So many marriages today are filled with fights. But that’s exactly how Darryl Wells and Keisher McLeod want it.
They’re boxers, you see — and on Oct. 14, they’ll lace on the gloves and get married in the ring at Gleason’s Gym, the legendary DUMBO sweatshop where they both train.
But all that negative symbolism doesn’t worry these hard-punching lovers.
“You pick and choose your fights in a relationship,” Wells said. “There’s always a chance to take the high road before a disagreement escalates into a full-blown fight. We rarely fight. We compromise.”
Wells and McLeod are getting married in the squared circle, but the couple didn’t first connect as pugilists — their mutual love for expensive shoes drew them together first.
The 35-year-old Wells, who started boxing as a teenager in Virginia, was running a fashion consulting business when he met his lifelong sparring partner.
He showed one of McLeod’s friends a $430 pair of brown Chanel clogs, but they didn’t fit. Not wanting to see such a fashionable set of footwear go to a stranger, the friend referred Wells to McLeod — and the shoes fit.
“It’s a Cinderella story, sort of,” McLeod said.
Neither knew that the other was a boxer when Wells put the proverbial glass slipper on McLeod’s foot.
“When he came to my place with the shoes, he saw all my trophies and medals, but he thought they were my roommate’s,” said McLeod. “It wasn’t until later, when we started spending more time together, that he made the connection.
“When we started talking about boxing, we were amazed at how much we had in common,” said McLeod 30, who is a three-time Golden Glove champion, a three-time Empire State Champion and a Ringside’s World Champion. “We were like, ‘Our lives are exactly the same.’”
Well, not exactly the same. McLeod works in the office at Gleason’s, in addition to training there. The idea for a boxing-themed wedding came when she asked her boss, gym owner Bruce Silverglade, for a day off so she and Wells could elope.
Silverglade refused: He wanted to host the wedding at the gym.
“I’ve had all kinds of parties and celebrations here, including a bar mitzvah, but I’ve never had a wedding until now,” Silverglade said.
And unlike most fights, this one will go the distance, said a friend.
“I’ve seen a lot of boxing couples, and they are perfect together,” said the boxers’ coach, Lee Shabaka. “They compliment each other very well and he gives her incredible support, which is important.”
In the ring, and out.
