Growing up watching Sylvester Stallone playing the lead role of an underdog boxer in the Rocky movies, it is common for a young boy to admire the journey an athlete takes on their rise to the top.

For junior Evan Janowitz, this dream of becoming a boxer became a reality two years ago when he started to train for competitive boxing at the South Austin Gym.

“The Rocky movies were part of it because I always watched them with my dad,” Janowitz said. “I also liked the movie Southpaw because in both of those movies I really admired the work ethic of the boxers.”

Janowitz rst mentioned his interest in boxing to his mom when he was eight years old but it wasn’t until one day in a car ride the sum- mer before Janowitz was in eighth grade that while he was talking his mother Sally Janowitz realized he should become a boxer.

“Whatever he was saying made me think, ‘This kid needs a one-on-one kind of sport that requires a lot of introspective thinking, self discipline, and a ton of focus; something he will respect,” Sally said.

It is well-known that the goal of a boxer during a match is to knock someone to the floor and stun them enough that they are down for ten consecutive seconds but Evan’s trainer, Conrad Sanchez, believes that the sport is about much more than just the physical.

“It’s very educational, it’s not just a physical thing it’s a mental thing,” Sanchez said. “You have to defeat a person physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”

Evan also realises that there is more to the sport than just fighting when he is facing off with his opponents and that the boxing can be misunderstood.

“Boxing is always viewed as a really hostile sport, and it definitely is before a fight, but in training and once a fight is over everyone is actually super friendly because everyone is training for the same thing and there is mutual respect between all fighters,” Evan said.

While Evan’s mom is very proud of Evan for all of the time and dedication he puts into his training, she also finds that the respectfulness that her son has in the ring towards his opponents is another source of that pride.

“I felt incredibly proud at the end of all his matches when it’s over and he tells his opponent, ‘good job, thank you for the fight’ and shakes his opponent’s hand,” Sally said.

While boxing is very mental-based, the sport does have its physical components that can’t be dismissed and Evan’s girlfriend, sophomore Sophie Clain, understands this.

“I think that boxing as a sport is very physically straining and requires a lot of dedication,” Clain said. “Evan has had many injuries, but he loves the sport and has a lot of passion for it.”

Evan’s injuries have not held him back from being able to pursue the sport further thus far, however, that is something that he is concerned about.

“I worry about getting hurt to the point where I’m unable to box again,” Evan said. “I often get split lips, bruises, my nose bleeds a bunch and I don’t know if I broke it but it’s slightly crooked, I’ve had internal bleeding once, and I have cuts on my knuckles from my wraps.”

Many athletes get minor injuries in training and competitions but for Sally seeing her son in the middle of a fight was difficult to adjust to at first.

“It’s hard for a mother to watch her son get punched in the face and watch her son punch someone else in the face,” Sally said. “But after the first round I noticed it’s much more than punching people; there’s an actual art to it and a lot of skill.”

Since boxing is such a fast paced sport, one of the main skills that a boxer needs to excel at is having a strong central focus to be able to concentrate during the matches.

“I ignore everything around me and I don’t let my opponent set the timing,” Evan said. “I stick to what I’ve been training and the only thing that gets to me when fighting is my coach’s voice.”

Sanchez has been Evan’s main mentor for the past two years and they have helped each other to grow throughout that time.

“When I first saw him he was a walking stick, now he’s put a little meat on him and he’s better and his mind is a little more focused,” Sanchez said.

Along with Sanchez, Sally has also noticed changes in Evan and his personality since he became a boxer.

“His self-esteem and self con dence improved as well as his organizational skills,” Sally said. “I’ve no- ticed he’s a bit more calm and sure of who he is.”

While in the ring Evan may seem composed in character but right before a match he is surging through an electrified adrenaline rush.

“You have to get your heartbeat tested right before your fight and mine is usually almost 100 bpm,” Evan said. “Everything feels pretty numb but jittery at the same time; it’s always a mix of being excited and nervous.”

Sanchez, who has had to face the intense energy involved with boxing competitions many times in his career, believes that Evan has the potential to be as successful as he has been as a boxer.

“He is a very ring smart person for his age,” Sanchez said. “I have had over 300 ametuer ghts and I won the state of Texas three times, I won a couple of national ti- tles; with Evan I think he can really grow into to that.”

Evan’s next match is De- cember 9 and his Golden Gloves Tournament is in January. He has been going to the gym multiple times a week to train.

“I like the competitions because it really puts every- thing you’ve been training to the test,” Evan said. “There isn’t really much time to think about how I feel, the only thing I really think about is analyzing my opponent and planning on what to do next.”