Mastering the “Sweet Science”

ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFPN) -- In a small gym in Rapid City, Andre Penn is drenched in sweat.

He’s dancing around the middle of a boxing ring, peppering the mitts on his coach’s hands with lightning quick jabs, hooks and uppercuts. With every connection, the gym echoes, speaking on behalf of the power behind each blow.

He continues for three minutes -- barely enough time to heat a bag of microwave popcorn -- but it’s an eternity when one is expending as much energy as Penn.

A horn belts out loudly through the gym. The round of training is over – for one minute. When the horn sounds again, it will be three more minutes of all-out effort for Penn under the watchful eye of his trainer, Eddie Martinez. Whether pounding the mitts, hitting the heavy bag, mastering the agility bag, sparring, shadow boxing or skipping rope, Penn will work furiously for three minutes and rest for one.

Penn continues to train at this pace for two hours. Combined with the three to four miles he runs each morning after finishing his midnight shift at the Pine Tree Inn on base, as well as time spent lifting weights, he’s training an average of three to four hours a day.

“How much you put into it is what you get back,” said Penn, an airman 1st class from the 28th Services Squadron. “When you work hard, it pays off. I wake up every day committed and dedicated to training as hard as I can.”

So far, that commitment and dedication has paid off in the form of a 7-0 record for the 152-pound, 21-year-old amateur boxer from Pensacola, Fla. It’s his hope it will also pay off with a spot on the Air Force boxing team.

Penn leaves Monday for Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to train with the best boxers the Air Force has to offer for upwards of 70 days. This permissive temporary duty assignment gives Penn a shot at the Air Force team. He said Martinez was his motivation.

“Andre has a great work ethic,” said Martinez, head trainer at the Rapid City Boxing Club. “From the time he walks in the door until the time he leaves, he’s working hard. He has all the tools he needs to make the team.”

Penn began training in his hometown four years ago. He was finished playing high school sports, and initially picked up boxing as a way to stay in shape. After a short time in the gym, he found himself in the ring for his first, and toughest, fight.

“It was an Alabama Golden Gloves tournament,” Penn said. “The guy I was faced against already had nine or 10 fights under his belt, so he had a lot more experience than me. I was pretty nervous, but I won.”

Penn won five more fights before enlisting in the Air Force. Shortly after arriving at Ellsworth, he made his way to the boxing club to pick up where he left off in his boxing career. However, finding fights in South Dakota hasn’t been as easy for him as it was in Florida.
 
“I’d like to fight more,” Penn said, “but there just aren’t many boxers around here. A lot of times, we’ll go to a tournament and there won’t be a guy to match up with me in my weight class, or I have too much experience for anybody in my weight class. Some guys just get intimidated.”

Penn finally found a fight on Dec. 17. He won by a third-round technical knockout, and his wife, Heather, was on hand to witness it.

“That was the first time I got to see him fight,” she said. “I was a little nervous, but I felt he could win. When he did win, I was so excited. He’s a great fighter and I’m very proud of him.”

Penn said his primary goal right now is to make the Air Force team. However, looking ahead, he said turning professional would be something he’d like to try.

“I talk with people about it all the time,” he said. “The important thing is to train as hard as possible and become the best boxer I can be. Then, if I can turn pro and support my family doing it, I’ll give it a shot.”

His trainer thinks it’s a definite possibility.

“He’s got a good style,” Martinez said. “A lot of pros use their jab well. Andre has an excellent jab and knows how to mix it up. It’s just like anything else. He’ll have no problem going pro if he continues to apply himself.”

It’s hard to believe he won’t as the horn blares in the gym, signaling the start of another three-minute round. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, Penn hammers away at those mitts on his trainer’s hands.