”
Lamberti’s boxing coach, James Thorpe, would agree with that analogy.
“I think he grew up on the poor side of town,” Thorpe said. “But he’s pretty well grounded. The sport has kept him that way.”
As a boxer, Thorpe believes Lamberti has what it takes to become a professional.
“Cole's got potential,” Thorpe said. “He’s really good on his feet and that big right hand really carries a wallop. I think he can go about as far as he wants to go.”
The area that Thorpe thinks Lamberti could improve has nothing to do with his feet or his hands. It has to do with his head.
“Sometimes he thinks too hard,” Thorpe said. “He gets discouraged when he loses.”
Tuley thinks it’s a matter of building his confidence.
“I just think he doesn’t know how good he really is,” Tuley said. “He just hasn’t convinced himself that he is as good as everyone tells him he is.”
Lamberti recently competed in the Golden Gloves competition in Chicago where he reached the semi-finals before losing by points in a close match.
Thorpe thinks the loss was a matter of poor scoring on the judge’s part.
“If they would’ve scored it like they should,” Thorpe said, “then he would’ve won it. He had more clean hits.”
Lamberti thinks it may have been more about his weight class. Competing as a heavyweight, he was matched with opponents who where substantially taller, and in boxing, that usually produces an advantage. The loss has prompted Lamberti to consider dropping a few pounds in order to compete in a different weight class.
“I’m not a natural heavyweight,” he said. “I’m just not tall enough.”
As far as the loss, Thorpe thinks it’s part of the learning process.
“He takes a loss really bad,” Thorpe said. “But I told him, ‘it can happen, you learn something every time you lose.’”
John Clark, or Big John as he’s known at the AMMA, is Lamberti’s long-time friend and sparing partner. In Lamberti, Clark sees an emerging professional. “He’s a great amateur fighter,” Clark said.
“He’s got character, he’s open minded, he’s always learning and he’s very disciplined. He’s going to be ready soon to take that next step.”