The Boxer's Boxer

Kamari Dixon and Will Medina. Kwasi Danso Photo. 

Coach Will Medina was in the ring, holding out a pair of red boxing mitts for student Eddie Joyner. In the surrounding space, other boxers did their own workouts; some did sit-ups, others hit heavy bags. Back in the ring, Joyner hit the pads with power. He threw a jab into a cross, ending the combination off with a hook. But his footwork was a little off; his shoulders rose nearly to his earlobes.

“Stay calm, take a deep breath, you don’t want to be tense, relax your muscles," Medina said, putting the pads back up for him to hit. Joyner took a breath, hitting the mitts with a new speed and power.

That scene unfolded at Powerhouse Gym, located at 31 Bernhard Rd. in North Haven. For the last three years, Medina has been building out a boxing program there largely on his own, inspired by the space’s unused boxing equipment. On weekdays, he now coaches from 4 to 7 p.m., with additional hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends.

“I wanted to teach people how to heal from trauma and from these negative instincts that we all experienced,” Medina said. “I want to pass this on because you are going to go off on your own, and you’re gonna have [some] horrible, miserable experiences, and the best way to handle it is this right here—exercising.”

The story of the boxing program comes from both Medina’s own passion for the sport and from the desire for it in the community. When Medina—once a student at Elephant In The Room, where he started at 13 years old—began taking on students in 2023, he found that people were interested in boxing as both a form of physical conditioning and mental and emotional wellness.

Initially, he offered 30-minute individual training sessions, and worked with groups when community members asked for it. As time went by, people started posting more about the boxing program on social media, and it started getting more recognition.

Medina’s belief in the program also comes from the transformative role boxing has played in his own life. As a teenager growing up in New Haven, Medina didn’t always make the smartest decisions, he said. He got into fights, and found himself spending time with a crowd he now refers to as the wrong people.

Then he started boxing, which taught him to fight professionally, with grace and respect for his opponent in the ring. It kept him off the streets. If you ask him now, he’ll say that it saved his life. Years later, he tries to teach his students (including, in the interest of full disclosure, this young reporter) to fight for themselves not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.

He encourages his boxers to stay in school and keep their grades up, teaching them affirmations that they can repeat to themselves at home and at school.

“Don’t transfer your misery to your folks,” he said. “If you are going through something negative, do this all the time you don’t wanna spread negativity to the ones you love.”

As they learn the craft, students have picked up both his love for the sport and the discipline and care that it requires. For 17-year-old Kamari Dixon, who has been training at Powerhouse for roughly seven months, boxing has been a way to move back into physical fitness after a basketball injury last year. It has really helped him, he said—including in unexpected ways.

Before coming to Powerhouse, Dixon was training at Get ‘Em Boy Boxing, a smaller gym at 76 Orchard St. in New Haven. He was enjoying it, but tore his meniscus playing basketball. While still recovering physically, he learned that Powerhouse Gym was closer to his home, and people he knew were there. After being cleared for sports again, Dixon introduced himself to Medina, and began to re-learn the basics. Ever since, he has been training at Powerhouse, where working with Medina has instilled in him a better understanding of himself.

“Ever since I've been training, the coach always tells me to use my range and reach, to keep my distance because I have long arms,” he said. “In the beginning, I thought boxing was just brawling and punching back and forth until someone got knocked out.” Now, he understands that there’s much more to it. He ultimately plans on competing.

Joyner, a junior at New Haven Academy, said he feels that same enthusiasm for boxing. “When I was younger I always watched old fights from Muhammed Ali, and my friends told me to give it a try, so I said, ‘Why not?’” he mused.

Last year, he started classes at Get ‘Em Boy Boxing, but took a break over the summer to pursue swimming. When he returned to the sport, he opted to work with Medina. Initially, he planned to go to Powerhouse only on the weekends, and Get ‘Em Boy during the week. But something about the style of training and Medina’s approach changed his mind.

“I felt noticed at this gym,” he said. “The coach showed me my strengths and weaknesses that I never knew about myself, and I have friends who I can talk to and train with here.”

The care is mutual; Medina clearly values the work he’s able to do with boxers like Joyner. “He has potential, he’s tall and fast, he just needs discipline and more training,” he said.

This article comes to the Arts Paper through New Haven Academy's junior internship program, through which juniors at the school spend three weeks with a host organization during the month of May. Kwasi Danso is interested in pursuing writing on the university level.