Rock up to the challenge

Kicking Isaiah Rock out of the gym used to be a common occurrence for Jerome Peters.

Rock had a poor attitude, didn’t listen, and on at least one occasion, turned a friendly sparring session into an actual fight.

“The first time I kicked him out, I said ‘Don’t come back. Stay away from the gym for two weeks,’” said Peters, the owner of Power Boxing Club on Sargent Ave.

“Then, two weeks later he walked back in with his equipment like nothing happened.”

Peters can recall five instances when he had to ask Rock to leave. And yet, no matter how bad it got, the young fighter kept coming back and never quit.

“Finally, after the fourth time, I said ‘OK, enough is enough, this kid really wants to be here,’” said Peters.

Rock was 13 years old when a friend of his brought him to Power Boxing Club for the first time.

“I was just all over the place. I was a bad kid. I wanted to be bad, ya’ know? I needed an outlet,” Rock said.

“I just did what I wanted to do, and I didn’t take anything seriously.”

It took some time, but boxing, and more importantly, tough love from Peters, got him on track. The now 22-year-old feels like a completely different person.

“It was a slow process. And it was a painful process. I feel like I had to change a lot of things in my head,” said Rock, a Central Winnipeg resident.

“He made me question just the way I thought and the way I kind of went about life. He made me challenge my thinking. Slowly over time, I did fight off some of the things in my head and I changed a lot. Life is easier for me now because I’m thinking differently.”

Peters is originally from New York but moved up north in the 1990s as his wife is a Winnipegger. One of the main reasons he opened a gym in the first place was to help the younger generation stay out of trouble.

“I was in the Marines, so, I know what discipline is. So, by taking some of that Marine knowledge that I have, I put that on him, and that seemed to work to make him get disciplined, get some self-esteem, and believe in himself,” said Peters.

“Those are the three things that I had to give him over and over and over. He’s not a bad kid. He never got involved with the cops, never was involved with drugs. He’s a good kid, he just didn’t have the structure behind him.”

Rock’s maturation has also helped him develop into one of the most promising young boxers in the country. That, and his intense work ethic.

His dedication led to him bringing home a silver medal from the 2024 Boxing Canada National Championships in Sarnia, Ont.

“When he won silver, he showed he has potential to be on the national team,” said Peters.

“If I opened this gym seven days a week, he’d be here seven days a week. He would actually sleep in here and live in here if I let him do it.”

Rock works a physically demanding construction job during the day before heading down to Power to train. Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Mayweather are two of the pros he models his game after.

“You can’t take any days off if you want to be good at what you want to do,” said Rock.

“I remember my first workout, I hated it. But I kind of liked it at the same time. It felt good, it felt productive.”

At last month’s nationals held in Winnipeg at the Sport for Life Centre, he moved down a weight class and outlasted fellow local Victor Cheung in the men’s 50-kilogram class to claim gold.

“It was a cool experience. I thought I’d be nervous, but I was really calm,” said Rock.

“It was something I visualized for a very long time, even before I knew the nationals were going to be in Winnipeg, I was envisioning that moment to happen. I try to envision as many big moments as I can that put a lot of pressure on me. I feel like that’s how I mentally prepare for my competitions best.”

He has another big one to mentally prepare for as his gold medal has earned him an invitation to Spain in February for the 39th edition of the Boxam Tournament. It’s an annual international competition that features fighters from nearly 30 countries around the globe.

It’ll be Rock’s first time throwing jabs at the international level. A strong showing there could earn him a spot on Team Canada which would open more doors for training and competing.

“It feels good. It reminds everyone in Manitoba that we can produce really good boxers,” said Rock.

“You just have to work hard, stay consistent, and you’ll do what you want to do.”

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen