2012 | STUDENT WELCOME PACK TIMES
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Renegade Boxing Club puts Seminoles in the ring You really bond—it’s like this collective warrior spirit. I really wanted to bring that back here in boxing. Nathan Crock FSU grad student
Boxers look to compete against in-state rivals, grow club membership KAYLA BECKER Staff Writer The Warrior’s Path Fight Systems gym (a warehouse down a dirt path off of Levy Road) is teeming with energy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. Music is playing, an American flag hangs behind a ring with two boxers ready for round one and sweat is rolling off 30 others sparring or beating punching bags. This is what an observer would typically see if he or she spent a practice with the new FSU RSO, the Renegade Boxing Club. Created in October 2011 by FSU grad student and President Nathan Crock, the club is quickly gaining momentum and the chance to compete. Boxing is Back Crock said the RSO could become an official sports club and varsity sport recognized by the National Collegiate Boxing Association in a couple of weeks. Crock said the goal of Renegade Boxing Club is to bring boxing back to its former glory as a recognized sport, as it was before the NCAA dropped it as a collegiate sport in 1971. “Boxing needs to be reborn in the youthful generation,” said Crock. “Mixed Martial Arts has been taking the spotlight. Boxing is much more technical. It’s like the chess of combative sports—it’s all about when you move and where your body’s at; there’s all kinds of kinematics involved in stances. But if all goes well, hopefully in a few years boxing can become a Varsity sport again.” An avid boxer since the age of 15, Crock said he created the club to respark interest in the classic combative sport and, more personally, to change the pace from his work with computational science. “I’ve spent a lot of my time in the lab in front of a computer, so the one thing that was missing in my life was just sweating and working hard and interacting with friends,” Crock said. “You really bond—it’s like this collective warrior spirit. I really wanted to bring that back here in boxing.” Although there were only five boxers when Crock joined the gym, within a few weeks of becoming an RSO, 10 people trickled in. This semester, there are over a hundred members. Attune to the increasing interest in the club, Crock is currently working with the newly established University of Miami boxing club to create a Florida Boxing Conference—a league comprised of seven universities in Florida that would compete with each
other. “If things go well, hopefully we can travel around the state of Florida and have some fights between UF, UCF, UNF, FIU and other Florida universities,” said Crock. “Two to three fights a semester would be realistic, and that’s what we’re training for in the ring.” Match of all matches Up for a round in the ring, Ajonte Bush shifts to the center, scrutinizing his opponent’s every move. Then he spots an opportunity—his opponent lowers his arms. The window is open. He leads with his right foot, brings back his arm and throws a jab, hooking his opponent in the jaw. That’s only part of the tri-weekly regimen for Bush. As a member of the competitive fight team that trains more rigorously than the regular members, Bush is no stranger to three-mile morning runs and weekend boxing sessions. Even after exhausting workouts, Bush said a chance to be part of the initial stages of boxing’s comeback is exciting. “It’s not only great to be the part of the beginning of that—like four years from now I’ll graduate and be able to say, ‘oh, FSU boxing—I was a part of that when it started,’ not only that’s cool, but just to reinvent the sport here at FSU and maybe in all of Florida,” Bush said. One thing is for certain— all his hours of training will be put to the test in the first match in the history of the boxing club, a heated match-up with longtime FSU sports rival, Miami. “I’ll definitely do whatever I can do to get a match with those guys,” said Bush. “It’s good competition. For me, it’s not so much about the rivalry, but a chance to showcase everything I’ve learned, all my hard work and to get it to actually transpire into an event.” This rivalry is what gets under the skin of those boxers in the warehouse off Levy. Crock said that the rivalry match is the motivating factor that’s made the team sweat and train so rigorously. The energy of determination to conquer the ’Canes, he said, is common throughout the gym. “The spirit is there; it’s like we’re FSU warriors trying to protect your home,” Crock said. “When you go to a football game with Miami, you can feel the tension in the air, but now you actually get to get in the ring […] This is the pinnacle of all rivalry—I want people to feel that energy we feel. It’s super exciting.”
