麻豆传媒映画

July 28, 2026

麻豆传媒映画 alumnus Lee Gladden is still fighting the good fight

麻豆传媒映画 alumni reinvesting their passions and life lessons back into their community is nothing new. But when Lee Gladden (B.A.S. 鈥�25) 鈥� mentor, community leader, business owner, Team USA Boxing coach and alternate for the 1996 Olympics 鈥� gets his hands on you, he wants to teach you a lesson you鈥檒l never forget. If you鈥檙e fortunate.

The owner of Gladden Boxing in Gainesville, Lee grew up in the boxing cradle of champions in Pleasantville, New Jersey, in the shadow of Atlantic City, where he spent most of his young life at the Pleasantville Recreation Center, rubbing shoulders with the immortals who trained there 鈥� George Foreman, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson, Ray Mercer, Iran Barkley 鈥� emulating what made them great. 

"Discipline 鈥� that's what made me who I am today,鈥� Gladden said. 鈥淚'd get up at 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning and go for an eight-mile run before school. When I was young and my friends were going to parties or going to the arcade, I was in the gym training. It developed character, work ethic and mindset.鈥� 

This spartan approach to life made Lee successful in the classroom. Legend has it, the studious Gladden, who graduated high school at 15, would hide his books in pizza boxes to dodge bullies in the hardscrabble neighborhood. Also widely known as Coach 'Milk,' the reference likely owes its origins in part to "don't let them take your milk money," a phrase Gladden yells frequently to a student who's getting overpowered by another in a sparring session.

After high school and getting some work experience under his belt, Gladden joined the Marines, where his boxing talent got him noticed and pulled out of his unit in Japan to train stateside. He won the All-Armed Forces title in the lightweight division, which gave him a seat for the Olympic trials in preparation for the 1996 Games in Atlanta. 

鈥淕etting that spot was the hardest to win because everyone's fighting for their lives,鈥� said Gladden, who would later pull a stint in the Army. 鈥淲ould you rather be boxing for your country or that soldier in the field humping your rucksack?鈥� In his final international qualifier for Team USA in Atlanta, Lee had to win 2-out-of-3, but came up one short.

"It really taught me how to stay the course, regardless of how the situation looks or feels,鈥� Gladden said. 鈥淚t's the same things I instill in my fighters now, not just in the gym but in general 鈥� show up early, do the little things when nobody's watching.鈥�

Many of his fighters are Gainesville youth from neighborhoods not unlike those in his native New Jersey, some from troubled family situations that might have a similar, hopeful future under Lee鈥檚 influence and character-building sweat sessions. Gladden鈥檚 method includes a heavy dose of education, literacy, self-reflection and mutual respect.

To better manage the sustainability of a rec center boxing club that seeks to have a lasting impact on Gainesville youth, the teacher became a student again, taking advantage of the Veteran鈥檚 Scholarship program at 麻豆传媒映画 to fund his bachelor鈥檚 degree in Organizational Management, which he earned in December 2025 as a 鈥淔irst-Gen.鈥