The South Park Boxing Club got knocked down with the heaviest of blows, but resiliently gathered itself, got to one knee, took a deep breath and then rose to both feet.

Now, it is swinging back with the crispest five-punch flurry imaginable.

In June, a band of thieves cleaned the place out, pilfering five heavy bags, an uppercut bag, four speed bags, three double-end bags, head gear, body protectors, training mitts, sparring gloves and a timer. The burglars went so far as to lift the water bottles and the stereo system from the old barn located in the Allegheny County Park.

But the South Park Boxing Club has risen mightily, and a watermark in that rise will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Downtown Hilton, when five boxers from that training ground will fight in the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves state finals.

South Park fighters Rob Colasante (119 pounds), Blaise Santoriello (132), Scott Bradley (141), Sam Vasquez (152) and Andreas Kamouyerou (165) have all advanced to the state finals and will be on Tuesday's card.

Jimmy Cvetic, director of the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League, was one of the people who helped get the South Park Boxing Club back on its feet after the break-in, to the point now where it is a fully functional facility.

A horde of people, including Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., helped the club with donations.

"It was despicable what those punks did," said Cvetic, a former county detective. "They cleaned everything out. They even took the posters off the walls and the spit buckets. But now, after not even a year, that place is back, and it just goes to show the kind of dedication boxers have."

Bradley is a Baldwin High School senior, an 18-year-old who exemplifies that hard work. He began boxing in the spring of 2005 and has risen -- with the recent help of South Park Boxing Club trainers Bob Healy and Jack Conway -- to be one of the area's finest amateurs.

The championships will mark his 29th career fight, and he'll square off against Philadelphia fighter Tahree Carrol. In his career, Bradley has lost to Carrol twice, but that was in his fifth and seventh fights.

Bradley knows he is a much better and more polished fighter now, and relishes another chance at Carrol.

"I feel ready," Bradley said. "I am in the best shape of my life, and I fought three hard fights to get here. I am totally different right now than I was when I fought him before.

"Also, I know that if I win this fight, it could completely change my life."