It’s a cool November night, and in one corner of a nondescript strip center, Matthew Simpson is just one of many individuals, from pre-teens to adults, packed into a gym reeking of sweat, grit, and sacrifice.
Simpson, aka “Young Matt Spice,” is working out at 0 to 100 Boxing Club, a gym near what used to be Sharpstown Mall. The gym is as gritty as Sharpstown Mall’s reputation was just before it died a slow, painful death. But there’s nothing lifeless about 0 to 100, or Simpson. It’s a Tuesday night and the place is bustling with energy.
And dreams.
Simpson, a Randall High School 9th grader, is hard at work honing his craft for the fast-approaching USA 2024 Boxing National Championships, Dec. 16 – 21 in Richmond, VA.
An all-around athlete, Simpson “retired” from other sports when introduced to boxing.
“It was actually seeing this boxer named Shakur Stevenson,” said Simpson. “He inspired me to do a lot of great things in this sport. Just watching him accomplish so much inspired me.”
“The US championship is for all the elite boxers out there,” said Simpson’s father, Mario Simpson. “We hope to get that ranked number one spot. That’s what we’ve been training so hard for.”
Though this particular November evening finds Simpson at 0 to 100, he officially boxes out of Fifth Ward’s Prince Boxing Gym (3000 Jensen Dr., Houston, 77026), owned by local hip-hop legend J. Prince.
SIMPSON’S STORY
But the fact that Simpson willingly grinds for hours in anybody’s gym is due, like so many other young boxers, to exposures made possible by his parents.
“His mother (Pamela Walker) brought him to the gym when Matt was about three years old. He put the gloves on, he looked good with the gloves and he wanted to throw punches. It caught my eye, and I was like, ‘Maybe that’s something we may try,’” said the elder Simpson.
“Matt loves all sports, especially football, but he got tired of taking those licks,” recalled Walker. “That year, between little league and school sports, we had the pandemic. Then Matt got into training and was just playing around on the heavy bag and was noticed by a gentleman who said, ‘Hey, let me work with your son for the strength and conditioning part of it.’ Then, there was a match and Matt did well. And there was another match and it’s just gone from there.”
Stevenson, Matt’s inspiration, has held multiple world championships in three weight classes from featherweight to lightweight. Before that, he was a dynamic amateur fighter who represented the U.S. at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal as a bantamweight,
Young Matt Spice seeks to establish himself similarly. But he is nowhere near alone.
HOUSTON’S YOUTH BOXING SCENE
Though it’s not headline news, Houston quietly has developed a solid reputation for producing highly talented boxers, amateur and pro.
Former World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman wasn’t even the only Houston-area product to fight Muhammad Ali. Cleveland Williams took on “The Greatest” in the Astrodome in 1966. Additionally, Renaldo Snipes, Roscoe Hill, Jermell and Jermall Charlo and others have made names on the national boxing scene, after beginning their journeys in the Bayou City.
Just two years ago, Houstonians Danny and Steven Grandy came to the public’s attention as up-and-coming boxing brothers, ranking No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in their respective youth boxing divisions. Earlier this year, Steven won his first fight as a 17-year-old professional.
So, to local boxing coaches, Houston’s punching power comes as no surprise.
One of those coaches, Marcus Johnson, gives Houston’s youth boxing scene two thumbs up, in part because of the city’s 70-plus gyms. And Johnson should know. He had a lengthy and successful amateur boxing career, winning multiple national tournaments including the National Silver Gloves. He also had a nice pro career.
Currently, he’s coaching Simpson.
“This is my time to give back to the youth,” said Johnson, whose father boxed in the Army and introduced Johnson and his older brother to the sport.
Johnson coaches Simpson alongside Antonio “Kool-Aid” Ortega.
“There’s a whole lot of talented kids around here, from the Blacks and Hispanics to the whites,” said Ortega. “There’s a lot of talented kids here in Houston.”
“The majority of top boxers are from Houston,” declared 0 to 100 Strength and Conditioning Coach William Alvarez. “From amateurs to pros, there’s plenty. We have over 70-plus gyms in Houston and a lot of these kids, they’re just built different nowadays… I’ve seen several amateurs that could match up with the pros.”
“This 0 to 100 Boxing Club was my two boys’ desire. They decided to open a gym in this area here to reach all those teenagers on the street doing things they’re not supposed to do. That’s why 0 to 100 sits here right now, to build champions,” said Freudis Rojas, who runs 0 to 100 and who has seen Simpson grow from a beginner to who he describes as a “masterpiece of boxing.”
