William Gordon, owner Oxford Training Center boxing program, wraps up a trainee’s hand. (Photo by Aleea Burge)
For the past two years, William Gordon and Brian Hawks have worked together to create a boxing program at the Oxford Training Center.
The program focuses on training all who are interested in boxing and going pro, but it is also open to amateurs. Gordon said he wanted his gym to be open to everyone.
“We understand that, from our walks of life, that there will be fights and battles,” Gordon said. “Even when life has you on the ropes, you can slip out of it”
Gordon has been boxing since the age of 9 and has an interest in promoting a profound sense of community through boxing.
“I didn’t get into training tough until I began attending Northwest Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi where Danny Ray Cole taught me how to get the most from the body’s movements,” Gordon said.
Gordon carried the things he was taught from boxing to sessions with his own fighters.
“I took my style and athleticism and infused it with [Cole’s] technique, and we went from there with the first students being local athletes Kiree Wilson and Curtis Vaughn,” Gordon said.
According to Gordon, their training is very different compared to the ones seen in popular boxing movies.
“Our teaching differs heavily from what you see on movies,” Gordon said. “If you’ve watched Creed or Cinderella Man and think you know a thing about boxing, scratch that thought. Everything is based upon repetition of perfection. Perfect practice makes perfect.”
Shante Pratt works on her jab at the Oxford Training Center. (Photo by Aleea Burge)
Gordon said the studio molds together a multitude of different personalities, and that individuals participating in the boxing training can apply the skills they gain to their everyday lives.
“We want champions and an Oxonian Olympian, but we also want the community and anyone else that’s here,” Gordon said.
The studio offers various techniques including both self-defense and personal training.
Patrick Higginbotham catches his breath after running suicides. (Photo By Aleea Burge)
“Besides great technique and phenomenal self-defense, we offer the best core, cardio and HIIT (high intensity interval training) training that you will find in the area by only using your body weight and small resistance,” Gordon said.
According to Gordon, the most rewarding part about working at the studio is witnessing the success stories of his own participants.
“Athletes that go pro or begin coaching, children who stop getting bullied, parents who gain their confidence or dream bodies, and most importantly fighters that win their matches,” Gordon said.
The program trains professional boxers as well as Ole Miss football players. Twenty-year-old Oxford native and trainee Amos McCloud said the training is rigorous enough to present a challenge to everyone, even seasoned players.
“We have had Ole Miss football players come and be like ‘I don’t see how you guys do this,’” McCloud said.
McCloud has been a part of the boxing program for four years. He said it is beneficial to the community because it allows people to learn how to defend themselves but also gives participants the tools to face everyday problems and escape the troubles of their reality.
“You can workout and learn the sweet science of boxing for an hour or more,” McCloud said. “It seems like whatever troubles they have vanish as soon as people step in the gym and hear the bell ring.”
