ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026 NATIONAL COVERAGE: Connecticut Businessman Solomon Maye ‘Coach Solo’ defies insurmountable odds, establishes GET ‘EM BOY Boxing
Andre Johnson 
“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.” — Legendary Boxing Great, Muhammad Ali
TK–OUR HERO
Solomon Maye vividly recalls how it all unfolded nearly four decades ago.
“When I was a kid, I was kicked out of my household at 13 years old,” Maye, during a weekend interview with Making Headline News, said, recalling the rash of developments that would ultimately give way to his lifelong passion for boxing. “That brought me a lot of hardships. Boxing was like a parent to me…all the discipline, focus, awareness, emotional intelligence came from boxing, I just wanted to be who I needed as a boy growing up.”
Fortunately for Maye, the slew of gruesome childhood hurdles about which he was left to clear subsequently gave way to an awe-inspiring discovery, one that, much to his delight, has altered the overall landscape of his life.
Suitably known as “Coach Solo,” Maye is the creator of GET ‘EM BOY Boxing, his New Haven, Connecticut credible training facility that services individuals and groups of all ages.
SALUTING MEN WHO SHAPE OUR WORLD
MORE ON MAYE’S VENTURE: https://www.tha-kennel.com/get-em-boy-boxing
GET ‘EM BOY Boxing is located at 746 Orchard Street in New Haven.
Generally, Maye’s GET ‘EM BOY Boxing — which is affiliated with USA Boxing — customarily offers personal, group, competitive training, particularly for pro or amateur fighters.
A former professional heavyweight boxer and a registered coach under USA Boxing, GET’EM BOY Boxing has become a fixture for offering youth beginner classes ranging in ages 8-to12 up to six days a week.
Also, GET’EM BOY Boxing offers adult membership, which includes access to the gym and occasional unlimited training.
“We have a weight room for those that just want to pump some iron,” Maye said.
Besides Adult Boxing Training, GET’EM BOY Boxing offers what is known as the Youth Amateur Boxing Program & Youth Summer Camp, Amateur Competitive Boxing Preparation, and the Get ‘Em Boy Boxing Partners With Tha Bridge Corp.
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Maye’s credible nonprofit organization, Tha Bridge Corp, by all accounts, is a distinct brand of boxing that customarily builds discipline focus and emotional control. Also, its mentorship builds the following:
- Leadership
- Agency
- Purpose and,
- Hope In Youth.
“What I like most (about my line of work) is changing the mindset of these black boys by introducing them to their physicality and training to control it,” Maye told Making Headline News as part of its 2026 Essence Music Festival national coverage for “the party with a purpose” event in New Orleans. “The general public says that I am an important pillar in our community, being able to plant good seed into every youth I come in contact with. Like I said, I want to be who I needed growing as a boy.”
Interestingly enough, Maye doesn’t shy away from the notion that it is due in large part to his unwavering faith that has given way to him defying arguably the toughest of odds.
“I really wasn’t inspired by anyone but God,” Maye told MHN. “He gave me a purpose.”
Not to mention the kind of immeasurable passionate to figures to help enrich and impact lives for generations to come — a far cry from once-downtrodden child who was thrust on the dangerous streets in his inner-city community nearly four decades ago.
CLEARING MASSIVE HURDLES
“This is why God put me on this earth,” Maye said. “So that I can be an inspiration and blessing to the many at-risk youth in my community.”
Talk a true, big-hearted, inspiration for the ages.
MORE ON COACH SOLO
For more information about New Haven, Connecticut Businessman Solomon Maye of GET ‘EM BOY Boxing and Tha Bridge Corp, to inquire about his services, his organization, to inquire about a public appearance or speaking engagement, call 475-455-2129 or connect with her via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachSolo23/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getemboyboxing23/?hl=en; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxMd3Y_01k8. Send email to thabridgecorp@gmail.com.
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Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA, NFL, and NCAA sports from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to makingheadlinenews@gmail.com or to memphisgraduate@yahoo.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist or Instagram at @makingheadlinenews.
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