Written by Addie Marzinske | Archived Nov. 10, 2020

UMD’s boxing club was started two years ago by Thomas Tran who was at the time a junior. The club meets two to four times a week, usually Mondays through Thursdays at Lorenzi’s boxing gym in Proctor.

“I’ve always loved the sport of boxing but I never got a chance to actually give it a try,” Tran said. “After finding out there was a small local boxing gym in the area I rounded up a couple friends and gave it a try.”

Tran said that after a couple sessions at the gym he was able to connect more with the owners and the regulars at the gym. Tran thought it would be a good fit for both the club and supporting a local business.

“By creating the Boxing Club, the goal was to introduce students to boxing as both a sport and a workout while advocating for a healthy lifestyle for UMD students,” Tran said. “The activity itself is a great workout both mentally and physically, not to mention the burst of stress relief that everyone needs here and there.”

Senior Jared Richner is the club’s current president and he like Tran believes that boxing is a great way to let off some steam and get in a great workout at the same time.

“I was just looking for a club, and this was something I always wanted to do,” Richner said. “Thomas used to be one of my friend’s neighbors and I just started talking to him about it and got into it.”

The club’s vice president, sophomore Montana Bahr said she grew up in a family of boxers, and when she came to UMD she was looking for something that reminded her of home.

“It’s very open, you don’t have to commit,” Bahr said. “You can just come whenever you want.”

Fighting isn’t a requirement to be in the club. The club is about coming together and learning a skill said Richner.

“We do spar each other,” Richner said. “We do that [spar] on Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester,” Richner said. “We are actually having our first set of matches for UMD Boxers in February.”

Over time, the club has grown from five or six members to about 20 regulars this semester.

For new members looking to join no prior experience is necessary and starting equipment will be provided. Richner suggests going on Wednesdays during the gym’s $5 discount nights if you’re considering joining.

There is a fee of $110 for joining the club. $100 goes to the gym to cover the membership fee and the other $10 goes to the club to pay for an end of the season pizza party to celebrate.

“Even if you don’t pay for the entire membership, you can go on their discount nights, which is about five bucks and you can come once a week,” Richner said. “It’s just like spending five bucks on a cup of coffee, but instead you learn a skill.”

Check out the Boxing Club’s homepage for more information about joining.