Boxing with purpose
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on March 23, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Shy'heim Ashford stands in the boxing ring of his father's gym decorated with the medals he has earned in various boxing competitions. Ashford's Boxing Club offers children of the city a place to go to train, learn and develop discipline.
Shy'heim Ashford bumps his boxing gloves together.
His medals clang as they sway across his chest.
He shifts his left foot and then his right foot into the ring where, to get his blood flowing, he gives a right hook and a left hook -- then he finishes with a powerful uppercut.
The 10-year-old, 55-pound boxing champion trains after school at his father's gym, Ashford's Boxing Club, located at Goldsboro's Herman Park.
"He's been boxing since he was a baby," Shy'heim's father, Steve Ashford, said.
Shy'heim lifts the top rope and steps over the middle, exiting the ring as he unties his gloves. He's headed to the gym's computer room where his homework waits for him each day.
"They (boxers) have to be born with that. I didn't choose boxing for him -- he chose it. He chose it because he's punched since day one.
Shy'heim enters the boxing club every day after school, where he is required to train for competitions and complete his studies. Rather than sit on a couch and play video games, Shy'heim suits up for the ring before he fills his mind with science and math.
"I practice really every day," Shy'heim said. "I just train the whole time. Let's say if I come at 5, I'd be done at least by 9 p.m. I run two miles, (but) I don't run on Sundays."
Ashford quickly added that Shy'heim plays more than he trains.
"No, he (Shy'heim) basically hangs here everyday," he said. "He probably trains 30 minutes. The rest of the day, he's got the computer room, he's on the basketball court, he's running around the whole building. Basically, he's growing up at this building. Everybody in here knows him because he's my son."
Ashford is proud of his son and does not mind saying so. He says Shy'heim is ranked No. 1 in both the regional and in the state.
He is also classified as a Silver Glove in youth boxing and can become a Golden Glove at age 15. He is following the same track once taken by Ashford.
"I was boxing. I moved to New York, and I sat back and analyzed everything, where all these (boxing) champions were coming from," Ashford said. "They were coming from their fathers, and that's how I knew. I was like, 'Don't anybody love your child more than you. Can't anyone put in more time than you,' and that's what it's all about. It's all about which kids get the opportunity, and these world champions ... are trained by their fathers because of the simple fact they get the opportunity. That's where it's coming from.
Ashford strongly believes a father-son bond is pivotal for the future of a child. He knows mothers are important, but feels sons must spend time with a father or a father figure for some solid discipline.
And though Ashford provides that stability for his son, he recognizes it as something other boys in the community are lacking. His gym, in a way, provides some solid discipline and foundation for those youths in the community who do not have strong male role models in their lives.
Children from Goldsboro swarm the boxing club every day after school, but the club would not be possible without help from two local men -- Billy Strickland, attorney at Strickland, Agner & Associates of Goldsboro, and Russell Stephens, director of Goldsboro's Parks and Recreation.
Along with Ashford, the men work together to create a positive environment for city children.
"I actually, for years since I've been here (Goldsboro), have taken one kid every five or six years from Goldsboro High," Strickland said. "Kind of adopt them, and I give them a job, teach them how to dress (and) teach them how to interview."
He said one former pupil of his recently graduated from Howard University and is now a banker. Another graduated from Johnson C. Smith in December and has since joined the military.
"He's going to be an officer in six months. That's what I was doing." Strickland said.
That is, until he met Ashford.
The two met Ashford at a Parks and Rec function in 2010. He listened to Ashford talk about the benefits the gym, which was located on Royall Avenue in a body shop at the time, provided.
The body shop served its purpose, but Strickland's vision found a more suitable location for children to box.
"Unlike most, I did the followup because it interested me," Strickland said. "I told him (Ashford), 'Why don't we pair our two ideas together -- school education, dressing, hygiene, how you address people?' That's important to me, and the sports was important to him (Ashford)."
From that, the two men started working together. They were still in the old paint shop. They still did not have much.
"We had a ring, and I would go get like big fans because we didn't have air conditioning," Strickland said. "We had a few kids from the projects and what not.
Then Steve heard about the gym, or that one section of the Parks and Rec building was available, he said.
"He came to me, and we went to talk to guys at Parks and Rec and the director at the time. They were very helpful and receptive, and we worked out a long-term lease with those guys that was amenable to both sides," Strickland said. "And they've been very, very supportive."
Ashford works hard to provide a boxing ring for Shy'heim and other children in Goldsboro, and those who participate must work hard with their grades. They are required to show Strickland their report card every nine months.
Ashford believes the community can help more youths have the opportunity to box in a safe environment and give them a chance to box in championships -- in Wilson, Wilmington and abroad -- and in local fights in Goldsboro.
Pictures of all the youths who go to the gym hang on a wall, and Ashford is proud that most stay out of trouble, only losing "two or three" to the streets after they enter the program.
But a picture of his son hangs among the legendary boxers of this generation and past as a testament to Ashford's hope for Shy'heim's future -- uninterrupted pursuit of greatness.