Fighting for the Prize...

Over the years I've made some really good contacts who have been good about feeding me ideas for photo columns. One of them has been Geno, who has given me some really good boxing stories. So a few months ago when he told me about an MMA fighter he'd been working with, I jumped at the chance. I went and hung out with Brandon Farran a couple times watching him spar and preparing for an upcoming fight.

When I first met him I knew there was potential for good. Seeing the dreadlocks just put a smile on my face knowing I'd be able to work them into the photos somehow. The first time I went to shoot I was really pressed for time and only had about 40 minutes. I got a few shots of him working on his ground work practicing Jiu Jitsu, but I knew I'd need to go back. I went a second time but he wasn't fighting that night, b/c he had broken his nose the night before. But, it did give me time to get my interview done for the story. Then the third day probably made for some of the best photos. He was workign on his boxing, plus some cardio workouts. It worked out really well and was able to give me the variety I felt I was missing going into it. Plus it worked out well since I was able to run the story the week before his next fight.

Boxing...

I love shooting boxing. Ever since the first time I shot it in college, there has always been an interest. I know that MMA is a lot more popular right now, but as far as what I'd rather shoot I'll take boxing any day. Maybe it's because this is amateur and not professional, but it's a lot of fun to shoot. I also think it has a lot to do with how little I get to shoot it, maybe once a year.

This time it was a tournament. One of the local boxing gyms was having a state qualifying tournament with about 20 bouts. It was really cool because there was a nice mix of different ages and even a few girls matches. The last few boxing stories I've shot have just been boxers practicing, so it was nice to finally be able to shoot some matches. I ended up getting to shoot about four matches. I was the only photog on that day and had to squeeze a basketball game in the same time boxing was happening. But, overall it turned out pretty nice. I came away with a few shots I was happy with.

Another Kid Boxer...

I give out my business cards a lot, and when I tell someone to feel free to call me anytime if they have stories I really do mean it. Most of the time I'll never hear from the people I give my cards to. However, there are the few people who will call me. Geno, the guy who runs Old School Boxing is one of them. Last year he told me about Karissa after I had told him a couple years earlier I was interested in doing a story about female boxers. So, when I got a message from him a couple of weeks ago, about a kid going to the state Junior Olympic boxing tournament, I was excited about another boxing story.

Geno did it right too and I had to thank him for it. All too often I have sources call me and say "hey this is going on right now" or tomorrow, you should come out and cover it. And usually I'm already too busy and can't make it out there that day. Luckily for both us us I got the call on this one a month before the kid was going to El Paso, so it gave me plenty of time to get out there. I was able to work it around all the other stuff going on and go out there to shoot twice. Here is the link to the story that ran: Learning The Ropes

She Doesn't Hit Like a Girl...

A couple years ago I was at one of the local boxing gyms for a story we were doing on an upcoming story about a local boxing match. While I was there I asked Geno, the guy who ran the gym if he had any female boxers. At the time he didn't. A few years later, in May, I ran into Geno again while I was covering one of the local church's Cinco de Mayo celebrations. He mentioned that he had "plenty" of females boxing now and to come by any Tuesday night and he'd introduce my to some if I was still interested in doing a story about them.

My photo column series was just around the corner and I'm always looking for interesting stories to work on for these. So in June I showed up and was introduced to Karissa. She was not at all what I expected. I was expecting someone who looked more like a boxer rather than a high school girl who's favorite color was pink.

Since there aren't many girls who fight, and none of the others in her gym are at her level, her coaches often have her spar against the boys. And, she certainly holds her own. So much so that the only guy who will regularly fight with her is her boyfriend. She's even beaten a few of them up so good while sparring that they have been afraid to come back!

I will admit, just from looking at her I didn't think she was going to be much of a fighter but after having watched her spar a few time both with her coach and boyfriend, I'm not sure I'd mess with her. When she was hitting the gloves with her coach you could hear how loud her punches were landing. It was obvious this girl was a really hard hitter.

While watching her training I was really impressed by how hard she works out. For a 15-year-old kid she put plenty of time and effort into her workouts. I remember when I was that age, I'm not sure I would have done so much... especially the running in 100 degree weather. But, she did it and never complained about it beyond mentioning how hot it was, but everyone here complains about that though.

One of my favorite things about this though was the gym. The Old School Boxing gym really lives up to its name, old school. Geno, the owner, is proud of its no frills look. There are no expensive treadmills, they run instead. The weights are actual weights with bars and a bench, there are no bowflex machines or any of that other stuff you see at the high end gyms. Geno mentioned how he liked to keep it old school without the air conditioning, and added that often during the winter he'll crank up the heat even higher to keep everyone sweating during their workouts! I think it actually helped out the story more than if it was in some upscale gym that was sparkly clean. Although all three times I walked out of there my shirt was completely soaked from sweating, I think I even may have lost a few pounds just shooting photos.

Normally I don't have a whole lot of time to work on these, they need to be turned around pretty quick, but I made sure to make time to work on this story. It did help that summer nights aren't nearly as busy as the rest of the year. One thing I was hoping for was her to get a fight. But, that has been her problem since she started. There just isn't a lot of girls who box, so finding her an actual fight is tough. She's only had one real fight. I'm hoping she'll get another one in the next few months and doing a follow up story on her. Here is the link to the full story I wrote for the paper.