AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: SPARRING after their exercise routine, John Wallace, left, and Jay Triche are prepping for the next boxing event to take place in a week. Training partners and friends, the two fought each other for their first match a week ago in Chalmette. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) LAPLACE – They spend hours in the gym weight training, and when they finish pumping up they move into another room for a vigorous exercise routine. They do hundreds of crunches, sets and sets of different forms of pushups – diamond, fist and military-style – then jump rope, take hit after hit from a 16-pound medicine ball and move on to the heavy bag before hitting the speed bag. After all that, they get in the ring. They go a few rounds before calling it a night. The regimen is a part of life the disciplined amateur boxers at Shannon’s Health and Fitness Center in LaPlace have become accustomed to over the past few months. The boxing program, which came together in late November, was something Ken Licata, a martial arts instructor at Shannon’s, wanted to start for a long time. “I’ve been trying to do it for a while,” said Licata, who has instructed students in karate for years. Licata, who has a seventh-degree black belt, began training two of his martial arts students in boxing shortly after he started the program. John Wallace, 23, and Rankin Coleman, 22, have been training as boxers since early December, and Jay Triche, 18, began in mid January. All three experienced their first fights in the ring at St. Bernard Cultural Center in Chalmette on March 24. Wallace, who began as a martial artist and has his brown belt, said he first became interested because he had a lot of friends who were into kickboxing. He sat in on a class and was intrigued, and he started kickboxing and boxing soon after. Wallace was a short child and said he got picked on a lot because of his height, which inspired him to learn how to defend himself. Going from karate to boxing was a challenge for him, as he finds karate more of a way to unite mind, body and spirit. “Boxing is more intense, more physical. I found another love in boxing,” he said. Wallace said he wasn’t planning to fight at the March 24 event, but Licata talked him into getting into the ring. “My coach, Kenny, persuaded me to do it. I wasn’t confident. He boosted my confidence, and now I have an itch to get back in the ring,” he said. There was no one available for Wallace to fight in his weight category other than his friend Triche, who he trains with at Shannon’s. “When I found out I was fighting my friend, it was a mental thing. We put aside our friendship and fought, though,” he said. Triche said he was a little apprehensive about fighting Wallace, too. “We didn’t really want to fight each other, but we decided we had gone all that way, so we fought. He rocked me a few times. He hits hard,” said Triche. “I enjoyed the fight, though. I needed a little more training, but it showed me what I need to work on. I got the bugs out.” Though Wallace won the fight, Triche said he knows he’ll fight better next time. Triche said a large part of preparing for a fight is proper diet and training. He eats a lot of carbohydrates and cuts back on fats. He makes sure he gets a lot of protein and vegetables. Triche got into boxing after talking with Coleman about the sport. A member of Shannon’s for a while, Triche was working out one day and decided to go into the activity room and use the speed bag. That’s when he met Coleman and became interested in training. “When I came in they really helped me out, and they reassured me,” he said. Boxing takes discipline. It’s really good for cardio and gets you in good shape.” Coleman, who said he was always able to talk his way out of fights as a kid, now enjoys boxing as a sport. He fought his first match kickboxing. A black belt in karate, Coleman agrees with Wallace that boxing is far more aggressive and requires a lot of stamina. “I have to get pumped up for boxing,” Coleman said. “If you know a lot of martial arts and boxing, it’s easy to combine them into kickboxing. The match was a challenge for me. It was the first time in my life I had to get pumped up for a match.” With 12 years’ experience in several forms of martial arts, Coleman is used to matches, but his first kickboxing fight made him nervous. “I’m not afraid anymore, though,” he said. “I can do it again, but this time even better.” The three boxers are gearing up for their second time in the ring at an event scheduled April 7 at Smithport Hall in Jefferson. That event will also include senior boxing, featuring a 71-year-old fighter. The first fight starts at 7 p.m. Licata also trains female boxers who will be fighting at the April 7 event as well. Licata said all of his boxers show real dedication. “They got real good potential. They got heart. I always had the talent, but I didn’t have the heart,” he said. The 51-year-old, who has 30 years’ experience in martial arts, said he got in the ring three times in his life. “I won them all, then quit. I like to train boxers,” he said. “They all have good potential. It’s up to me to bring it out of them.” Licata, a referee for the Louisiana Boxing Association, trains the boxers two to three times a week for over two hours at a time. Anyone interested in training or finding out more information about the program can call Licata at 652-6958 or visit Shannon’s to learn more.