Eagle River’s New Boxing Club Brings Legacy and Grit Home

In a small town where snowmobile trails and fishing spots usually dominate conversations, something unexpected is drawing crowds this winter. Teressa Gray has opened Corvino’s Boxing Club in Eagle River, and the heavy bags hanging in her gym tell a story that stretches back to the 1940s.

The club honors her late father, Jack Corvino, an amateur boxer and coach who competed when Eagle River was still finding its identity as a Northwoods destination. Gray was only seven when he died, left with fragments of memories and a legacy she didn’t fully understand until decades later.

Now she’s giving that legacy new life — and helping dozens of neighbors discover their own strength in the process.

Finding What Was Always There

Gray never laced up gloves as a kid. Boxing remained something from her father’s past, a world she couldn’t access. That changed after college when she walked into a Minnesota gym on a whim.

“Sure enough it just clicked for me,” she said. Coaches noticed natural technique she didn’t know existed. They trained her for amateur fights, connecting her to the part of her father she’d never known.

The discovery felt like coming home. Not to a place, but to something deeper — a way of moving, thinking, and pushing through difficulty that had apparently been waiting in her DNA.

When she decided to open her own club, there was never a question about the name.

More Than Fighting: Building Strength for Northwoods Life

Walk into Corvino’s Boxing Club and you won’t find fighters training for the ring. Gray is clear about her mission: overall strength and the mindset boxing builds, not competitive combat.

That approach has resonated. Since opening in January 2025, the club has attracted over 50 members in a town of 1,380 residents. Most are women, including members like Mckenzie Rabenn and Rachel Milky who’ve embraced a sport traditionally dominated by men.

“We can’t quit when it’s difficult, we stop at the bell. Whatever I’m struggling with in life, I can push through it.” — Teressa Gray

The philosophy fits perfectly with Northwoods living. Up here, you learn resilience whether you want to or not. Winter doesn’t care about your plans. Frozen pipes don’t wait for convenient timing. The skills you build hitting a heavy bag — endurance, focus, refusing to quit — translate directly to life in Vilas County.

Filling a Gap in Eagle River’s Fitness Landscape

Indoor fitness options have always been limited in the Northwoods. When you live surrounded by 538 lakes and over a million acres of forest, outdoor recreation takes center stage. That’s great from May through October.

Come January, when temperatures hit -10°F and the snow piles up, having somewhere warm to build strength matters. Corvino’s offers year-round training that complements the snowshoeing, skiing, and ice fishing that define winter here.

For a community that draws 2.5 million tourists annually but has a modest median household income of $52,500, accessible fitness programming makes a difference. Gray isn’t just running a gym — she’s creating space for neighbors to invest in themselves.

The growing women’s membership reflects something shifting in fitness culture. Women in Northwoods communities are claiming space in traditionally male-dominated activities, from boxing to ice fishing tournaments.

Why Boxing Works for Small-Town Wisconsin

There’s something about boxing that translates across contexts. The discipline required, the way rounds teach you to pace yourself, the satisfaction of landing a combination cleanly — these experiences build confidence that shows up everywhere else.

Gray sees it in her members. People who walk in hesitant leave standing taller. The metaphor she uses about stopping at the bell, not when it gets hard, applies to everything from difficult jobs to long winters to personal struggles.

Key benefits members report include:

• Improved cardiovascular fitness and overall strength
• Stress relief through high-intensity training
• Mental toughness that carries into daily challenges
• Community connection in a supportive environment
• Confidence from learning new skills

In Eagle River, where outdoor work and recreation demand physical capability, boxing training offers practical preparation. You need strength to haul a boat, endurance to split firewood, and mental grit to handle whatever northern Wisconsin throws at you.

Keeping the Corvino Name in the Ring

When Jack Corvino coached boxers in the 1940s and 50s, Eagle River looked different. The town was shifting from lumber economy to tourism destination, becoming the place where Chicago professionals like Mayor Edward J. Kelly kept vacation homes.

Gray never got to know her father as an adult, never heard his coaching philosophy or learned his techniques directly. But opening this club creates a bridge across time. The Corvino boxing legacy lives on, adapted for a new generation facing different challenges.

She hopes he’d be proud. Based on the response from her community, there’s little doubt he would be.

What’s Next for Corvino’s

With 50 members in its first few months, the club has momentum. Gray focuses on welcoming newcomers regardless of fitness level, emphasizing that boxing skills are teachable and the benefits extend far beyond the gym.

For Eagle River, the club represents something larger than fitness. It’s about honoring heritage while building something new, about women claiming space in unexpected places, about small-town resilience that shows up one round at a time.

The Northwoods has always been about pushing through tough conditions and coming out stronger. Now there’s a place where that happens indoors, with gloves on and a legacy in your corner.