Photos courtesy of Nathan Crock
Top: Boxers train as part of the Renegade Boxing Club. Bottom: Boxers in the ring train for their first matchup with longtime rivals from the University of Miami.
Once training starts for the Miami match, the fight team will be running three miles in the mornings and attend grueling weekend sessions. Lead trainer for the fight team, Rafael Cui, said the determining factor in how well the match goes will be dedication. “Especially those guys who want to compete at the next level, they will have to step up their time commitment and their effort,” said Cui. “There’s a predetermined competitiveness in place between Seminoles and Hurricanes. So, especially for me with my love of boxing, it’d probably be one of the most memorable moments at FSU for this to become a varsity sport and to go and compete against other clubs like Miami.” Cui said his team has a definite advantage. “What you really see here is guys pushing past their limits; you’ll see one guy fatiguing and his partner pushing him and encouraging him to do more,” Cui said. “The camaraderie is unmatchable.” Although there is an obvious rivalry, head coach of the Hurricanes, Mickey Demos, Jr., said collaboration between UM and FSU is amicable. “We have very cordial collaboration with FSU right now,” said Demos Jr., who graduated from FSU in 1989. A self-proclaimed “Seminole at heart” Demos said the groups are more focused on the larger issue of collaborating to create a Florida Boxing Conference. “I will always be a Seminole, and I wanted FSU to be the next university to add boxing for this reason,” Demos Jr. said. “This may sound strange considering I am the coach of the Hurricanes. It isn’t if you know boxing. There’s an amazing amount of camaraderie between competitors in boxing. I used to box against my best friends and then go to dinner together every night.” With a father who went to the University of Miami on a boxing scholarship in the ’50s when the sport was full varsity and who was inducted to the UM Sports
Hall of Fame for Boxing, Demos said no one is more eager to see the sport flourish at all Florida schools than him. “Literally, everything I have is a direct result of college boxing,” said Demos. “My dad was a poor Greek immigrant and would never have had the opportunity to go to college without boxing. The only way to revitalize the sport is to bring it back into the national fabric by making it once again a legitimate college sport. And it is viable. The sport has been proven to be safer than even soccer.” Demos said boxing also makes financial sense for the Universities. “Boxing programs are inexpensive to run and, being a spectator sport, will generate much more revenue than many other NCAA sports,” Demos said. Women in the Ring At both Miami and FSU, guys and girls alike share a passion for boxing. Courtney Yachanin has been training with the boys since day one. “It’s a good way to let loose, and sometimes you just need to punch something,” said Yachanin as
she fastened the straps of her pink boxing gloves. “ I started because I wanted a stress relief. It was something to get my mind off of school and work and my future.” Being one of a handful of girls in the club, Yachanin said that the co-ed nature of the sport keeps both sexes on their toes. “Being a girl boxer helps motivate the guys and keep them going, because they don’t want to be beat by a girl, and it helps us because we are trying to prove ourselves,” said Yachanin. The Renegade pro said most girls are discouraged by the idea of fighting in the ring like the guys, but that the notion shouldn’t hinder girls from joining. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s tough; it kicks your a**,” Yachanin said. “You will definitely get in shape, but it’s not always fighting other people. I’ve never been in the ring once, but I’ve learned techniques. So, more girls need to come and try it.” Being a veteran in the gym, Yachanin has witnessed the explosion of interest in the club. “Before last semester, you would never see this many people,” she said.
“But after New Year’s, it’s more than doubled. I see new people every time I come, and that’s exciting.” If the Glove Fits With options for workout intensity ranging from easy to hard, Renegade is friendly to boxers at all skill levels. Boxing practices are Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Warrior’s Path Fight Systems gym on 1134 Kissimee St. Suite B. A typical practice consists of an hour-long period from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. boxing conditioning training. Crock described this as cardio specific to building muscle strength and endurance specific to becoming a strong boxer. After an intermission, there is an hour-long boxing skill training session comprised of footwork, punches, maneuvering from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Crock said anyone who wants to learn about boxing should come and support the hopeful team. “If you want to get a thorough workout and have the chance to represent your school boxing, we want you to give it a try,” said Crock. “Hopefully, we’ll see [you] in the ring.”
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