C.R. club stays old school with boxing

CEDAR RAPIDS - For members of the Cedar Rapids Boxing Club, sticking to the basics is what they do best.

Five Cedar Rapids boxers are in Des Moines today to compete in the Iowa Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament at the Forte Center - Jacquie Cuddeback (119 pounds), Bryce Reynolds (123), Dane Reynolds (132), Mitchell Lenconte (141) and Antonia Woods (178).

'We've been training since January and have been working as hard as we can,” Woods said. 'This is the biggest amateur tournament we got, the toughest competition. There are people who train year-round for this whole event.”

The Golden Gloves has been around since 1923 providing opportunities for amateur boxers and has produced the majority of competitors for America's boxing teams in the Pan-Am and Olympic games.

'Last year I came up short, unfortunately, and this year I made sure I was in (the gym) every day for a minimum of two hours, just draining myself every day,” LeConte said.

These boxers have been preparing to compete in the traditional boxing ring, but many fighters these days are turning to mixed martial arts as a competitive outlet.

'Boxing is a pure boxing sport,” Coach Jim Barr said. 'MMA brings in some more wrestling, but boxing is strictly on your feet. You don't go to the ground. It is the old pure sport from centuries ago.”

MMA has gained in popularity recently, but Barr believes boxing is making a comeback.

'I believe the reason for (MMA's popularity is) there is no charismatic heavyweight in boxing anymore, no Ali or Tyson, but boxing is still alive and well in Iowa,” he said.

Cuddeback said she had to compete in MMA - even though she preferred boxing - because there just wasn't enough female competition. She's had to compete in heavier weight classes just to get boxing bouts.

'This is my third year at the Golden Gloves, and the first two years I won my division unopposed,” she said.

'So, hopefully, this year there will be somebody.”

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