“Fly like a butterfly sting like a bee, fly like a butterfly sting like a bee, fly like a butterfly sting like a bee.” Melvin Ayewaou 25’ repeats in his head as he dances around the punching bag. Sweat funnels off his forehead and into the ground beneath him as he hops around, swinging left and right with all of his might.
Although a rookie in the sport of boxing, Ayewaou leaves a mark worth mentioning.
It wasn’t until only a few months ago that Ayewaou became dedicated to boxing. After an embarrassing loss by his cousin in a heated squabble, Ayewaou immediately realized he couldn’t let that happen again.
“He [the cousin] handed me my first L in a long time. It kind of hurt my ego, so I decided to change that.“ Ayewaou said.
With only roughly three months of professional training under his belt, Ayewaou has been focusing on the fundamentals. Techniques with headwork, footwork, and punching form are all practiced early on to ensure the fighters don’t carry any bad habits as they grow in the sport.
“They [the coaches] give you a time period where they want to see how good you are, your work ethic and all that. So I’m still in that limbo area where I’m not really allowed to compete yet in amateur boxing matches. But I do still get my experience outside that, you know, I spar random people, just really trying to get that feel working, get that ‘in-game’ experience,” Ayewaou said.
Dedicated to his craft, Ayewaou puts a lot of his focus towards training his endurance, one of the most important parts to a successful boxer in his opinion. Rounds may go fast, but multiple in a row can quickly wear a fighter out.
“It’s kind of like a mindset of knowing you have to conserve energy and not go all out. You don’t want to be gassing out too fast because you have three minute rounds,” Ayewaou said.
From the outside perspective, boxing can appear to be aggressive and dangerous. But to those in the sport, it is highly enjoyable and can be calming for some.
“Friendly sparring is fun because, like, you get to meet different people and connect, you know, but especially just being respectful to your opponents. People lose, It’s okay. So that’s why I always try to keep it slow and respectful. I don’t try to blitz and run in there and just give my all, you know, it’s supposed to be a teaching moment,” Ayewauo said.
Ultimately, Ayewaou will continue to keep training for a few more months but does not have any desire to pursue any amateur matches. Training in the gym and beating the bag is one battle, knowing when to hold back and hang the gloves up is another one.
“At the end of the day, when someone loses, bro. That’s like it hits your chest. When you’re standing there face down on the ground, you know, you gotta just keep it cool because it’s not like that. Y’all are just trying to have fun,” Ayewaou said.
