LEWISBURG, WV- It was July of 2014 and I lived in an apartment on Baker St. in Fairlea.
One day, I noticed a little red-headed kid riding his bike around the roads and through some neighbors’ yards. It was not too long after that, he saw me sitting outside, and he made his way over to my yard and up my steps to the second floor where I lived.
I was outside that day, and the little fella, who was about six years old at the time, followed me inside to the living room and wanted to just sit on the couch and play Xbox. Granted, at the time, I had no clue who this kid’s parents were, but I knew the house he lived in as I could see it from my porch.
A year or so went by and I realized who his mother was, and I knew her from before, and the child was starting to get braver as I conversed with him more frequently. He came over one day and asked why I was still living in that small apartment when I was over 30 years old and questioned why I didn’t just go buy a house like an actual grown up.
That was the beginning of it all for now 16-year-old Greenbrier East student and boxer, Colton Crookshanks.
Crookshanks had started to play baseball, but for some reason the sport did not click with him like he had hoped. So, one day he was taken into a gym to workout, and the rest is history.
“My buddy Logan Baker introduced boxing to me, and then I went to a gym and started to love it. I fought on January 28 in Pikeville, KY and I fight there again on May 20,” Crookshanks said.
That January bout ended in a split decision for Crookshanks and this weekend when he gets back out there in the 7,000-seat arena, he will feel much more prepared this time.
“Since January, the gym has almost been my second home,” Crookshanks stated.
“I’m there every day,” he added.
His mom, Melissa, was a little hesitant for her son’s sport choice, but she also wants him to do what he loves.
“My mother supports me in anything that I do. Although it’s not her favorite thing, she still wants me to follow my dreams,” Crookshanks said.
Crookshanks, who is extremely confident in his ability to succeed, is looking forward to his match, and says he hopes to bring home a victory.
“My goals on the 20th are to, first and foremost, bring home the win, but also to improve on my openings, and not let up,” he explained.
However, even if he does not get the win, he will not let that deter him from continuing to try to get better at the sport every single day.
“I plan on continuing my boxing career no matter what the outcome. There’s no testimony without a test. I’m trying to make something of myself,” Crookshanks said.
It has been quite a journey for the little kid that used to terrorize the neighborhood in a fun-loving way.
“I only terrorized you,” he told me with a smile.
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