SPENCER, Okla. –<\/p>\n
Sims Boxing Academy owner Lavell Sims is fighting to save youth by keeping them off the streets and throwing them in the ring.<\/p>\n
Boxing is something Sims said saved his life and now he is paying it forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt taught me discipline, some structure, and that\u2019s the main thing. You know, a lot of these kids, they want structure. And I feel if you get them, structure it, it\u2019ll kind of keep them on the right path,\u201d said Sims.<\/p>\n
Saturday night the youth prepared for some boxing matches in Spencer which is a quarterly event Sims said they have.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For 20-year-old Travis Dixon, the sport has boosted his confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 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,\u201d said Dixon.<\/p>\n
Boxing coach Christopher Lancaster said it was important for him to trade in his boxing gloves and become a coach.<\/p>\n
Lancaster added, \u201cSeeing the gun violence, seeing what happens when they become adults, it all starts as a kid.I was the same way. If I didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sims said hundreds of kids have come through his academy since opening about 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
He describes it as more than just a boxing academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they come here it\u2019s like a family. It\u2019s bigger than boxing,\u201d said Sims.<\/p>\n
He also added, \u201cWhen a kid has a problem at school, it\u2019s nothing for us to get a phone call, we head to the school and kind of put the fire out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sims said they become a part of that kid\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Just last month Sims lost 19-year-old Emmitt Gresham Jr., who attended the boxing academy, to gun violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a stand-up kid,\u201c said Sims.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s not a fighter but if they can get something out of this program, we\u2019ve done our job. I can\u2019t save the world but if I save that one, I\u2019ve done my job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n