Boxing helps youths fight off frustrations

Less than a month into his freshman year at Southeast Raleigh High, Travis Jackson was suspended for fighting.

"I thought I was tough," the long-limbed teenager said. "I used to smoke. Stayed in trouble a lot. I wanted to be like people I saw in the streets."

That changed when he met coach Alan Muriera in June and joined the Second Round Boxing Program in Raleigh.

In six months, Jackson has tried to stop his bad behavior and channel that negative energy into something worth fighting for -- self-improvement and self-respect.

"I'm a boxer," he announced proudly on Monday at the gym located on South Saunders Street. "I stay out of trouble. I learned how to control my anger. I do my school work. I don't talk back to my momma. I don't come home late. I do what I'm supposed to."

Jackson, who has a mean uppercut, has changed his life, improved his school work and gained confidence.

It's the story of boxing. You've heard the tales, someone uses the sport to transform his life.

Boxing is not a sport many people in this state think much about, especially if they are considering high school sports, yet the life skills and discipline required are similar to those of football or cross country.

Though boxing is not for everyone, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association has never and probably never will sanction the sport -- for liability reasons -- it is popular and has lessons to offer for many so-called "at-risk" youngsters.

Muriera, a former U.S. Air Force boxer who is originally from Southern California, saw the benefits for youth in 2000 when he started the Second Round program.

After working through the kinks of maintaining a nonprofit organization, Muriera has partnered with Haven House, a service that helps teenagers, some homeless runaways, restart and restructure their lives. Second Round also is sponsored by Triangle United Way and housed in a new facility.

Muriera said the program is an alternative to "street life." In short, it saves lives. There are bright yellow signs on the gym's windows that say "Safe Place."

Everyone is welcomed, male or female. Second Round is a "color free" environment -- race and gang affiliations are irrelevant.

"You're a boxer," Muriera said.

And for the 30 or so boxers in the free program that means sweating through their clothes three days a week. They pound punching bags, jump rope and jog. There are plenty of push-ups and sit-ups.

Sparring is rare, even though Muriera said head injuries are less common in boxing than in some mainstream sports. Several of the boxers are working to become amateurs, with dreams of someday going pro. Others just want somewhere to go.

Muriera is not shy about expressing the challenges some of his fighters face. Poverty, anger management and more. He also knows gangs have a stronghold in some communities and that young people must have a heady plan to avoid the potential pitfalls.

He said 95 percent of boxing is mental preparation. He uses the sport as a metaphor for life, where an individual must set a strategy and follow through, reacting to obstacles as they arise.

"Every time you use your brain, it's like a muscle, it gets stronger," he said. "I'm trying to get these kids to look critically at things."

And they are. Garner High senior Alberto Borbonio started coming to Second Round three months ago. He has less of an attitude at home. He appreciates the discipline. He just needed to come out and get busy.

"If you're in the house, you get frustrated," he said. "If you're here, you're relaxed."

Muriera says boxing could help more Triangle students. He is proposing a summit for boxing gyms and youth prevention programs around the state to discuss how the sport could be used to help mentor teenagers. He envisions gyms packed with youths punching out their issues instead of each other.

What a wonderful idea.

For more information, call (919) 719-0872.