By Simone Boyd
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Germaine “Thunder” Robinson – known as “ma” to many – stood bundled up in front of her gym, Uppercut Boxing Gym of Maryland located in 4400 block of Park Heights in Baltimore.
Despite being wrapped up in scarves, gloves, a jacket and hat, there was just enough room left to see her warm face as she reached in for a hug and introduced herself.
Though small in stature, her presence demands respect and it is evident in the way she carries herself. As she settled into her favorite chair that lies alongside the boxing ring, she unzipped her jacket revealing a shirt that promotes her anti-bullying and violence movement, “Gloves up, Guns down.”
Out of the small number of gyms in the Baltimore area, Robinson is one of only a few women to call one her own.
Born in Fells Point and raised in East Baltimore, Germaine Robinson found her strength in boxing through the church. The basement in St. Augustine English Lutheran Church on South Broadway held a recreation room where young boys would participate in boxing.
Despite not being allowed to participate because she was a girl, Robinson began her love for the sport.
“I loved the art of it,” she said. “It’s like a dance. Just like being a dancer it takes a specific set of skills and dedication to be a boxer.”
Robinson faced immense challenges when trying to get involved in the boxing scene. She dealt with opposition and lack of support due to her being a woman.
“It was difficult in the beginning to get people to understand how serious I was about boxing.” she said. As her love for the sport grew, so too did her desire to create a space of her own for young people of the community to get off the streets and get into a ring.
The Park Heights neighborhood has struggled with several challenges over the years. According to Baltimore City Health Department, there is a 6 percent homicide rate and a 48.9 percent youth morality rate.
“Kids need a place to go,” Robinson said. “They need a place to vent – especially with all this crime and killing they need a safe haven and boxing is it. Uppercut Gym means to me saving lives. That’s the goal, to get the kids and adults off the street and to get families involved. It’s been difficult but that’s the goal to rescue the kids from the streets.”
Robinson’s family and other people had suggested that she start her business in the county rather than the city.
“‘You’ll be safer in the county,’ they said,” says Robinson. “I’m from the city. The guys out there respect me and what it is I do. I try to invite them in to settle little beefs and everything because I try to council everybody I can’t help it.”
The Park Heights Avenue gym was a former Mattress Warehouse that had been stripped bare as it went out of business. Today the location is filled with workout equipment, a professional sized ring, a small kitchenette, and women and men’s bathrooms. But with no heat or air conditioning the winter months will be harsh.
“We aren’t getting any funds. This is all me,” Robinson said.
From Park Heights to City Hall, Robinson says she has asked for funds but has not received any help from the city.
Robinson’s head coach Leon “The Truth” Wallace echoes her sentiments. “We need help because a lot of parents can’t afford this,” he said. “We’ve been doing this for a while and it’s been tough getting donations and people to help.”
On a tight schedule himself Coach Wallace starts his day at 4 a.m. and ends it at 8 p.m. after working in the gym for little to no compensation. He continues to want to be a part of Robinson’s legacy because he believes in her and her vision.
Boxer Antonio Hall, 23, expressed his admiration and appreciation for Robinson.
“I appreciate her a lot,” Hall said. “She helps me further than boxing. She helps me as far as life. She took me in the first day I came and she saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.”
Robinson’s reach goes far beyond the walls of the gym. On a day-to-day basis she is positively impacting the lives of the young men she works with.
Michael “The Tiger” Davenport, 36, recalled his first encounter with Robinson as a challenge. He had randomly stumbled across the gym about a year and a half ago. Davenport recalls being impressed that the gym was owned by a woman and accepting her challenge to return.
“She loves the kids. Everything she does is for the kids,” he said. “I find myself getting wrapped up in that as well. You really want to help her because it’s infectious. I talk to her everyday whether I go to the gym or not and I’m just trying to help her as much as I can.”
Robinson says she has never really given her legacy much thought.
“My real hope is that I may be the first African American woman to own a boxing gym,” Robinson said. “I always say the first because I’m looking for everyone to come and do better. I want women to see I can be up there with my guys and be the only woman. We [women] have no limitations.”
“Teaching you how to box doesn’t mean you go out and fight,” Robinson continued. “This is an art that you’re learning. I’m teaching you to be disciplined with yourself.”
Robinson will be debuting her first amateur boxing match at the Langston Hughes Community Business and Resource center on Jan. 11, 2020. The match weigh-in will begin around 2 p.m. and the first bout will begin at 5:30 p.m.
You can find all contact information on their website https://uppercutboxinggymofmd.com/.