— Andres Taylor realizes the significance of his younger brother Calvin’s trip to Terre Haute, Ind., this weekend.

A World Boxing Foundation All Americas cruiserweight champion, Andres is quite familiar with the climb through the amateur and professional boxing ranks.

This is a big step for Calvin Taylor IV, who recently won the Pennsylvania Silver Gloves title and qualified for a return to the regional event he nearly won last year. A berth in the national Silver Gloves Championship in Kansas City, Mo., will be at stake for the 106-pound fighter.

“That’s my little brother.

“That’s great,” said Andres Taylor, who won his 20th professional bout in November and at age 32 is set to have a busy year.

“He’s 12. That’s huge to be fighting at that level on that stage. I’m excited for him,” Andres continued. “It wasn’t until I was in my 20s when I had a chance to do something like that. He’s going to be a force by the time he’s 18 years old. The sky is the limit for him.”

Calvin Taylor IV has plenty of family support. His father, Calvin Sr., trains him and is a co-owner of the Greater Johnstown Youth Boxing Club on Railroad St.

“When I used to go to the gym in Jersey to train, I was taking Calvin with me when he was 2 or 3 years old,” said Calvin Sr., who formerly resided in Patterson, N.J. “He started boxing. After that, he started coming to the gym with me all the time. I’ve been training him since he was 3. He’s been fighting since he was 8. He always knew what to do and how to do it. It was like a gift.”

Despite his young age, Calvin IV has won 20 fights and is a Pennsylvania Silver Gloves repeat champion with ample experience on the regional stage.

“I believe he’s going to go all the way,” Calvin Sr. said. “He’s already been there. It’s nothing new. He’s seen the potential at his weight. He knows what he has to do.”

Boxing has found a niche in the Johnstown area largely because of the success of Andres Taylor and the commitment of trainers/club operators such as Calvin Sr. and Duane McCallum, who helped bring a Golden Gloves boxing event to the Masonic Temple in March.

That 17-bout card attracted a standing-room-only crowd of 300.

Andres Taylor’s Johnstown pro fights traditionally have been solid draws.

His team and promoters have done a nice job of making the local events special.

During a Halloween 2010 title bout against Leo Bercier at the War Memorial, a family member who could have been Andres Taylor’s double danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller as an entourage of “Zombies” lumbered rhythmically beside him.

Moments later, the real Andres entered the ring and eventually won the title.

At another War Memorial fight, Andres arrived on board a military humvee complete with desert camouflage. There was an outdoor fight at Point Stadium on Sept. 11, 2010, though rain and a draw with Philadelphia’s Garrett Wilson dampened the evening.

If boxing is to continue to regain wider popularity in the Flood City, fighters such as Andres and young Calvin will carry the banner.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, boxing events at the War Memorial often featured up-and-coming fighters who went on to bigger things on the regional and national stages.

“It’s pretty amazing with both happening at the same time,” Calvin Sr. said of his sons’ success while representing two generations of local fighters.

Calvin IV is following a path blazed by Andres, who was a very successful amateur prior to turning pro in April 2008.

“Andres told me he was interested ever since he was a baby. I used to go to the gym because I was a boxer, amateur and pro, but I didn’t realize he was interested in it,” Calvin Sr. said. “Andres was playing football for the Johnstown Jackals. Then he started liking boxing. I was in New Jersey. He called me up and told me he wanted to box and he wanted me to train him.”

At first Calvin Sr. was nervous because he knew of many perils that fighters might face while pursuing a boxing career.

“I didn’t know how to train him because I had never done that,” Calvin Sr. said. “One thing led to another. In 2005 I left my job and came to Johnstown to train my kid.

“Andres was doing this without a trainer for a while. Then I came and started training him.”

Andres rolled through the amateur ranks and was a Golden Gloves sensation.

“He was winning everything, the Olympic trials, the nationals,” Calvin Sr. said. “He got all the way down to Colorado in the Olympic trials and lost to the guy who was ranked No. 2 in the United States. Andres came back from the Olympic trials and was ranked third at heavyweight in the United States. He turned pro after that and five fights later he won the WBA cruiserweight belt in Johnstown. He’s been on the up-and-up ever since then.”

In November Andres Taylor beat veteran 19-win cruiserweight Gary Gomez in Pittsburgh. It was Andres’ 20th win, an important number in the pro game.

“It’s like the cornerstone of your career. A lot of guys don’t get to 20 wins,” said Andres, who at 20-1-2 has received inquiries from as far away as Poland to schedule his next fight. “There are a lot of big fights out there for me right now.”

For Calvin IV, his biggest fights to date will come this weekend in Terre Haute.

If the family tree is any indication, he soon might be headed to Kansas City.

Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.