He’s Got A Fighting Chance Spokane Boxer Mahlon Kerwick Hopes To Parlay Efforts Into Fulfillment Of His Olympic Dream

Fourteen-year-old boxer Mahlon Kerwick has a lofty goal - he wants to be a participant in the Olympics in 2000.

Judging by his performance in regional and national tournaments and the lavish praise heaped upon him by Lilac City Boxing Club coach Dan Vasser, Kerwick just might achieve his goal.

Kerwick, who fights at 112 pounds, placed second in the 1994 Golden Gloves national championship and expects to win that title this year. He will try to take the first step this weekend in the regional Silver Gloves tournament in Spokane.

Last year he stumbled in regionals and didn’t make it back to nationals after his outstanding showing the year before. Silver Gloves regional winners advance to the Golden Gloves nationals in Kansas City in early February.

This weekend, Kerwick will be in against state champions from Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The boxer who defeated Kerwick in last year’s regionals is now in another age and weight group, fueling Kerwick’s confidence.

His success got a kick-start from kickboxing. He started in that sport as a 55-pound 9-year-old. The decision to switch to boxing appears to have stemmed from apathy.

“We were in karate for about a year and my dad asked about (switching to) boxing. I said I didn’t care,” said the Bowdish Junior High ninth-grader.

He cares now. According to Vasser, Kerwick is one of the hardest-working boxers in the region.

“He never misses a workout,” Vasser said. “Just to show up to this gym is a tough workout. It’s not something you can force a kid to do. To be a champ, you have to want it. It comes from your heart.”

Kerwick agrees the workouts are tough - aerobic exercises, pushups (as many as 250 an evening) and boxing skill drills.

And that’s just the scheduled workouts.

“You have to run on your own to keep your wind up,” said Kerwick, who runs 2-3 miles a day.

“You think when you’re training, ‘Is the kid I’m fighting (next) working as hard as I am?’ If he is, then you’d better take it up a notch.”

There are temptations, however, that would lead him off his intense training regimen. Kerwick admits sometimes he’d rather go out with friends than work out. He said his father, and Vasser’s assistant coach, Ray, is often a motivator.

“I actually have to get after him to not goof off with his friends,” said Ray. “It’s tough, being a parent and a coach.”

The younger Kerwick doesn’t think it’s always that bad. “Sometimes me and dad will get the gloves on and get in the ring …” he said.

“… and he’ll pound on me,” Ray intoned, completing his son’s sentence.

Mahlon finds deeper advantages to boxing than occasionally punching his father, though. “Boxing keeps me away from bad stuff at school, so I don’t get into gangs and stuff,” he said.

He believes the discipline and busy schedule often keep him out of fights. Vasser found no irony in the belief a sport as violent as boxing discourages fighting.

“Most boxers, if they get good, they don’t have nothing to prove to nobody,” Vasser said.

If he is to achieve his goal, Kerwick will have to prove himself to USA Boxing. Vasser feels Kerwick’s experience and tactical knowledge may give him an edge.

“He’s got it all, a good jab, a straight left hand and a good hook,” said Vasser.

Yet one of Kerwick’s greatest advantages comes from his genes. He’s left-handed.

“It’s an advantage,” said Vasser. “A lot of kids don’t know how to handle southpaws, and it gets kids frustrated.”

Vasser thinks Kerwick may someday become a household name.

“I think he could go to the Olympics, if he stays with it,” said Vasser, and he should know. He has seen 12 national champs come through his gym.

“I started coaching in 1968. Mahlon, I feel, is going to be one of the best boxers ever to come out of Spokane,” Vasser said.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SILVER GLOVES REGIONALS Site: Spokane Karate Center, 1818 E. Sprague Preliminaries: 7 p.m. today Finals: 7 p.m. Saturday Admission: $5