“Every Friday this summer we’ve had boxing on the M StreetBeach at 6 a.m.— and it’s mandatory,” says Marty Farrell, one of the leadtrainers at EverybodyFights (EBF) by George Foreman III in South Boston.

“At first it was just for the girls who are training forHaymakers (Sam Berdinka, Lara Gibbons, Julia Sarni, Paulina Kozak, LaurenKeenan and Christina Morris), but now the guys in the gym are coming, too. Wehave close to 30 people doing circuit training, mitts, and body armor drills onthe beach. We’re getting thesegirls in phenomenal shape.”

Welcome to the “Marty Party”. It’s a workout experience one can only get with Farrell, atireless former Marine and lifelong boxer whose positivity, work ethic anddrive are legend both in and out of the gym.

“I’m the oldest trainer in the gym, (they call a couple ofus the “OGs” — old guys) and kind of mentor the other trainers in a fatherlyway,” says Farrell, who was one of a team of trainers that helped GeorgeForeman III open EverybodyFights in the Seaport district in 2014. “We have six girls training for theBelles and each has her own trainer. Then they do two days per week of strengthand conditioning with me.”

Farrell grew up boxing, starting at age 12. An amateur for his entire career, hecompeted on the Marine Corps Boxing team as well as in Golden Glovestournaments. As a coach, he’s beenbringing fighters to compete in every type of amateur event and tournament formore than 25 years.

But nothing has matched the excitement of preparing fightersfor Haymakers for Hope.

“I’ve been in the fight game a very long time,” he says. “Totake someone who’s never done anything like this and train them for four monthsfor this huge fight show with a thousand people watching——it’s justamazing. It can be intimidating,and you have to have a lot of guts to do it.”

Farrell’s Haymakers experience runs deep. He fought in the very first Bostonevent in 2011 at the Park Plaza Castle, noting that he was asked to fight in amain event exhibition match. Afterthat, he trained Haymakers fighters at Fitness Advantage until Foreman, afriend, tapped him to be a part of the EBF team.

“I immediately suggested to George that we get involved withHaymakers,” says Farrell.

“Marty is one of our best trainers, and a fighter in every sense ofthe word,” says Foreman. “He has a long history in the sport of boxing but alsohas deep roots in the fitness scene in Boston. He brings a lot of energy to ourclasses and community.”

That energy, and a relentless never-quit attitude is whatgot Farrell through a pair of devastating spinal injuries, 10 years apart, thatultimately rendered him temporarily paralyzed.

After breaking his back in 2000 while working in construction,Farrell had retired from competing. That is, until 2011. While simultaneouslycoaching a team of Haymakers fighters for the first Boston event, and theBoston Police Boxing team for a tournament against the NYPD, he ended upfilling a spot on the BPD card and won the 190 lb. division. Just weeks later,he was in the ring for Haymakers, and tore his rotator cuff. A few months later, while movingfurniture, Farrell felt a disc pop in his back, and that was it. Surgery was inevitable, but it left himunable to walk, much less box.

“I hadto learn how to walk again,” says Farrell, who was told he might never be ableto regain his athletic life. Undaunted, he says he “decided to prove themwrong” and fought his way back to health.

Farrell credits his “fighter’s discipline” for bringing himback, and he works hard to instill a no-quit, give 100% ethic into his fivekids, ages 7 to 16, who are very active and often join him during trainingsessions at the gym. He alsobrings that drive to his “day job” for the last four years, as an athleticdirector for the Boston Centers for Youth, in the Hyde Park CommunityCenter. He recently turned thecenter’s storage area into a boxing gym and created a boxing program for kids,which is very popular.

“Part of my job is mentoring the kids—keeping them engagedand safe,” he says. “It’s pretty cool. I really enjoy what I do.”

Back on the beach, the 90-minute Fight Club class—anon-stop, dig-down-in-the-sand session of strength and conditioning mixed withpad work—has been a wild success for Farrell and hugely effective for hiscurrent class of Belles.

“They are putting in 20 hours a week and getting intokick-ass shape,” he says. “And our former Haymakers teams are coming back tosupport and give the girls sparring work .They talk to each other and help themmentally prepare for what lies ahead.”

That support and community is one reason Foreman says hechose Boston for his boxing gym.

“While wrappingup my professional boxing career in 2012, I came up to Boston to visit afriend,” says Foreman. “I was always impressed by both the boxing and fitnesscommunity here. We opened our first EBF in the Seaport area of Boston inDecember 2014. Since then we’ve opened two studio partnerships and are openingour next Boston location in January, 2017.”

Since opening EverybodyFights, Foreman and Farrell have beenrefining their approach to the Haymakers training camp, and have developed asystem that links each fighter with one of the gym’s many talented trainers andrequires fighters to master a series of skill levels.

“Each fighter has to complete or pass each level to moveon,” says Farrell.” So Level 1 is a month of basic boxing skills, then Level 2is about refining each skill, such as footwork or the different punches. Youhave to show a trainer you can do them before you move on, and so on. We’verefined it a little bit each year. It’s been a good system.”

Both Farrell and Foreman are proud of their Haymakers teamsand the family they’ve built in the gym.

“The impact Haymakers has had on EBF is hard to measure,” saysForeman. “It's an event that we look forward to twice a year, and we alwayshave a large presence at the fights to support our team.”

With just days to go, Farrell is already pretty excitedabout his team’s chances of doing very well.

“I love getting the win, but just getting in there, looking out andseeing everybody from our gym in the crowd. To see all the support—it’samazing,” he says. “I’ve been to Vegas and all over, and I’ve seen thousands offights. Haymakers is pretty special.”