By Michael Patterson

Cleveland amateur boxer Jamal Bowman Jr. has taken pride in his dedication since he was eight. In doing so, he’s gotten one step closer to achieving his long-term boxing goals.

Bowman’s First Steps Toward His Dream

Bowman started training in his father’s apartment and had his first fight at 10. Later, he transitioned to Zelma George Park where he currently trains. 

Bowman started out only training on Saturdays because of his dad’s work schedule. Now he trains several days throughout the week for a couple of hours each session.

Constantly moving, while residing near Miles and Kinsman areas, during his childhood impacted Bowman’s social life while growing up. This created a challenge in building friendships.

“With school it could kind of mess with your friends a little bit… You make some friends, then kind of break up,” Bowman said.

Bowman’s Sacrifices Toward  His Dream

Bowman’s dedication to boxing still has an effect on his social life. He has lost numerous friends due to his boxing schedule. He is content with sacrificing aspects of his social life as long he achieves his goal of being a world champion boxer. 

“Some of my friends from high school, ever since I graduated, we have broken off… I’m working and boxing so I don’t really have time to do what they’re doing… A lot of friendships got broken because I was telling them I’m in the gym, I don’t have time for everything else,” Bowman said.

Bowman’s Early Sports Dreams

Bowman had different plans before completely setting his sights on boxing. When he was younger he had dreams of being a football player. He strayed away from that dream after realizing his size. When asked about it he said , “I was like 55 pounds all the way up until I was 12. I was small.”

In high school he ran track and cross country to enhance his endurance for boxing . That prompted a hiatus from boxing which increased his desire to excel in boxing. When asked how the time off from boxing affected him, Bowman said, “It made me want to compete more.. I’ve been seeing other people win.. so now I wanted to come back and I wanted to compete.”

Fighting Through Skeptical Thoughts

A few years after he stopped running cross country, doubts came into his mind about his boxing career. Bowman thought about walking away from the sport completely. These doubts, Bowman said, were because  “I was just training and I wasn’t fighting.”

Encouragement from his father pushed Bowman to fight in a local tournament created that urge to fight again. 

“I just fought in the tournament, had a good result. Now I was ready to keep on going,” Bowman said.

Life Outside of Boxing

Although Bowman is heavily invested in his boxing career, he does have several different hobbies that help him stay at ease outside the ring, which include hanging out with his girlfriend and brother, and a newfound joy of playing instruments.

When asked about his hobbies Bowman said, “Recently I’ve been trying to get into learning how to play the guitar. I learned how to play the piano and stuff like that. Other than that I just play basketball with my brothers or my girl.” He learned how to play the piano while living with a family member who had one. Staying there prompted his curiosity and pushed him to start playing.

He also is a foodie which is something he picks up from his girlfriend. When asked what is his favorite hobby to do with her, he said, “Eat..She put me on to all types of restaurants.. She’s the one who put me onto the apps. I got apps for every restaurant I’m not gonna lie…”

Bowman’s Influence on Those Around Him

Bowman plays a huge mentor role to younger boxers around him. He specifically spoke about his influence toward eight-year old boxer Paul Butler Jr.

When asked about his leadership toward Paul Butler Jr. he said, “Every time we’re in the gym, he’s around…when he sees me workout he doesn’t see me cut any slack. I don’t cheat on any workouts so he probably sees it too… When we’re running I try to motivate him to run because he’ll stop running. I put my hand on his back and I tell him to keep on running, it’s only gonna pay off.”

Butler Jr. already has several fights under his belt despite his young age. Who is Butler’s favorite fighter? 

“Jamal,” Butler said emphatically.

Most Important Life Lesson from Boxing

Bowman’s dedication is what drives his love for boxing. Boxing has taught Bowman much about himself. 

“The same dedication that I put into boxing, I could put into anything..I can just put the same determination for boxing into anything else,” he said.

Michael Patterson is a senior at John Carroll University studying digital media. He loves basketball, mixed martial arts and football and aspires to become a sports reporter or commentator.