ST. LOUIS — When boxers got in the ring with Boris Powell, it usually didn't work out well for them.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound chiseled specimen of a fighter won the national Golden Gloves Boxing title. And he did it with a training regimen that was second to none.
"I used to just run because I'd never get tired," Powell said. "Only way to be the best is to train like you're the best. And tell yourself 'I'm not gonna let nobody come between me and what I want to do.'"
That training helped Powell carve out a tremendous pro boxing career.
He never lost a fight in St. Louis and won the WBO title going 32-2. He sparred with Evander Holyfield and knew Mike Tyson and George Foreman.
The problem could have been that Powell stayed in the ring sparring until he was 50, but nobody knows for sure. The diagnosis of ALS came in October, and now the man with the perfect body was told he was deteriorating.
"When [the doctor] told me it was a shock to me. I was like, 'Man, what did I do wrong?' That's what I kept thinking. I just couldn't believe it. Still can't," Powell said.
Powell has a great support system of family and friends, including another famous athlete from St. Louis and fellow Vashon classmate and former NBA player Anthony Bonner.
Bonner, an ordained minister, is also helping Powell keep his faith through his experience fighting ALS.
Powell has also taken part in a Washington University ALS clinic, hoping to find a way to slow down the progression of the disease.
And this fighter isn't just planning on fighting the disease. He has his mind set on beating it.
"It's the biggest fight of my life. And I'm gonna win... I ain't just gonna lay down and accept it," Powell said. "I just ain't gonna lay down. I'm just not. I understand some people never beat it, but that's them. I'm different."