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Above: The Rude Dog Boxing business viewed through the ropes of the boxing ring. Right: Co-owners Paul Iannuzzi, left, and Matthew Chuck. Linda Lemmon photos.

By Linda Lemmon
Town  Crier Editor
PUTNAM — It went from a Hallmark to a boxing business that’s devoted to building confidence and self-esteem.
Rude Dog Boxing, the newest member of the Putnam business community, celebrated with a grand opening on June 1.
Co-owners are Paul Iannuzzi and Matthew Chuck. Chuck, at 18, is the youngest boxing gym owner in America.
Iannuzzi said he was looking around in the Hallmark store in Riverfront Commons shopping plaza as it was closing when it occurred to him that it would make an excellent space for a third location for his boxing gyms. He joined forces with Chuck and came to Putnam.
His other locations are Smithfield, R.I., and Brooklyn.
Asked why he took up boxing, Chuck said boxing turned his life around, giving him self-confidence and self-esteem.
He said when he was in high school he was shy and was pushed around a little bit. He and his father were driving home and saw the Brooklyn Rude Dog Boxing. Chuck had stopped playing sports in high school and “my dad said I wasn’t going to sit on the couch.”
His goal is to help people be all they can be. He’d like to see the “best mentality transfer from here out into the world”.
The Iannuzzis’ attitude is much like Chuck’s, according to Economic Development Director Mary Ann Chinatti. “In addition to Rude Dog Boxing, Paul and his wife Jill are most proud of having created “Life and Balance,” a program geared toward a client’s specific disability including Parkinson’s disease, stroke and general elderly strength and balance deficiency.
“In addition to Rude Dog Boxing and Life in Balance, the Iannuzzis also offer Camp Hero, an acronym for Humble, Enthusiastic, Respectful and Optimistic, which is geared toward children between the ages of 5 and 12 to teach life skills, through positive reinforcement, proper behavior, public speaking, eye contact, self-confidence, etc.”
Iannuzzi shared a story about a Narragansett gentleman who was using a walker before, and with someone assisting.
When asked what he wanted to get out of the program, he said that he and his wife walked every day on Narragansett Beach — he wanted to be able to walk one more time with her on Narragansett Beach.
 He said he signed up for Life in Balance at one of the other two locations. After about three sessions, he no longer needed his walker. After 17 sessions he sent Iannuzzi a selfie of him and his wife walking on Narragansett Beach.

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