Exhibits

BUILT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Italian American Boxers of Northeast Ohio

(OPENING MARCH  19, 2026)

For many Italian American men in the early and mid-twentieth century, boxing offered more than sport. When daily life often meant physically demanding work with limited prospects for advancement, the ring provided a rare opportunity to distinguish themselves. Success earned recognition and respect, bringing pride not only to the fighter but to the families and neighborhoods that supported him.

In Northeast Ohio, boxing took on a distinctly local character. Neighborhood gyms and community institutions, like the Alta House in Cleveland’s Little Italy, served as training grounds where young Italian American men learned the craft, tested their limits, and earned recognition. Italians have a word for this determination: la grinta, which describes an inner toughness rooted in persistence and resolve. In Northeast Ohio, it produced “Cleveland tough” fighters grounded in a blue-collar culture shaped by industry, labor, and neighborhood life. From these spaces emerged both nationally recognized champions and lesser-known boxers who became figures of pride close to home.

Built in the Neighborhood traces boxing’s importance within Italian American communities, highlighting the men who trained, fought, and succeeded here, as well as the places where they trained. Their achievements in the ring mattered not only as personal victories, but as shared triumphs for the communities that shaped them.

[Photograph, ca. 1950:  Joey Maxim (Giuseppe Berardinelli) from Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood instructing kids on the art of boxing.  He was the 1950 World Light Heavyweight Champion.]