CARTHAGE, Mo. – Bradley Coffey first got into boxing at 14 years old.
“I went to my friends house and they had gloves in the back yard, and we just started boxing,” Coffey says, “I would watch YouTube videos and I would just try to implement that into what I was doing.”
Coffey went to Webb City High School, where he graduated in May – but never suited up in any sport for the Cardinals.
“That was hard,” Coffey says, “I had friends who wanted me to go do wrestling and stuff like that, but it just didn’t intrigue me.”
So he wasn’t really part of a team, until an unexpected opportunity presented itself.
Local boxer Theran Crouch, who trains with Mosburg Boxing, saw Coffey’s senior presentation on boxing at Webb City High School.
“I look over and I see this kid has boxing on his board. I was like oh, that’s cool. You don’t see this often,” Crouch says, “I went over and just kind of hit it off with Bradley and I just told him hey man, you don’t have to go to college to box. He’s been in the gym with us ever since.”
“You could tell right there that he was a kid we wanted in the gym,” Crouch adds, “He’s a good kid to have. I got to talk to his parents and meet everybody. He hasn’t missed a day since.”
Coffey joined Crouch and started training with Mosburg Boxing in southwest Missouri, led by coach Ryan Mosburg.
“He came in here as a shy kid, but we saw him move around with all of my guys here and we knew he had potential,” Mosburg says of Coffey.
“Here I felt comfortable. This was like a safe place for me,” Coffey says of training at Mosburg Boxing, “They didn’t take away my style, they just embedded more stuff into it.”
Coffey had finally found his team.
“It felt like these guys were like my family,” Coffey says, “The only time I’ve ever felt that was either ROTC or at home.”
Coffey fought and won his amateur debut just two weeks ago, fighting at WFC 138 at Buffalo Run Casino.
“It was a good feeling getting my hand raised,” Coffey says of his first right, “It was scary. It was spooky for the first bit, but as soon as the bell rang I just got tunnel vision.”
“He cut off angles, he listened well and he put all of his combinations together,” Mosburg says of his new fighter, “Usually fighters in the first fight, it goes out the window as soon as they get in there. Not Brad, though. He stuck to the game plan.”
“Watching him win was almost better than me doing anything I could have done that night,” Crouch says, “I was so excited for him.”
Winning was a good feeling – but for Coffey, it meant just as much to have his new team in his corner.
“That feels very warming, knowing that I have someone to back me and knowing I have a future ahead of me, rather than just backyard boxing,” Coffey says with a laugh.
“To have Bradley come in here and work as hard as he does every day…it’s so cool to see the perfect story of how boxing can really build somebody’s confidence and put them on the map,” Crouch adds.
Coffey says he hopes to get in the ring for his second amateur fight in August.
Below are highlights of Coffey’s amateur debut, courtesy of WFC.
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