When the boxing scene in Lewiston lost its luster after the rise and fall of Joey Gamache, nobody was more disappointed by the pugilistic state of the union than the former world champion’s sister Terry.

With Gamache training aspiring fighters in New York City and father Joe Sr. no longer able to invest the time and energy necessary to keep the sport breathing in his hometown, the other, less-publicized member of the family was hurting.

“Joey would call me and say, ‘You don’t sound happy.’ I’d say it’s because there was no boxing around here,” Terry Gamache said. “It was a way of life for me. It’s what we did as a family since I was 11 years old.”

From a distance, Gamache watched the failure of a February professional promotion in Lewiston. She considered her two sons and a nephew each carrying on the Gamache name, all with professional aspirations. She saw the infrastructure falling around them, crumbling more quickly than heavyweight wannabe Clifford Etienne at the fists of Mike Tyson.

What to do?

When all else failed, she decided to take over the family business.

The first-ever known female boxing promoter in Maine, Terry Gamache will take the wheel from her father and brother Friday evening. An amateur fight card at the Multi-Purpose Center won’t merely have Gamache’s fingerprints. It’s completely her handiwork.

Tickets are available at the door, with the opening bell slated for 8 p.m.

“I’m promoting this solely on my own. Joey’s in New York, and my father’s health won’t allow him to do this anymore. I’ve put together all the match-ups. You name it, I’ve done it, and it’s a lot of work,” she said.

In addition to more work than she expected, Gamache is having more fun than she imagined.

“I like the anxiety of trying to match up fighters,” said Gamache. “I know them all and what they can do in the ring. It’s exciting to try to put together a fight that you know will be entertaining for the fans.”

Gamache has already experienced the nightmares that plague every promoter. Fighters pulling out of the card due to injury. Fighters getting a sudden, mysterious case of the flu and anticipating that they won’t recover until at least Saturday.

To say that Gamache is enjoying the challenge would tell only half the story. She sees those tests as a way of distinguishing her skills from those of other, more experienced promoters.

In fact, her assessment of those roadblocks even hints at a friendly, family rivalry.

“I think the one thing I want to bring to my promotions is to have the fans walk away at the end of the night saying wow, that they saw some tough fights,” Gamache said. “No offense to my father or Joey, but one of the things they did was put a lot of green guys in their shows. I want every fight in my show to be a solid fight.”

She’s also at work rebuilding the feeder system. Gamache already has embellished the local boxing club with Andrew Jordan, a 12-year amateur veteran from Vermont, and brothers Josh and Chad McAuliffe of the Bangor Police Athletic League.

Gamache forecasts a bright future for the 165-pound Jordan, whom she said is one of the best fighters to call Lewiston home since her brother’s heyday.

“He’s awesome. I brought him here, found him an apartment, found him a job and he’s fighting with us,” Gamache said.

Gamache isn’t leaving her predecessors out of the equation. Gleason’s Gym of Brooklyn, N.Y., will send a delegation of fighters to Friday night’s program. Joey Gamache, their trainer, is trying to work out the details to attend his sister’s first card.

“He has some business to take care of,” Terry said, “but he wants to be here.”

Fighters from Portland and Lowell, Mass., are also expected to compete, including Shawn Ecklund, nephew of world-ranked junior middleweight Mickey Ward.

Terry Gamache’s son Ryan and nephew Steven will watch from ringside.

“They’re just coming back,” she said. “They trained and competed hard for five or six years, and they needed some time off to be teenagers. They’ll be back soon, stronger and better.”

After a few months of her tender care, Gamache hopes the same can be said for the health of amateur boxing in the Twin Cities.

Kalle Oakes is sports editor. He may be reached by e-mail at koakes@sunjournal.com.

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