Tom Yankello, former trainer of Butler legend Brian Minto, inducted into Western Chapter of PA Sports Hall of Fame
Tom Yankello’s passion for boxing as a youth has led to a lifelong involvement in the sport.
“Boxing was my first love. My grandfather and uncle were both boxers and were big influences on me,” said Yankello, a native of Beaver County and a resident of Cranberry Township since 2011. “I was 5 years old when the first Rocky movie came out, and I was a big fan of that whole series. My dad built a gym in our basement, and I started working out down there, began competing as an amateur when I was 12.”
After an injury derailed him as an amateur, Yankello began his training career, one that has included work with decorated Roy Jones Jr., Paul Spadafora, Calvin Brock, Monty Meza-Clay, Verquan Kimbrough and, among others, Butler native Brian Minto.
Under Yankello’s guidance, Spadafora won the International Boxing Federation lightweight belt and had nine successful title defenses.
For his years of dedication to boxing and his impeccable resume as a trainer, Yankello was inducted into the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame at the Sheraton Hotel in Pittsburgh April 12.
He had already been inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame and the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.
“Being recognized for all of the time and energy I’ve put in never gets old,” he said.
Yankello was the starting point guard on Beaver High School’s basketball team, but before graduating in 1989 he sustained a shoulder injury that curtailed his boxing career.
“I had four surgeries on my left shoulder in four years, and even then, it just wasn’t right,” he said. “It was tough for me to realize that my career was over, but I loved the sport so much, it was a natural transition for me to become a trainer.
“My dad was a teacher at Hopewell High School, and I got my love of teaching from him.”
He began training boxers at Beaver County Boxing Club in 1991, moved to a gym in Aliquippa in 1993 and opened Tom Yankello’s World Class Boxing Gym in Ambridge two years later.
Much of Yankello’s work deals with honing a boxer’s physical skills and coming up with a strategy for success in the ring. But mentality plays just as important a role.
“There are levels to everything,” Yankello said. “Heart, mindset, chin, talent ... not everyone has the same potential. But the right mentality can be developed.”
Yankello was Jones’ trainer when he captured the Universal Boxing Organization Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title in 2011.
It’s one of many memories in an illustrious training career. Another one involved Minto in a bout against Axel Schulz in Germany in 2006.
“Brian entered that fight with a broken thumb and as a 10-to-1 underdog,” Yankello said. “Schulz was attempting a comeback, the fight is in his home country, 16,000 fans and they all thought he would win.
“Brian won by TKO in the sixth round. I remember Axel’s trainer looking at me. He was in disbelief, like ‘How did you guys pull this off.’”
Yankello’s reputation began to precede him long ago. ESPN boxing analyst Joe Tessitore once remarked: “If I were managing a fighter and needed a trainer who could take us all the way, Tommy Yankello would be on my short list. What he does with his talent is very impressive. His passion and enthusiasm for the sport, and his commitment to his fighters, is as good as anybody's.”
Yankello and his wife, Tina, have two sons — Tommy (11) and Rocco (9).
“I’ve been in the gym six days a week for 30 years,” Yankello said. “I have some very good assistants now, and I would like to cut back on the number of hours, spend more time with my family. But I will never retire. Boxing is who I am.”
