In 2015, the small town of Kaufman Texas, located just 33 miles southeast of Dallas changed in a great way. The building located on Jefferson Street, which was previously known as the “Old Kaufman Fitness Center”, became the site for a groundbreaking, town-changing, project for the youth. A Boxing Club!
The idea for the gym came from The Co-Founders Jeremy Melton, (the principal of O. P. Norman Junior High in Kaufman), and Drew Peterson, (who works in medical sales). They are both avid fans of boxing, and have been for a while. After a fight between Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland in Houston, they both discussed the vision that one day, maybe even 20 years away, there could be a place for the youth of Kaufman to hone in on their fighting skills in an environment that they described as “part church, part mentorship program, and part boxing gym”.
Enter the third member of the group that got the ball rolling, local businesswoman Wendy Thomas. One afternoon Wendy came into the junior high office to meet with Melton and ask a question regarding her son. Though, Melton had a business question or two in mind for her as well regarding his and Drew’s idea. After Wendy and Melton discussed the idea a time or two, they saw that the “old fitness center” was on the market for new owners. Melton, Drew, and Wendy decided to bring the idea of creating the town’s very own future boxing gym into a present reality.
Left to right: Jeremy Melton, Drew Peterson, and Wendy Thomas
The old fitness center, (originally built as a tractor dealership in the 1930’s), was pretty bent out of shape. The 3 partners started on the journey to renovate the building, from the state it was in when purchased, into the building that could bring their vision to life. Originally renovation was set for a 3-month time period, though, with the intent to make the gym the best it could be, the renovations stretched to 9 months long. During this time, paint was even stripped off of the walls to show the red-brick walls that were part of the original build nearly a century before.
After the 9 months of renovation, the club began installing punching bags, weights, and their very own (one-of-a-kind) galvanized steel made boxing ring, made and donated to the gym by the local company Falcon Steel. The ring was accompanied by the new Jefferson Street Boxing Club logo of a rooster, which Melton says came from a dream of his; though his dream rooster had legs made of lightning, they decided to go for a more traditional version of the mascot.
The gym set out to hold a dedication dinner on June 17, 2016, to mark the opening of the club, and the gym opened up to the public on June 20.
The club allows amateurs in starting at the age of 8- adults to participate in workouts, and train to be the best version of themselves they can become. This is what has proven to be the most rewarding aspect of starting up the gym for the 3 contributors, as they can see the growth of strength and character in the youth that file into the gym at opening hours each day. The 3 hope to give students an outlet in which they can grow personally and draw in a new passion for the sport of boxing!
(Fun Fact: Even though the gym is located in a small town, the new way of approaching boxing in this club has caught the eye of many outside of Texas; even from outside the United States! Melton reports receiving many questions regarding the program through twitter from a professional boxing reporter in Australia!)
