DECATUR, Ga. — A DeKalb County boxing gym is giving teens an alternative to getting in trouble on the streets by transforming into a safe haven.
With every punch and combo, there’s a story for each boxer at Mustafa Boxing Gym in Decatur.
For 14-year old Kavonte James, the gym is family.
“The gym here, every time you walk in you feel like family, no matter what,” James told Channel 2′s Larry Spruill.
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James said his family and coaches push him to be his best and, most importantly, stay inside the ring and out of the streets.
“Without them, I don’t know where I would be. I’ll probably be out in the streets, doing stuff bad, because that’s how it is now,” he explained.
Over the last several months, Channel 2 has reported on rising cases of juvenile crime, and community leaders like Mustafa Meekins, the owner of Mustafa’s Boxing Gym, say they are tired of seeing.
“We do a lot of mentoring. We train them real hard. I’m real heavy on manhood, masculinity, I’m real hard on how to conduct themselves as men,” Meekins explained.
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Meekins says these are lessons he wants to make sure every person inside his gym learns.
“So much, in society, is pulling them towards the wrong things. You have to be able to say no. You have to be able to say, ‘I got to do what I got to do, I got to go to school. I got to listen to my parents, listen to my coach.’ Those are our requirements,” said Meekins.
Meekins said these are simple requirements, but the biggest accomplishment for him is showing his students ‘conflict resolution.’
“You see, guys, they want to fight or kill for nothing. I’m like, ‘Nah, calm down, let’s talk it out.’ If they can’t talk it out, we’ll go in the ring and spar, but we don’t have to resolve to no violence,” he said.
Violence is one thing Meekins said he refuses to let his students take part in.
“I got a lot of youngsters. I always tell them and their parents, to keep them with us. Friday nights, Saturday night, bring them here. We’re here, all day for them. I don’t care what day of the week it is. Bring them, here. I rather for them to be here, than be out there,” he said.
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