<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0IhjYJ_0sVPAk6d00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0IhjYJ_0sVPAk6d00" width="1200" height="630" >TAHLEQUAH – For one Cherokee Nation citizen, the sport of boxing has pointed him in a new direction.Before taking up boxing, Anthony Vazquez was making some errant decisions and not certain of his path.Today, he is the Oklahoma Golden Gloves champion in the novice division at 139 pounds. “Golden Gloves is a national (organization) with tournaments in every state,” Vazquez said. “It was brought to me by Arlo (Jumper) and got my attention right away. I was training and sparring and just getting prepared for these moments, and it was this final tournament that was the scariest because I’d never done a two-day tournament.”Jumper, who owns Two Strong Boxing Club based in Tahlequah, is Vazquez’s trainer. He said many boxers “go to the same place” when they get in the ring, and “rhythm and timing” were essential – but must be flexible when facing different foes.“Once you see all these different styles, you’ll see their rhythm, once you find their rhythm, you’ll find their time,” Jumper said. “A lot of people don’t get that. They see a quick flash of someone getting knocked out. It’s not always that easy. If you get a knockout in the first round, congratulations, but what if you don’t? What do you do from there?”Vazquez said entering the ring on consecutive days was a challenge – making weight and avoiding distractions. But there was the advantage of working to correct his first-fight errors while they were still fresh in his mind.“The first was a dogfight,” he said. “The first opponent was shorter, but he could really take a hit. The second was taller and tried to move a little more, so I had to attack him and work a lot more with him.”Explaining how he won the tourney, Vazquez echoed his trainer about “timing and rhythm.”“I have really good rhythm and timing, and I’ll say I think that sets the tone,” he said. “Not everybody talks about those two things and not everybody works on them.”Vazquez said he both “looks for the next mountain to climb” and “lives in the moment.” It keeps him fit, active, and has given him a different perspective.Vazquez has been training with Jumper since high school.“He was a senior fixing to graduate,” Jumper said. “The beautiful thing with Anthony is he literally shows what this sport can do for people – for the psyche, the physical and the mental. It seems to me that boxing asks for just about everything.”Before boxing, Vazquez dealt with depression and anxiety, amplified by substance abuse.“Like anybody would tell you, that’s not fun,” he said. “Whenever you can get serious, you have hope and you can clean all that up. And when I got to boxing, boxing gives me a straight line. It’s very straightforward, and I look at things very straightforward. There were people who got close to me and got me together. I got help at the facility in Hastings (Hospital). It wasn’t something I wanted, but it was something that helped and got me through it. I just kind of didn’t care, and they directed me toward a different direction. They saw potential in me, and I am grateful that they were there for me.”Today, Vazquez cites discipline as his greatest enhancement since entering boxing, which he finds widely applicable in his life.“Not a lot of people stay disciplined,” he said. “Whatever you say you’re going to do, either you’re going to do it or you’re not. If you say you’re going to finish a job or start it, you can do it if you stay disciplined. That’s where it really shows.”</div></body>

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Vazquez wins state Golden Gloves title

TAHLEQUAH – For one Cherokee Nation citizen, the sport of boxing has pointed him in a new direction. Before taking up boxing, Anthony Vazquez was making some errant decisions and not certain of his path. Today, he is the Oklahoma Golden Gloves champion in the novice division at 139...

Vazquez wins state Golden Gloves title

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