Young W. Islip Boxer Jabbing for His Fifth Junior Olympic Championship

Inside the grey walls of Eye of the Tiger Boxing Gym in Deer Park, the afternoon light beams in from an open door. Visitors walking in quickly blinded by the reflection of the light off of a collection of trophies and championship belts shown on a stand.

The many trophies and eight championship belts, one bigger and brighter than the other, look like quite an accomplishment for any single gym, but they are more than just that – they all belong to one person: 12 year old Jason Lella.

Lella is not what one would call the average looking boxer – his shaggy hair waves down from his face as he warms up in the gym’s ring, throwing left’s and right’s in quick, near lightning-like succession.

“There’s no way we’re cutting it during lacrosse season,” his mother, Julie, said with a laugh.

“My mom and dad used to do [boxing],” Jason told Patch after an impressive warm-up. “One day, I decided to try it... and I really liked it.”

And, like his nickname of “The Dynamite Kid" suggests, he quickly took off starting at the age of eight. The West Islip resident turned out to be quite a talent, training under the watchful eye of his grandfather, Tony Fortunato, a former professional boxer himself. Fortunato owns the non-profit gym Lella trains at, helping others from teenage boys to young girls learn the sport.

“I like how my grandpa is my coach,” Lella said with a grin. “Everyone supports me doing it – friends, teachers, coaches.” 

Lella’s coaches are not just for boxing – the 12 year old is a multi-sport athlete, playing football for Udall Middle School, soccer for the West Islip Titans, and lacrosse for three teams: West Islip Tournament Lacrosse, Riptides Lacrosse and Udall Middle School. His lacrosse coaches recently put him in goal.

“They knew I’m a boxer and figured I’d be quick,” he said.

With three sports to juggle, Lella said he does not have a lot of free time, but absolutely loves what he is doing.

“It helps me out a lot and gets me in shape for all of my sports,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite sports – there’s no win and lose as a team, it’s just you.”

Lella told Patch he won his first championship soon after he started at eight years old. In one weekend recently, Lella won two championships in the South in Georgia and Mississippi. He currently holds eight titles, all on display at Eye of the Tiger, and has been a junior Olympic Champion for the last four years in his weight class.

This Friday, Lella goes for his fifth straight year during the Junior Olympics at Heavy Hitters in Bohemia.

“I like the fighting, the training... it’s not a common sport for kids my age,” he said. “It’s you and only you out there. No substitutions.”