May 13, 2008
Aiming high
Ferndale boxer Nick Kisner sets his sights on the 2012 Olympics and a future professional career
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It's 45 minutes before the fight, and Nick Kisner is getting his hands taped. Kisner and fellow boxer Mike Paschal are trading tips before Kisner's bout at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie.
The 16-year-old super heavyweight is relaxed but focused. When he matter-of-factly says things such as "I can be so quick that it's hard to hit me. Hands and feet-wise, it's just unreal," it's difficult to not believe him.
When it's time to fight, Kisner moves slowly toward the ring apron with his father, Danny, Paschal and trainer Vince Veazey. His red headgear is tightly in place, and his bright-red tank top with yellow print glistens under the overhead lights as he waits in his corner. His red and yellow silk trunks sway as he rocks back and forth, staring down his opponent in the opposite corner.
When the bell for the first round finally rings, Kisner is no longer calm. He circles his opponent like a shark cornering its prey. In the first minute of the round, his opponent looks frustrated as he gets pasted with left jabs and right crosses. Nick strings together combinations effortlessly, and, in the blink of an eye, his opponent collapses to the canvas, the victim of a pinpoint left hook.
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The opposing trainer waves his arms, saying his fighter has had enough, giving Kisner a knockout victory in just a minute and 30 seconds of work.
Kisner leaps into the outstretched arms of his father. This was a satisfying win, but nothing too special. He hasn't lost an amateur fight in two years, and this is his 18th straight victory.
With a 58-22 amateur record, Nick Kisner uses fights like this to stay sharp. He has much bigger goals in mind. Such as the Olympics.
Kisner, a Ferndale resident and junior at Old Mill, wrestled on the junior varsity team the past two years and said the wrestling training has helped him with conditioning and strength in the ring. Kisner, 5 feet 11 and 220 pounds, posted a 10-8 record on the wrestling team last season and finished in fourth place in Anne Arundel County, but he is giving up wrestling this year to focus solely on boxing. His next fight is Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. at Michael's Eighth Avenue.
Kisner, who trains at Club One Fitness in Millersville, has an impressive boxing resume, having won a number of national amateur tournaments in the super heavyweight division (201 pounds and up).
This year, he has won the National Silver Gloves, the National Junior Olympics, the National Golden Gloves and the Ringside World Championship. Having dominated the 15-16 division the past two years, he plans on moving up in January to the amateur men's division, where he'll fight heavyweights ages 17-34.
Paschal, 26, who has a 13-0-1 record as a super middleweight, doesn't think the men's division will be a problem for Nick.
"I don't think [men's division boxers] can match his speed," said Paschal, a friend of Nick's who also is trained by Danny Kisner. "He hasn't even gotten his strength yet. Once he gets that, he's going to be crushing people."
Nick's long-term goal is to make the 2012 Olympic team. Joe Zanders, who coached Nick at the National Junior Olympics, sees similarities between Nick and U.S. super heavyweight Jason Estrada, whom he coached as an assistant on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.
"I think Nick has the same type of ability," Zanders said. "He knows how to make his opponent miss and knows how to move his feet. He's big and slick, and you don't see a lot of big boys that can do that."
"I definitely want to be a boxer," he said. "I was brought up with boxing. The way I look at it, all I've ever wanted to do was box."
John Brown, who trained former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison when Morrison was 18, said that if Nick continues to work hard, he has a chance to be a successful pro.
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
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