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The Future is Now

By DAIMEON BANKS

daimeon.banks@gmail.com

Durham, NC;  home of Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils. Durham, NC; made famous in the the 1988 Ron Shelton film, Bull Durham. The "Bull City" as it is locally known rests smack dab in the middle of Tobacco Road, basketball country.   Durham, NC the birthplace of the next Lightweight boxing champion of the world. Don't adjust your eye glasses.  Yes, you read that correctly. Durham, NC home of a fast rising lightweight boxer by the name of Antoine "The Future" Alston.  

Antoine's boxing story started at the tender age of 6.  While riding with his farther, the two stopped at a local gym.  It was there that Antoine first caught the boxing bug. "As a kid I always liked to fight, so my father took me to a gym" says the lightweight contender.  That initial trip to the Durham Boxing Gym would prove to be one of many for Alston.  "I played football in middle school.  I used to get out of practice and go right to the gym to train."  That work ethic paid off as Alston fought as an ametuer in The Jr. Olympics, The Southeast Regional Championships, Platinum Glove Championships, and The National Gold Gloves. Even though he wasn't devoting himself to training, Alston decided to turn professional in 2010, winning his first 4 fights. Instantly Alston found himself fighting all over the country - from Biloxi, Mississippi, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and even in Raleigh, North Carolina. Under the tutelage of Coach Derrick Reid Alston had found early success.  

There have been a few bumps in the road for the Durham native.  Unfortunately, lack of focus and bad promotional decisions, led to Alston losing 5 of his next 6 fights.  "I was fighting in the wrong weight division, taking fights for the money, and not really focused on my training. You can't play boxing" says the now 26 year old.  Perhaps a change of scenery would inject life back into a once promising boxing career. Alston made the decision to move his training to the mountain city of Big Bear Lake California. Big Bear sits 8,000 feet above sea level and it's seclusion is just what Alston needed to refocus. With the direction of Coach Abel Sanchez, and training with the likes of Gannady Golovkin, (WBA and IBO Middleweight Champion) Alston has won his last two fights improving to 6-5 overall.  His style is sure to be any crowds favorite and can best be desribed as a boxer/puncher. Says Alston, "I have had speed with power."

June 7th 2014 at 7pm, Alston will return to his hometown of Durham North Carolina to headline his first fight card.  The Durham Convention Center will serve as the venue for what is the next step in the professional boxing career of an unlikely contender.  "I just wanna be leader, provide for my family and kids. Fighting in my hometown will give me the chance to give back to my city and show the kids that if you belive in yourself, anything is possible."  For Antoine Alston, the future is now.