National tournament is up next for boxers
Not much for words, 8-year-old Jaizon Mason tends to let his boxing do the talking.
That gives his coach, Albert Brewer, hope that he’ll perform well in his first national Silver Gloves tournament.
“I think he’ll do good because, really, he’s a quiet guy, but the boxing is really bringing him out,” said Brewer, who operates the Pine Bluff-based Gloves Not Guns boxing club. “When he really needed to win, he came on with it.”
Mason, along with 10-year-old teammate Darrion White, both won their respective weight classes at the Silver Gloves Region 6 championships last month in Searcy, earning spots in the national tournament in Independence, Mo., set for Aug. 31-Sept. 2.
The Region 6 fight was the second-ever contest for Mason, who fights in the 70-pound division for his age range.
“The other fight, I lost that,” Mason said, adding he fought all three rounds to win the region title.
Mason gave a simple “Yes, sir” answer when asked about his excitement about nationals, but also pointed out he had never been to Missouri.
The national tournament is nothing new to White , nicknamed “Bulldog.” He won the 2019 Silver Gloves as an 8-year-old, 55-pounder.
Brewer surmised coaches in other tournaments tabbed White “Bulldog” because of how hard he fights in the ring.
“I think it just stuck from there,” Brewer said.
Like Mason , White went the distance in his Region 6 fight for the win.
“It was a tough fight,” White said. “I didn’t knock him out. I just won the fight.”
White will fight at 60 pounds in Missouri, so Brewer doesn’t anticipate smooth sailing for his experienced protege.
“It’s going to be tough for him, but he’s experienced enough to pull it out,” Brewer said. “I think we’ll do good in nationals with Darrion and Jaizon.”
That’s what young Bulldog plans, anyway.
“I go down there to win, not to lose,” White said.