Grenadian boxer opens gym to train Canadians

by Craig Slater, The Leader-Post 

REGINA, Canada, March 30, 2010 - Rolande Moses experienced an "embarrassing" introduction to boxing. He vomited a few times and went home with a swollen eye after his first match. 

He was even beaten up by a 14-year-old girl. But over the past five years, the Grenada native has come a long way. "I told my girlfriend (Kristen) back then that I was going to start boxing and that I was going to go to the Olympics in 2008," Moses said. "She looked at me and told me I was crazy." Kristen, who is now his wife, was forced to eat her words. 

Moses, with only nine fights under his belt in four years of boxing experience, qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics and boxed in Beijing for Grenada, his native country. 

He's since opened the Black & Blue Boxing Club in downtown Regina with hopes of developing some of the city's athletes into Olympic-calibre fighters. 

"Regina is known for producing good hockey players and good football players," he said. "I want Regina to be known for producing good boxers, too." 

In Regina for slightly less than two years, Moses has created quite a stir in the boxing community. He's already attracted more than 20 athletes to his new club, located in the old Western Cycle building on Hamilton Street. 

His carpentry background helped to transform the vacant building into an attractive gym, which is complete with a ring, several heavy bags that hang from the ceiling, and pieces of the old Taylor Field turf to cover the cement floor. 

"I'm proud of my gym," he said. 

"I'm hoping to create some future Olympians. I'm willing to do anything to help the boxing community here rise up again. Boxing is falling behind this stuff like MMA, and that's not right." 

Moses' boxing background is not extensive. But he's learned a lot in the six years he's been involved with the sport. 

Moses was seven years old when his mother moved the family to Toronto from Grenada in search "of a better education and a better life." His primary sport through high school was basketball, as numerous colleges from the U.S. were intrigued with the 6-foot-0 guard's athletic abilities. 

But when Moses broke a kneecap after dunking in a game, he was sidelined for several weeks. The scouts lost interest, too. 

"I didn't know what to do," he said. "I wanted to play ball in the States, but those guys stopped looking at me after I got hurt." 

Moses later moved to Niagara Falls where he joined a local boxing club. 

"I think I was used more as a punching bag than I was a boxer," he said of the brief experience. 

So, instead of getting beaten up on a routine basis, Moses hired Jamie Phelps, a trainer who had worked with high-profile amateur boxers. 

"(Phelps) taught me that boxing wasn't about being tough. It's not a gladiator sport," Moses said. "Boxing is about out-thinking your opponent." 

Within a couple of years, Moses rapidly rose through the amateur circuit and qualified for the Beijing Olympics. 

It wasn't until he arrived on Chinese soil that the reality sunk in for Moses that he was among the world's elite athletes. That, and the fact his vow to his girlfriend of reaching the Olympics had come true. 

He was sitting inside a McDonalds restaurant in the athletes' village when the reality hit -- he was eating with American superstar basketball players Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at the time. 

"Everyone there was treated as one," Moses said. "It didn't matter if you were a superstar or who you were." 

One year prior to the Olympics, Moses competed at the world boxing championships in Chicago. There, he met former boxing champions Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield. 

"Meeting Ali was, well, he's the greatest of all time," Moses said. "And I got to shake hands with him." 

Meeting a few of the biggest sports names in the world served as an inspiration to Moses. He hopes his work ethic rubs off on his students. 

He's training for the 2012 Olympics in London, so athletes at his gym will have the opportunity to train like an Olympian. Black & Blue offers beginner and advanced boxing classes, bootcamps for men and women and personal training. The first class is free. 

"I do all of the workouts my athletes do ... they're extremely hard workouts," he said. "But why be easy on yourself? You're not going to get anything out of that. 

"If you're here, you're going to learn. You're going to work hard, too. If you work hard enough, you're going to be ready for anything." Boxing coach Rolande Moses (right) works with middleweight fighter James Feuring. Photograph by: Don Healy, The Leader-Post.