BRIDGEPORT — Frankie "Time Bomb" Scalise, the boxing pride of the South Side, is continuing his comeback.
"I feel like I could kick my 20-year-old a--," Scalise, 35, said at a press event held Tuesday at Bridgeport Boxing Club, the 3,000 square-foot gym he opened earlier this year at 3411 S. Halsted St.
He'll fight in front of his hometown fans at U.S. Cellular Field on Saturday, part of the B96 Boxing Bash, taking on southpaw DeWayne Wisdom in a lightweight bout.
Saturday's fight is part of comeback campaign that started in 2012 after a 12-year absence during which he said he soaked himself in booze and ballooned to 190 pounds, about 60 pounds heavier than his fighting weight.
"I was messing around with drinking and my life was kinda screwed up but I got it all back together and gave boxing another shot because it's something I was good at and something I loved," he said.
Now, he's a heavy equipment operator for the city and father of three girls.
Since launching his comeback, he's gone undefeated in five fights. All of the wins were knockouts.
(He's a righty, but at least one of his knockouts was delivered with a punishing left hook.)
Scalise got his start boxing at Bridgeport's Old Neighborhood Italian American Club. He was under the tutelage of late Bridgeport fighter, Tony "The Rock" LaRosa, who'd drag him to Sheridan Park in Little Italy for training sessions.
"He'd throw me in there and I mean I'd get my brains beat out. But he'd keep bringing me back and I eventually started getting good at it," he said.
Scalise won the coveted Golden Gloves tournament twice and turned pro in 1998.
He's always been gifted with raw power but hasn't always used his head in the ring, his new trainer Mike "The Fly" Garcia said.
But that's starting to change.
"Now he's thinking and thinking more," Garcia said.
He's also training tirelessly.
For a guy who's in the latter half of his 30s — he'll be 36 next month — Scalise is remarkably fit, thanks to a regiment of daily shadow boxing, sparring, bag work, jump rope and more. Every day, he runs through Bridgeport or along the lakefront.
"I feel good. I feel stronger than I've ever felt. My weight is right. I'm strong at this weight," he said.
He also has more than just trainers and coaches and cutmen in his corner — he's got the whole neighborhood backing him.
When Scalise runs toward Lake Michigan, Bridgeport neighbors shout from their stoops and windows.
On fight night, his pals board party buses bound for the casinos where he's on the card.
Earlier this month, a neighborhood rapper made a new track that'll serve as Scalise's entrance music as he makes his way toward the ring.
"You definitely gotta win," he said. "Otherwise you might have to move."
Tickets for Saturday's event cost $20-$160 and are available online at Ticketmaster. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the first bout begins at 6:15 p.m.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
