JACKSON, Miss. (WILX) – A new street boxing team in Jackson is hoping to inspire kids to put down their guns and hang up their gloves.
Seventeen-year-old Julian Worthy and his friends say they've seen too many young lives lost to gun violence, so they've decided to take matters into their own hands — or, in this case, their fists. Jackson-area youths are turning to recreational boxing to solve their problems in a more productive way: a way that gets everyone home alive.
“We came up with this because so many children are being killed over stupid things. We just want to see our families, our children who are growing up with us.”
It started as an impulse to meet up at a local park to spar for fun, but Worthy, having been involved in violent situations himself, quickly saw the value in giving his peers a forum to resolve their differences without the use of weapons.
“I was hurt. Something happened. I don't want that to happen to anybody in my family,” he said. “I don't want that to happen to anybody I know.”
Worthy's aunt, Larissa VanOver, said she was proud when she first heard about her nephew's plans to pursue boxing. VanOver, who was born and raised in Jackson, said she witnessed families forever changed by gun violence. She supports Worthy's mission to make a difference in the community.
“I'm proud of all of them, not just him but my other nephews too,” she said. “I'd rather see them out in the field boxing than wondering if they'll ever come home.”
An old idea is now being resurrected to give kids a new outlet. Worthy's group is still new, and he's eager to find ways for it to grow and reach other people in the neighborhood.
“Instead of venting your anger with guns and knives and things like that, put on some boxing gloves and shake hands right away,” he said.
Until he finds a way to expand his reach and get more people involved, his team will continue to assemble to stay inside the ring and not on the streets.
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