The one word that sums up the training that boxers endure leading up to a match is repetition. The monotony of gym life is divided into three(minute segments, and the rounds spent jumping rope, shadowboxing, and working the bag often seem to stretch on forever.
The challenge lies in staying focused. For a pro, winning over new fans or pocketing a decent payday can propel a fighter through the process. Amateur boxers often look towards a tough bout or tournament looming on the horizon to motivate them each day.
Even then, the athlete must resist the temptation to cut corners or take a day off from training. But what keeps a young boxer in the gym day after day with no imminent bout penciled in on the calendar?
Adora Keen is a sophomore at Vashon High School. Six months ago, she accompanied her cousin to the boxing gym at the 12th and Park Rec Center. Since her first visit, Adora has been toiling through the same workout that Coach Ken Loehr demands from all of his fighters. She trains faithfully, despite the fact that she hasn’t yet found a fight in her 100 lb. weight class in local tournaments.
I asked her what keeps her so loyal to her routine, and her answer was simple: she enjoys the sport and the training it requires. Her favorite subject in school is history, and she enjoys reading the works of Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. But when the last bell rings each day to mark the end of academics, she treks to the gym to answer the first bell, which begins the study of a different kind of subject.
She climbs the steps to the boxing room and begins her ninety(minute workout by stretching near a row of windows that are boarded up for the winter months. After that, she goes through a routine of exercises that includes push(ups, sit(ups, and leg raises. Then she heads outside for a run that takes her around the perimeter of the rec center’s property.
She then patiently wraps her hands and gets ready to sharpen her timing, mechanics and sense of distance on an assortment of bags. She starts with the speed bag, keeping a steady rhythm throughout the duration of each round. Then she works over a heavy bag, practicing her jab and a series of combinations. After that, she moves to the upper(cut bag, and, as the seconds slowly tick away, she focuses on the trajectory of each shot.
As the rounds continue to add up, she steps into the ring to work the focus mitts with Coach Loehr. He leads her through a series of combinations, just as he has with countless fighters over the course of his fifty years as a boxing trainer.
Adora’s favorite fighter is Laila Ali, but the young amateur doesn’t harbor aspirations for a pro career ( in boxing. She hopes to attend Washington University and would welcome a career involving her favorite sport: basketball. For now, she continues to train for a future fight against an unknown opponent, driven by her affection for the sport and the disciplined training it requires.
Many of St. Louis’ finest amateur boxers will square off at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday evening, March 12, at the Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa at Cherokee. Promoter Steve Holley will be in charge of matching up the talented amateurs for the exciting action, which will benefit Matt Browning, the former St. Louis City police officer who lost both legs while in the line of duty.
