Aug 28, 2008 10:08 am US/Eastern
Baltimore Boxing Coach Plans Fight As Fundraiser
BALTIMORE (AP) ―
Marvin McDowell has a message for teens in Baltimore: "Put the guns down and put the gloves up."
Since 1996, the founder of UMAR Boxing, a city boxing gym, has been steering kids to the sport -- and away from the street -- while helping them further their education.
In his North Avenue gym in West Baltimore, McDowell has one room equipped with heavy bags and a boxing ring, and another full of computers and his athletes' report cards.
"Our goal is to save kids' lives," McDowell said. "We're trying to keep these kids focused, get them into something positive."
On Aug. 29, his gym and several others from Baltimore will face off in a boxing event at Patapsco Arena in South Baltimore, pitting their fighters against competitors from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The event, titled "Bringing unity back to our community," will also feature a concert and an after-party. One of UMAR's fighters, Glenn Dezum, a nationally ranked 125-pounder, said he turned to boxing less than two years ago, after he was kicked out of Frederick Douglass High School following a confrontation with a school resource officer. He was arrested -- and a judge told him to clean up his act.
"I had a temper," said Dezum, who estimates his amateur record is now 30-2. "Now I put that energy into boxing. When I come to the gym, it helps me calm down."
Dezum, who said he trains every day, considers McDowell and other trainers father figures.
"My father was addicted to drugs; he wasn't around that much," Dezum said. It's success stories like Dezum's that motivate McDowell to try to get more kids off the street, he said. "Instead of the drugs and the violence, they can do something positive," McDowell said. "We try to put gyms where there's the most need. I wish there was a UMAR on every corner of the city."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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