After years of battling on the football field, Deshawn Redfield found himself chasing after his No. 1 dream. Redfield grew up watching boxing with his family and made the decision to start training at Ground Zero in Latrobe while he was in college.
His training has paid off. On April 1, the Latrobe resident won the Western Pa. Golden Gloves tournament in the 203-pound elite subnovice division.
Redfield won his first two matches via first-round knockouts, which led to his championship bout against Frank Poindexter with Ray Schaffer Boxing.
“The thing that was going through my mind was my coach telling me to make sure I stay at my jab,” Redfield said. “That’s the No. 1 thing I work on. I’m taller, so a lot of people try to press me and stuff so I try and keep them away. I mainly stayed on my jab, and everything followed after that.”
Redfield stayed persistent in his game plan and used his 6-foot-3, 202-pound frame to deliver the finishing blow, knocking out his opponent in the first round.
“I had to fight two dudes to make it to the (championship) fight, so I felt that I worked for it,” Redfield said of the six-man bracket. “It felt more redeeming and more achieving.”
Redfield’s success didn’t happen overnight. It took hard work and dedication to the sport. Redfield said endurance is the key in boxing, and he makes sure he trains to be in optimal shape.
“I’ll come out and jump rope, learn some techniques and spar,” Redfield said. “I’ll work out right after with pull-ups and rope drill, and I’ll do some running.”
Redfield also recognizes it’s also essential to be a student of the game. Redfield likes to emulate Lennox Lewis and Canelo Alvarez, two of his favorite boxers, and Floyd Maywether’s shoulder roll defense is something he tries to implement most.
“I used to watch a lot of boxing growing up in the house,” Redfield said. “My people like boxing a lot, so growing up I wanted to get into it, but we didn’t have the money for it. As I got older, with working and all that good stuff, I got into the gym.
“(I went to) Latrobe Ground Zero Pittsburgh, and we went from there. It was crazy because I didn’t know it was a boxing gym at first. I went past it every day. I just stopped in one day, and it went from there.”
Boxing, however, wasn’t his first dose of competition. Redfield said his parents got him into football, basketball and track and field. Football was the sport that stuck.
Redfield played football at East Bay High School in Gibsonton, Fla., before heading off to play at Saint Vincent in 2016.
“I was one of the kids on the list they wanted to talk to,” Redfield said. “I talked to the coaches and ended up setting up a plane ticket, and they got me out to there. I came out here actually and it was snowing, and that’s what got me hooked. I got to come back and see that again. I really wanted to see snow, and that is part of the reason why I came out here.”
Redfield played defensive tackle for the Bearcats and graduated from Saint Vincent in 2021.
He began training in boxing while still in school and quickly developed a talent in the ring, culminating with his Golden Gloves title earlier this month.
“It wasn’t expected,” Redfield said. “I felt like I was better than the majority of the competition because at the gym we definitely work hard. With boxing, it is not all about the physical part, it most definitely has to do with your mental, and our coaches, they are like wizards.”
Redfield considers those at Ground Zero his second family. He attributes his success to coach Jeremy Kosicek and the rest of the coaches at the gym. Ground Zero also had two boxers take second in the Golden Gloves event: Daniel Beck of Greensburg and Troy Lucchetti of Derry.
Redfield also is thankful for his family, which has stuck by him every step of the way.
“I talk to them every day,” Redfield said. “Even though I’m up here, I talk to them every day.”
Redfield’s boxing journey is off to a 3-0 start, and his hope is to remain unbeaten.
“I’m just taking fights as they come,” Redfield said. “Jeremy let me know, ‘Hey, we got a fight coming up.’ I’m going to take it slow right now. I’m just staying ready.”