Durant now has a boxing club with the opening of Borderline Boxing Club in the Briarwood Shopping Center.
The new business celebrated with a recent ribbon cutting from the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce. Jaime Juarez is the owner and head boxing coach. Girlfriend Lisa Foxworth is the strength and conditioning coach.
Juarez said the club opened on Dec. 20 with a big turnout.
“A lot of people got excited about it and the longer we’ve been here, we’ve been able to really just kind of add to the gym and we’re proud of it,” Juarez said. “It’s strictly box- ing. We have the fitness side of it, all of the strengthening and conditioning and then actual boxing. We have competitive teams, so we train them to compete for USA Boxing and amateur- style boxing. Eventually, we’ll have some pros that come out of here.”
Cost is $99 per month, and the club offers all the equipment anyone needs for boxing, including gloves and headgear.
Juarez said he had been in Dallas for 15 years and initially was going to start his gym there.
“When Lisa and I met, we just got to talking about Durant,” Juarez said. “I came down here and I just fell in love with it and when I saw this shopping center and this spot, I said, ‘Man, this would be just be a perfect spot for an opportunity to start the gym.’ The rent factor and everything here is just what we were looking for, and the size of the gym obviously was a big deal for us. We wanted to make something that Durant could be proud of.”
Goals cited by Juarez included getting children trained in boxing.
“We’ve got a lot of great kids,” Juarez said. “Little ones as big as these guys, five years old, and we’ve got guys on up in their 50s. Really, just something to be proud of and we’ll have a competitive team that we’ll take to events, and we’ll look to pick up sponsors and things of that nature to help with that. We want to put Durant on the map for boxing, amateur boxing. When they talk about Oklahoma boxing, they’re going to talk about Borderline Boxing Club.”
Juarez said boxing teaches respect and discipline.
“I’ve got these guys, they come in here, and they work hard,” Juarez said. “They work out with some of our teenagers and five-year-old kids, but they are doing a fantastic job.”
He said that when it comes to safety, USA Boxing takes that into consideration.
“They have standing eight counts,” Juarez said. “When a boxer gets hit with a clean shot, they’ll give them an immediate eight count. They’re not just letting them get pummeled. Here, we’re sticklers for fundamentals of boxing. We want to make sure that they know how to protect themselves as they’re throwing punches, not getting countered and just beat up.
“So, when we get them into sparring, they immediately start sparring with a purpose. It’s not just toss them in the ring and letting them just go at each other. We make sure that they’re sparring with a purpose. They may spar with just their jabs initially and then they will add in the other shots, but they’re not sitting there just beating up on each other all the time.”
According to Juarez, the children are becoming very good boxers.
“I’m really excited about the talent that Durant has produced,” Juarez said. “I’ve got 50 kids, we’ve got 50 guys signed up in here, and a lot of talent. “I’m looking forward to what we produce, like I said, amateur. I think that within a year or two, we’ll have some national champions.”
Chamber CEO Kara Byrd commended Juarez for opening the boxing club.
“You just talking about your heart for making sure that this is an opportunity for kids, getting them off of the streets, giving them something to do, giving them a trajectory in life that sets them on the right path,” Byrd said. “I just want to commend you for your heart for what that is, and this is just such a beautiful facility. Thank you for your investment in Durant. You were talking about going somewhere else and you chose here. We’re incredibly grateful for what you guys have invested here as a family and what you’re doing for our community.”
