Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.”
If Rayshawn Cooper hadn’t already known that, he found out Saturday, Oct. 15, when he fought Plant City High School junior David Torres.
Although the two fighters were separated by a seven-year age gap, Torres, 17, looked superior. From start to finish, his approach was relentless: Cooper’s reach advantage was negated by Torres’ habit of moving inside and showering him with aggressive, yet calculated, combinations. It almost appeared as if Torres wanted Cooper to hit him.
At times, a wolfish grin unfurled on Torres’ face before he cut off an escape route or rushed inside. His punches flew and landed with a controlled rage, as if he had bottled up emotions to let them loose at that very moment. And, although there were exchanges where Torres got as good as he gave, he didn’t back down.
Boxing is Torres’ newest way of showing he fears no one.
Boxing is his outlet for an anger that once consumed him.
Boxing is the piece of his soul he never knew he was missing.
“I want everybody to know it’s good to have a hobby where you can release your stress,” Torres says.
Torres always knew fighting was his specialty. Growing up, he says he developed the kind of personality that would get him in hot water. He wanted his peers to know he was not a kid to be trifled with, whether they knew they were drawing his ire or not.
“I couldn’t control myself,” Torres says. “Sometimes, I’d get in fights for no reason other than, ‘That dude looked at me.’”
Torres eventually saw a hair-trigger temper was only going to hurt him in life, so he sought solutions. The usual slew of sports, from football to soccer, weren’t really his thing. Then he found Plant City Boxing Gym.
FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY
Torres puts everything he has into sessions at Plant City Boxing Gym.
There are long runs, done on the balls of the feet, from one end of the warehouse to the other.
There are lunges, tire flips, heavy bag sessions, jump roping, mitt drills and plenty of other cardio-centric exercises.
He runs two miles to the gym. And he doesn’t like to miss practice. This, according to gym owner Jose Rodriguez, is what sets Torres apart.
“I feel like, every time I’m hitting that bag, I’m focused on everything,” Torres says. “All the things I’m mad at. Everything I’ve been through. I focus on it so I can release my stress.”
In the gym, fighters work and work until their legs can’t move, until their arms can’t guard their faces and until nothing sounds more relieving than taking a quick break to go outside and vomit. And, when that happens, the “second wind” of energy puts Torres and others back in for more.
“Boxing’s tough,” Torres says. “I like working out. I like pushing myself to the limit, to where I know I can’t do any more.”
STING LIKE A BEE
Torres found his training sessions paid off in his very first fight in May. He won the first of his six fights by TKO in the third round.
“I was crying.” Torres says. “It was exciting, my first fight. Not a lot of people win their first fight, and not a lot of people win by TKO.”
He gained the approval of his mother and stepfather and now has a support system beyond his trainers.
Rodriguez plans to help Torres launch his career once he turns 18. Florida’s Sunshine State Games, Silver and Golden Gloves tournaments will be in play.
Sporting a 5-1 record through six fights, Torres is confident his experience in the novice ranks and his lessons learned from the Plant City Boxing Gym are preparing him to be successful at the next level.
“Whatever (Rodriguez) is down for, let’s go for it,” Torres says. “If he says he wants to go to Golden Gloves, let’s do it. I trust him. He’s the best coach.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.