The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
JEFF JACOBS
Cassius Chaney straddles two sports worlds
UNCASVILLE — Sitting in the first row of seats at Mohegan Sun Arena, Cassius Chaney looks out on the basketball court. He blinks for a moment at Connecticut Sun Media Day. He sees something different than two hoops. He sees a boxing ring. “I just wish I could have a summer fight here when the team wasn’t having a game on the road, or something, so they all could come out to see me fight,” Chaney said.
“We’d definitely be there,” Alyssa Thomas said. “Cassius is like a big brother to us.”
There are a lot of fascinating job combinations out there in the sports world. But volunteer WNBA practice player and professional prize fighter? A guy who plays against WNBA All-Stars and had a former NBA All-Star in his corner? That must be one of the most fascinating. “Shekinna [Strickland], Chiney [Ogwumike] yeah, I talk to the players about me boxing,” Chaney said.
They worry about you getting hurt?
“What do you mean? They beat me up the most,” Chaney said, breaking into a laugh.
He won his first pro bout by TKO over Perry Filkins in April 2015 at Mohegan Sun. And now three years in, with dreams of a heavyweight title, Chaney, 30, carries a 12-0 record. His next bout is tentatively scheduled for June 23. Maybe in New York. Maybe in Atlantic City. Maybe at Mohegan Sun for the fifth time in his career. Opponent still to be determined.
This is Chaney’s fourth year practicing with the Sun. Corsley Edwards, who played at Central Connecticut and also is from Baltimore, was practicing with the team and he invited the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Chaney out. Nykesha Sales encouraged him to keep coming. Chaney is no stranger to the game. He led Old Saybrook
to a high school state championship. He became the University of New Haven’s sixth all-time leading scorer with 1,893 points.
“It’s exciting to come help out, practice,” said Chaney, who splits his time between New London and Baltimore. “They are elite athletes. No matter how you frame it. They are elite.
“They know how to play and they’re tough. They’re not afraid to bang into you. Betnijah [Laney] got me today. She gave me a little wink, like I know you felt it. I can’t run into them, so certain things I don’t try. But they can do everything guys can do. They’re quick. You run out at them the wrong way, they’ll go right past you.”
So you talk a lot of trash?
“Nah, some of the other guys do,” Chaney said. “I only chime in here and there.”
“He talks trash, always,” Thomas said. “Any of the scout players, we talk trash. He gives it right back. I’m not surprised he’s such a good boxer. He’s a great athlete.”
Cassius Chaney looks out at the court again. Yeah, he has thrown hands in this place. Cassius Chaney most definitely has thrown hands here. Just not at Ogwumike. Just not at Thomas. He knows his second job is to absorb a little punishment and smile.
The basketball serves as part of his conditioning. Chaney will head down to Baltimore in a couple of weeks to work out at the Upton Boxing Center for the final month before his next bout. Guys like Lorenzo Simpson, a top amateur with 2020 Olympic designs, work out there. It’ll be serious. That’s nothing new. Chaney, who would get his business degree at New Haven and is a youth mentor, took college and college basketball seriously.
“I didn’t party in college,” he said. “It didn’t allow me to be with my teammates as much, but it did help me individually with discipline. Now, I’m a boxer. I still don’t party.”
Chaney used to wonder if his father made a mistake naming him after Cassius Clay.
“When I was young I didn’t like it,” Chaney said. “Kids my age didn’t like. I do now. It’s cool. Vin Baker, Bernard Hopkins, Ray Lewis, they like my name. It stands out. They know the history.”
Still, he wasn’t born into the sport. He didn’t start boxing until he was 23, when he walked into the Whaling City Boxing gym.
“I was training to play overseas at the time,” Chaney said. “I walked in and I said, ‘I can box. I know I can.’”
Had you thrown a punch before?
“Not a boxing punch, not a legal punch,” said Chaney, who grew up in East Baltimore before moving to New London at age 14. “Illegally I had.”
He flourished during a 29-bout amateur career. Brought along methodically by Main Events and Kathy Duva, he hasn’t lost as a pro.
“I want to take this to becoming a champion,” Chaney said. “It’s the only way you can do it. If you go just for the money, you’re probably not going to be great at it. The mentality of wanting to be the best, not being afraid to be consumed with it is the best way of chipping away, chipping away.”
He won his last fight on March 3 at Madison Square Garden. Chaney dropped Tim Washington with a punishing right hand in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight. It was over without a count.
“After a really tough fight here, it was good to fight at MSG to get a knockout,” Chaney said.
Last fall, Jon Bolden dropped Chaney in the first round at Mohegan Sun. Chaney took a standing eight-count in the second round.
“It was my first camp back in Baltimore,” Chaney said. “I think we overtrained. I never thought I was going to lose. I showed a lot of resiliency. I wore him down. He started to quit. I saw it in his eyes.”
Chaney won a unanimous decision. Now he wants to fight on TV for the first time.
“At this point, I know most guys will come out running at me,” Chaney said. “I’ve got to settle them down and then get them. I will figure you out.
“Playing basketball helps me with my footwork. The difference, ironically, I feel sorer now playing basketball than boxing. I feel it in my legs.”
Chaney’s grandmother and great grandmother live in New London. His mom lives in Baltimore, his dad in Philly. His brother Allan Chaney, 2008 state Gatorade Player of the Year at New London High, played at Florida, Virginia Tech and High Point.
His roots have spread along Long Island Sound. Old Saybrook’s Vin Baker has found sobriety, put his life back together and is now a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach. The former NBA All-Star was in Chaney’s corner for his early fights.
“He texted me yesterday,” Chaney said. “He’ll be back soon. He’s been like my big brother. People don’t understand when I say he’s a role model. If I did some of things he did, we’d end up fighting. He will not have it. He doesn’t want me making the same mistakes he did.”