SPENCER, Okla. –
Sims Boxing Academy owner Lavell Sims is fighting to save youth by keeping them off the streets and throwing them in the ring.
Boxing is something Sims said saved his life and now he is paying it forward.
“It taught me discipline, some structure, and that’s the main thing. You know, a lot of these kids, they want structure. And I feel if you get them, structure it, it’ll kind of keep them on the right path,” said Sims.
Saturday night the youth prepared for some boxing matches in Spencer which is a quarterly event Sims said they have.
Sims said coming to the academy is not just a way of keeping them from gravitating toward lifestyles that could bring them harm, it is a way of them releasing anger or frustration.
For 20-year-old Travis Dixon, the sport has boosted his confidence.
“After I stayed around here for some time, they kind of brought me out of my shell and got me to speak out a little bit more,” said Dixon.
Boxing coach Christopher Lancaster said it was important for him to trade in his boxing gloves and become a coach.
Lancaster added, “Seeing the gun violence, seeing what happens when they become adults, it all starts as a kid.I was the same way. If I didn’t make changes as a kid, I probably would be somewhere different but having those figures and having somebody discipline me helped out a whole bunch.”
Sims said hundreds of kids have come through his academy since opening about 20 years ago.
He describes it as more than just a boxing academy.
“When they come here it’s like a family. It’s bigger than boxing,” said Sims.
He also added, “When a kid has a problem at school, it’s nothing for us to get a phone call, we head to the school and kind of put the fire out.”
Sims said they become a part of that kid’s family.
Just last month Sims lost 19-year-old Emmitt Gresham Jr., who attended the boxing academy, to gun violence.
“He was a stand-up kid,“ said Sims.
Gresham had dreams of becoming a tattoo artist, but it was cut short when he was shot and killed in a in Northeast Oklahoma City robbery.
Sims said coming to the camp benefits these kids in a variety of ways.He said it teaches them self-defense, bully prevention, and it is also a way of meeting fitness goals.
“Everyone’s not a fighter but if they can get something out of this program, we’ve done our job. I can’t save the world but if I save that one, I’ve done my job,” he said.
For more information on Sims Boxing Academy, you can visit their Facebook page.