Kent Ramer Pedroso: “You Don’t Have to Fight to Love Boxing.”

By Qinglang Wu, April 2022.

The background sound on the other end of the video is loud, mixed with people roaring and hitting sandbags. “But for me, it’s not just punching people in the face.”

Kent Ramer Pedroso had just finished his first boxing training session of the day. Hastily he turned on the camera, and apologetically explained the noisy environment.

Pedroso, 21, is preparing for his first professional boxing fight which is going to be held in the Philippines this July, so the daily training tasks now are quite heavy.

“Usually, I wake up and drop off my brother at school. After that, I would have my first training session at around 11,” he said. “Then I need to train some clients for three to four hours, and at night I would work out again.”

“I’ll be more prepared the closer I get to the fight date” he added. While he was talking, he was waving his fists in the air cheering himself up, his hands still wrapped from his previous training session.

According to Pedroso, a professional fight is different from an amateur fight. He explained: “When you are professional, you wear some other gloves that have less padding, and there’s no headgear that goes over your face.”

He pointed to the bruises on his face and said: “I’m excited and nervous because it’s a new feeling. Professional fighting is dangerous, but I like it.”

Before 19, Pedroso had never learned to box because his parents didn’t want him to do it and thought it was too dangerous. So, once he got the freedom to do it, he just made the decision to quit school and focus on boxing.

 “Then they accepted it” says Pedroso. However, what he finds most pleasing is that his mother is very supportive now. Even though the rest of the family all have different opinions, “I don’t really care about that,” he said.

He was silent for a while and then said, even if they did or didn’t support him, he would still do it. He never thought about his future until he got into boxing. He has now realized that this is what drives him forwards. 

“A lot of people can’t make up their minds in order to achieve their dreams because of various obstacles, but he did, so I quite admire him” says Janice Pan, a friend of Pedroso who is doing the same training with him.

Photo provided by Pedroso

Pedroso was introduced to boxing by a coach named Kevin when he walked into the boxing gym for the first time in 2019. When he mentioned his first-time boxing, his eyes were filled with joy.

“You don’t have to fight to love boxing,” he continued, “You know, it’s more than just punching a person in the face. It’s the hours and hours of physical and mental training that add up to it. I feel like I just love it.”

But it seems that these reasons are not enough. He then added that the environment of the boxing gym is also one of the reasons that make him love boxing.

“It is completely different from a regular gym,” Pedroso’s girlfriend, Aimee Liu said. She once went to the boxing gym where Pedroso does his training in. She thinks the boxing gym is more like a family because people are bonding over the same sport.

“Sometimes there are new people going to the boxing gym, but they feel they are part of the family,” says Liu. “They feel welcomed.”

Pedroso’s boxing career in the past two years seems to have gone very well. He was beating people who had already boxed 100 to 200 fights, when he was still an amateur in his first year of boxing, with only 20 fights in total.

“Well, I almost made the Olympics, and it was also in my first year of boxing.” However, he hesitated for a while before revealing the reason why he didn't get a spot in the end.

Pedroso attended the Olympic qualifiers, but he lost a fight at the semi-finals. He thinks it’s unfair because he was against another boxer who is also from Alberta.

“Alberta is the only province where they had two Albertans against each other. All other boxers from the same province were like a team, like me and you, we’re both from Ontario fighting. They should represent their province, why would they fight against each other?” Liu said.

Talking about these great achievements, Pedroso doesn’t think he is more talented than others. He believes the saying: “No pain, no gain” he said: “Hard work does get you what you want, as long as you work for it. Whatever work you put in is what shows practically.”

Meanwhile, he thinks in his two-year journey, boxing has given a lot back to him. It helps him relieve stress and has already become his safe place. It also teaches him so many things outside the gym, like how to get along with other people and how to enhance his social skills.

“Boxing has taught me more than school has ever taught me about myself in life.” Says Pedroso.

Even though he mentioned a lot about what boxing gave to him, he still insisted that the biggest change in the past two years for him is that he is mentally stronger. When Covid first hit, he felt really discouraged, worrying if he would be able to box or fight anymore.

But when things started opening up, he felt like it was a blessing in disguise. He gave an interesting analogy, saying that if people were a card in life, it will eventually pay off.

Pedroso said that Covid has put a halt on his career, but he believes it also teaches him how to be patient and consistent. “Even though there’s nothing going on, it’s better to stay ready than to get ready.”

Someone shouted his name at the end of the video call, reminding him to start his second training class.

Before leaving, Pedroso said: “I’m a late bloomer, but I will prove that anyone in my situation can make it.”