Dennis Brown

I didn’t grow up with much. I came from the gutter the slums where survival was the only thing people thought about. As a kid, I was outside all the time, surrounded by things a child should never be around. By the time I was 12 years old, I was already involved in dangerous situations, even selling narcotics and walking around with knives. That was the environment I grew up in. School didn’t work out for me. I got kicked out in 7th grade, and after that my life took another turn. I was sent to Somalia, where I stayed for four years. Those years were the hardest of my life. I was in and out of jail constantly, living in inhumane conditions that no young person should experience. I saw things that stay with you forever. I grew up seeing death around me. Seeing people lose their lives wasn’t something shocking anymore it became normal where I was from. The city I was in felt like it rained with bullets every other second. Violence was everywhere, and it felt like there was no way out. But somewhere inside me, I knew I didn’t want my story to end like that. Then my mom one day told me to do boxing. She told me to go to the gym and try it, and that decision changed my life. From the moment I stepped into the gym, everything started to change. For the first time, I had a place to put all my anger, pain, and frustration. Instead of fighting in the streets, I started fighting in the ring. Boxing gave me discipline, purpose, and a reason to wake up every day and work toward something better. The gym became my safe place. It saved my life. Every punch I throw carries my story where I came from, what I survived, and what I refuse to go back to. I fight not just for titles, but for the kid I used to be and for everyone who feels like they’re trapped in the same darkness. Boxing didn’t just make me a champion. It gave me a second chance.