(LtoR) Bily Kapaun, Kevin Wright Photo:Alex Kanwischer

My Minnesota boxing experience was the culmination of a life long dream come true and a move from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada.  It was about hard work and never giving up even though everything was out of reach.  And by the time I left Minnesota not only had my dream come true but I had met people who would change my life forever.

                The first time I ever wanted to box was the first time I saw Roy Jones Jr. on the cover of a magazine.  The swagger, the athleticism and the cockiness intrigued me.  From that moment on the game was over.  And boxing was to find me.  But I struggled for over five years to find boxing and when I did I found more than I ever had dreamed about.

                I first started pursuing my dream at the age of 17 in Bear, Delaware.  There was one boxing gym in the whole state.  But being a young college student I never had enough money to join the gym.  That did not stop me from learning what I could.  I spent hours of my time talking to boxers and reading articles about stance, footwork and the basic punches.  In addition to that I ran over five miles at least three times a week because that is what I heard boxers did. And all I wanted was to be a boxer. 

                I remember my first boxing training session in Newark, Delaware.  His (the boxer’s) name escapes me, but he boxed in the Las Vegas “Toughman Competition.”  He showed me how to throw the one-two-three combination at seventeen years old.  I practiced that for the next year until a turn of events moved me back to Texas.  But I would not find a boxing gym until I moved to Minnesota three years later.

                After I was back in Texas at age 18 life became hectic and I was unable to pursue boxing for the next few years.  I fell along the wayside. But the day after my daughter was born I decided it was time to get back in shape and to pursue my dream once again.  But I still had no access to a boxing gym, and with a newborn baby even if I did I had no money to afford it.

                But I did manage to scrounge up some money and buy a punching bag to hang  up in my backyard in rural south Texas.  In between caring for my daughter I would spend twenty minutes at a time banging away on my punching bag.  I had no clue what I was doing but still had more fun that I had in years.  And after all boxing was my dream.

                There was a Karate class at a local church that I decided to join.  That didn’t help much in boxing but I sparred for the first time in my life.  And even if it was not boxing it was still something.  So I had a taste for what it was like to fight and from that point on I knew exactly what I had to do.

                Well the time had come and I had to pack up my bags and head to St. Michael, Minnesota. The drive across country was tiring but when I got to Minnesota I knew what my second order of business was (after finding a job). I had to find a boxing gym and I had to find one fast.  My first session I was out of shape but that did not stop me from the forty five minute drive to St. Cloud Boxing club.  Thanks to Robby Sheets I learned how to throw a jab.  He would by my coach until the National Guard called him out of the country for a few months.  That is when I met Scott Kelm.

                Scott Kelm is the owner of the Downtown Gym and Fitness Center in St. Cloud Minnesota.  But he is much more than that.  He was and in many ways still is my coach.

                I joined The St. Cloud Boxing/Wrestling club in February of 2010.  Over the next few months I was in the gym whenever I had a chance.  Mondays and Saturday mornings almost every week sparring with Scott and learning the basics from Coach Troy.  My dream was finally coming true.

                In September of 2010 I had my first fight.  What an experience! Years of my lifelong dream coming true thanks to Scott and his team of coaches!  I had my second fight in October and seeing myself on video in the ring was almost a dream! It was a dream! A dream finally come true after years of hard work and diligence.

You see to me boxing is more than pads and sparring.  Boxing is about life.  It is about motivation, inspiration, hard work, fitness and brotherhood.  But without a good coach none of that is possible.  That is what Scott Kelm is to all his boxers.

                Do not get me wrong he is still a sparring partner, still a friend and still my coach.  But above all that he is a teacher.  Not the kind you find in the classroom where you go to learn math and science.  But the kind you need everyday in the classroom of life.  All the years I spent trying to teach myself how to box got me nowhere.  Ten months with Scott Kelm at St. Cloud Boxing/Wrestling club changed my life forever and rocketed me into a state of living that I never would have achieved without him.

                I had two matches while I was in Minnesota and now I am back in Texas.  But I am bringing back much more than a USA Boxing amateur record.  I am bringing back lessons I never would have learned without the sport of boxing, St. Cloud Boxing/Wrestling Club and coaches Scott Kelm and Robbie Sheets. I am not just an amateur boxer, I am a better person.  I am a man now.  And I can only pray that you find in boxing what I found. Which is rest for your soul and lessons for life.