The Brighterside Boxing team was started as a vehicle to steer the inner-city youths of Cleveland from drugs and street violence. This team came to be because someone saw a need to help the neighborhood youths stay on a positive path.

Boxers win four national titles

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

The Brighterside Boxing team recently returned from Ripley, Tenn. where they participated in the Title National Boxing Tournament. Four out of six boxers were winners. “One of the better highlights of the tournament was when young 8-year-old Barrick “B Rock” Wilson had his decision reversed,” said Coach Fred Wilson.

The Brighterside Boxing team was started as a vehicle to steer the inner-city youths of Cleveland from drugs and street violence. This team came to be because someone saw a need to help the neighborhood youths stay on a positive path.

That someone was Wilson, father of five, member of the Brighterside Street Club, chairman of the Drug Free Zone Strategy Council for the Brighterside, a member of Calvary Apostolic Assembly under the direction of Bishop Lewis Q. Fitzpatrick, who began coaching some of the teens out of his basement. Word spread fast of him volunteering with the kids. What started with eight grew to more than his basement could accommodate. So, he began to seek out help from others.

What attributes make one a masterful boxer? What classifies as boxing “skill”? Contrary to what some fans may think, true skill in boxing is not athletic ability. There are two main qualifications that make one skillful in boxing. The first is the ability to think in the ring, and the second is a boxer’s sense of timing and distance.

If a boxer has ring smarts and the ability to correctly gauge and judge distance then he has the potential to be a successful boxer. It is these attributes that allow him to use his physical assets and boxing style to be triumphant in the ring.

There is an old saying in boxing… A great boxer plays chess, and the average boxer plays checkers. The ability to outthink an opponent is a timeless skill and the greatest fighters have this ability. A boxer wants to create doubt in his opponent and make him second-guess himself.

A great boxer, like a chess master, plans his moves by setting up his opponent, takes advantage of tactical errors with pinpoint sharp-shooting and uses combinations when his opponent is on the defensive. He positions himself where he makes his opponent think he is just out of range and catches him coming into his perfectly timed counterpunches.

“Boxing was rudimentary, yet powerful enough to stand the test of time. We’ve taken elements of this nostalgic era and with a fistful of structure have punched our way into the future,” said Coach Wilson.

Brighterside Boxing has assembled the basic boxing fundamentals that will be the foundation into a liquid state of information you will absorb starting from the floor to your forehead. They believe YOU will be, “a boxer in training,” learning and experiencing what it takes to box. Anyone and everyone can hit the heavy bag, but you will do it with a purpose.

Their Boxers include Joshua “Big Dog” Cook, Jessica Renee Cobbs, Roderick Wilson, Barrick Wilson, Jimmy “Killer” Bland, Fred “Dynamite” Wilson Jr. and Alycia Cook-Woodland as the assistant coach.

There is substance behind their youth boxing program. The goal is not to turn kids into competitive boxers, but to teach them life lessons through boxing. It takes discipline, determination, focus, drive, perseverance and many other attributes to go through boxing training. All participants leave the program with a can-do attitude and a thirst for challenges. These are great benefits, but boxing offers even more physical benefits.

Boxing provides a cardiovascular workout like nothing else. With this workout the youth will help to knockout childhood obesity. Whether the child is 6 or 16, Brighterside Boxing can offer them a safe and structured program that is engaging and fun.

Today, Coach Wilson envisions building a state of the art facility that will be equipped to house boxers, educate the boxers and other neighborhood youth and host world class tournaments.