By Ryan Burton
On Friday night, lightweight hopeful Demond "Body Shot" Brock (12-3-1) will have the biggest fight of his career against Reynaldo Blanco (13-2) at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. The bout will be televised by CBS Sports.
The 35-year-old Brock has had a few setbacks in his young career but feels the transition to working with future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. will help him raise his game. He said that the training he received for this fight was the best of his career.
"I've had a magnificent training camp. It is the best training camp I have ever had because of the change of scenery, the people I was around and the sparring that I had. It all together made it the best camp," said Brock who believes a victory will lead him to the big fight that he craves.
"I'm hoping this will propel me to the next level to fight against guys that are more advanced and have bigger names. I am looking to position myself for another fight, a big fight. This is a fight that I am not taking lightly. Me and my team we prepared 100% and my job is to win and get to the next level."
Just the fact that Brock is in this position is truly remarkable. Fighting out of New Orleans, Brock learned how to box in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He served almost 15 years after being sentenced for armed robbery when he was 15 years old. He finished up his career in prison with a 39-1 record.
Brock believes that his tough upbringing has made him a better fighter. In his opinion, the training that he received inside of the state's correctional system was much greater than if he would have fought in the United States amateur system.
"I am going to tell you about the competition in there versus the competition on the outside. The competition on the inside is a lot more tougher than the competition on the outside. The reason I say that is because you are fighting against robbers, rapists, murderers, etc. These guys are bringing that same animosity, that same anger inside the ring with them to fight you with, on top of the skills that they have learned in the gym. On the outside them guys who are fighting in amateur boxing, those guys have been taught to respect, sportsmanship, versus the guys on the inside who are really trying to hurt you and if they can - they really want to do some serious damage. That is the difference between the competition on the inside and the outside," Brock revealed.
"Your reputation is on the line. You can fight on the inside and you can lose a fight to a guy and your reputation as a man will be tarnished. If you fight on the inside and you quit, you are going to end up somebody's girlfriend. I am saying that because that is the severity of a loss on the inside. Nobody wants to lose on the inside. That is why I think guys like myself, Brad Solomon and Eric Walker advanced as well as we did because we didn't want to lose."
Having changed his life, Brock hopes to be an inspiration and an example to others. He hopes that his story will show others that change is always possible no matter what predicament a person finds himself in life.
"This is my life story every time I step inside the ring. It is not just me stepping inside the ring. It is my life story that I am bringing so that people will be able to see and witness that wherever you have been in life, you can make changes and adjustments to get to a better place in life," Brock told BoxingScene.com before thanking his team for taking a chance on an ex-convict and allowing him to pursue his dreams.
"I would like to thank Roy Jones Jr. Promotions, my promoter Keith Veltre, my trainer Roy Jones Jr. for taking me seriously to be able to train me and the entire staff for helping to guide my career and helping me to be where I want to be.I would also like to thank my sponsor Battle Tested and my mother and my brother Paul. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at BodyshotBrock and on Facebook at Demond Brock,
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter
