Grand Valley boxing club builds confidence in young fighters

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -A boxing club that started as one father’s search for a place to train his 13-year-old has grown into a gym where coaches and young fighters say the sport is helping them far beyond the ring.

David Johnson founded the Grand Valley Boxing Club about three months ago because he didn’t have a place for his son to train. Johnson found a couple of local coaches and asked them to start training his son. It evolved into the boxing club.

“And then David actually came up to me one day in the gym when I was training at Planet Fitness. And he was looking for someone to train his kid,” said Roman Ramos, a coach at Grand Valley Boxing Club. “Days go by, we start training them... Kids are doing great.”

Ramos said he saw the inspiration and the light he could give to someone teaching boxing.

Building discipline and confidence

Xavier Wandell-Lincoln, a boxing club member, said he comes to the gym most days not wanting to do it, feeling tired after working 10 hours or not feeling right.

“But by the time six o’clock hits and practice is no longer going, I want to keep going,” Wandell-Lincoln said.

Wandell-Lincoln started boxing around his freshman year and got his first fights in the Golden Gloves. He won both fights.

“First fight, came in very nervous. But once I won it, you know, I felt amazing. It’s a feeling I can’t really explain,” Wandell-Lincoln said.

Johnson said everyone at the club has gotten better physically, skill-wise and developmentally as a person.

“Definitely self-confidence. I’d say I definitely walk different, I definitely talk different,” Wandell-Lincoln said. “And, overall, I just, I feel like I’m a better person, too, when it comes to my family, my spouse, and just how I perceive life. I mean, yeah, I know how to fight, but it’s honestly made me more respectful, more understanding of others.”

Wandell-Lincoln said boxing has helped him through a lot of bad things in life and could change someone’s lifestyle completely.

“I promise you, if you commit to it, you will become a better person,” Wandell-Lincoln said.

“So, don’t be scared to try it, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up loving it at the end,” Ramos said.

The club is hoping to raise money for a permanent location, a ring and equipment. Anyone who would like to donate or learn more about getting involved can visit grandvalleyboxingclub.com.