Those Galena Park “Killer Bees” and Mr. Kenny Weldon

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I’ve always made it very clear that I consider Kenny Weldon one of the greatest boxing teachers of all time. Growing up, and even for most of my adulthood up until recently, Kenny had been such a big part of boxing in Houston and the Houston area, that I just somehow thought he would just always be there. I don’t think the news of his passing has sunk in and maybe a part of me will always feel he never left us due to the tremendous influence he’s had on boxing in the area and in general.  He was never my coach but I’ve always admired his ability to consistently develop boxers that have always been of the highest quality in terms of skill, knowledge and accomplishments.

I’m a person that believes in action and works over words and as a boxer, coach, clinician, and person, no one has achieved more than Kenny Weldon in the sport of boxing. The ironic thing about it though is that Kenny Weldon’s words, and his ability to articulate boxing better than anyone I know of, is what made him soo effective in teaching boxing. That yellow-jacket, “Mr. Jack”  logo that his team wore meant excellence in boxing and a hard time if you happened to be in the opposing corner of a boxing ring. This rang soo true to myself and a few friends and family members that we respectfully called The Galena Park Boxing Team the “Killer Bees” instead of the yellow- jackets.  This became our reality and I was actually a bit shocked when I was recently told by Kenny’s daughter that “Mr Jack” is a yellow-jacket and not a killer bee! I think I may have actually argued for a minute that “Mr. Jack” is a killer bee and not a yellow jacket, before I realized who I was talking to!

Lastly, I have been told that Kenny believed in always being a gentleman and taking the high road, and up until now I have done so when I have heard statements that have implied that certain people’s coaches or even in some cases the persons themselves boxing philosophy and knowledge is superior to Kenny’s, but today will be different.

The simple fact of the matter is that no one has come close to what Kenny has accomplished and although there were and are some coaches that are right up there with Kenny in terms of boxing knowledge, none of those coaches are the ones that imply these sorts of ridiculous claims.  These guys are either hallucinating or are soo self absorbed and delusional, that they actually believe they know more than someone who proved his knowledge with results, in a consistent manner, when they themselves have accomplished little to nothing in boxing as far as teaching boxing goes.  If you are one of these persons, I encourage you to take along look in the mirror and check yourself before life does it for you. Pride comes before the fall, and you should at least put up half the numbers Kenny did before you become prideful for f**ks sake. 

I believe the best example of a true boxing expert versus a pretend expert was given to me by a person who I consider an expert in every sense of the word, Mr. Walt Hailey. I spoke to Walt recently and Kenny’s name came up due to his being in critical health at this time last week. This isn’t a direct quote but Walt said something along these lines: ” Kenny and I competed against each other as coaches for a long time and would sometimes become angry with each other due to the competitive nature of this sport and us being younger and less mature at the time. One thing that is true today just as it has always been even during those times though, is that I have certainly always respected his abilities as a coach  and never questioned his accomplishments. ”

Another opinion I would like to share comes from another true expert in the sport, Mr. Melvin Dennis. Mr. Dennis said this when I asked him about Kenny: “Kenny was a bad man in the ring, one of the best. He was a hell of a fighter and later became a hell of a coach, and boxing will miss him “.

God Bless