Brick West Boxing event set to showcase southpaw sluggers, ricocheting right hooks and people from all different walks of life this Saturday

Cop or criminal, man or woman, young or old – Spokane Boxing Gym’s owner, Rick Welliver, said boxing is a sport for everyone .

On Saturday, during the fourth annual Brick West Boxing event, boxers from all different walks of life, will fight outside for a day full of heavy hitters, southpaw sluggers and applauding fans.

Just outside of Brick West Brewing Co. in downtown Spokane, this year’s event includes a 20-by-20-foot boxing ring and officials from USA Boxing. It starts at 2 p.m. and lasts about six hours. Tickets cost $10, and nearly 400 spectators are expected to attend. Boxers range in age from 8 to a couple approaching 50 as part of the master’s division.

One Spokane resident who will be fighting in the solo master’s division is Brandon Nielsen. He’s slated to be in the 17th out of 21 fights. But the total number of matches depends on who actually shows up, as competitors are pooling into Spokane from all over, including Canada, Montana, Idaho and Utah.

Nielsen’s love for boxing started about 2½ years ago, when his chiropractor told him he needed to move – not to a new state or country, but that he needed to get more exercise.

He worked in construction and was shocked. Of course he moved around. He might be in his mid-40s, but he was in the construction industry after all, which requires a lot of heavy lifting.

But when Nielsen’s chiropractor reminded him that most of his physical fitness came from lugging boards around, he realized a change might not be a terrible idea.

That’s when Nielsen’s friend offered him a fun way to feel better: Boxing. The only problem was that the class his friend wanted him to go to, and the one that fit Nielsen’s schedule best, started at 5:30 a.m.

“I’m not getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning, 4:30 in the morning, to go down there and box,” Nielsen said, recalling what he initially told his friend. “I can’t get punched in the face. Why would I want to go down there and get punched in the face?”

Nevertheless, he decided to give it a try.

It took only about a week after Nielsen’s first lesson for him to catch a strong right hook across the face, followed immediately by a punch to the nose that drew blood.

At that point, Nielsen was faced with a decision. He could either get upset and never return or keep taking lessons to become a better boxer and “dig in.”

A couple years later, and with an undefeated record across his three fights, all of which occurred in Las Vegas, it’s safe to say that Nielsen chose the latter. On Saturday, he’ll fight a rematch with one of his first opponents, Jake Trumbo.

Three to four times a week, Nielsen goes to the Spokane Boxing Gym for a 5:30 a.m. class. He then heads to work for Steel Structures America in Post Falls. He also manages and owns his own business with his wife, Sarah Nielsen, called Nielsen Contracting and Consulting.

With two jobs on his plate and a family to take care of, it’s a wonder how Nielsen is able to invest that much time and effort into boxing. But for Nielsen, boxing has become an addiction. Since he started going to those 5:30 a.m. classes, he’s lost over 35 pounds.

“To start getting fit, to start getting strong, to start having the confidence, and it goes into just being a dad,” Nielsen said. “What do you want your kids to see? How do you want your kids to see you?”

Nielsen expects around 30 of his friends and family to show up to his match on Saturday. It’ll also be the first time that his three children get to see their father in an official fight.

Even with the assembly of kin showing up to support him, Nielsen said any added pressure is welcome. He said it’ll push him to fight not only harder, but smarter.

Beyond pushing himself to the physical and mental limit, the other positive benefit of boxing for Nielsen is the camaraderie and friendships he’s formed over the past couple of years.

Even Trumbo, who he faced last February in a Las Vegas casino, is Nielsen’s Facebook friend and someone he considers to be a great guy. Likewise, Trumbo said he only feels respect for Nielsen.

Trumbo’s home boxing gym is called Central Boxing School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Trumbo, 46, said he’s driving nine hours to Spokane to rematch Nielsen. Trumbo works for a social research company that does drug prevention and behavioral studies for young people. He’s also an actor. Since Trumbo started boxing two years ago, he’s lost 45 pounds.

“Most of the time after the fight, you’re giving the guy a hug and telling him ‘Great job,’ because we’re not out there to make a bunch of money or clobber somebody,” Trumbo said. “It’s about just testing yourself, and seeing where your limits are and having somebody push back against you as hard as they can, too. And so it’s all respect and all competition.”

Trumbo is a southpaw stance fighter, which is used mostly by left-handed people. Because the southpaw fighting stance is fairly rare among boxers, Nielsen has been sparring with other southpaw fighters to prepare for his rematch .

Nielsen has spent considerable time training his body for boxing matches but has spent just as much time, if not more, preparing his mind. But during a match, Nielsen said he tries not to think too much.

“Thinking gets me hit,” Nielsen said simply.

Nielsen described his style of boxing as moving forward and punching. He said he’s constantly trying to apply pressure and get his opponent against the ropes. This year, though, he’s been working on cutting off his opponent and not letting them escape while still relentlessly applying pressure until he feels fatigue. Then once that fatigue starts to encroach, he pushes himself even harder.

The approach that Nielsen takes to a boxing match is a method that Welliver encourages for all of his fighters .

“The one thing I stress with all my boxers is empty the tank,” Welliver said. “Play checkers, don’t play chess.”

Welliver said playing chess with their opponent too much can cost a fighter. He wants his boxers to be aggressive and deliberate, something Nielsen excels at. Start jumping people, Welliver said, and worry about the consequences later. Never, in Welliver’s 31 years of coaching, has he heard a boxer say they were too aggressive during a fight.

Despite the excitement and desire to win in front of friends and family, once the final bell rings, Nielsen said he’ll be happy with the results, even if he loses. Between the physical fitness aspect, the camaraderie, and just how it makes him feel, Nielsen said boxing has completely changed his life.

Welliver said athletics builds character, but boxing reveals it.

He watches hope walk through his gym doors every day. Whether that hope materializes in the form of kids wanting to attach themselves to something positive, whether it’s a middle-aged man working to get in shape, or whether it’s a person simply learning that they can count on themselves, it’s all up to the individual as to how boxing will transform their life.

But ego, Welliver said, has to be left at the door. If a person chooses to keep that ego, more likely than not, it’s going to get punched out of them.

“We live in a society now where we have too many people that are quick to say, ‘You’re not welcome or you’re not allowed here,’” Welliver said. “The reality of it is, there’s nothing more inclusive in the world than a boxing gym… Everyone’s welcome in a boxing gym, and if the rest of the world was like a boxing gym, we’d be in a better place.”