Get in the ring with The Last Round

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Get in the ring with The Last Round

Sat, 04/17/2021 - 14:46
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For Mark Locke, owner of The Last Round, boxing is a passion and The Last Round is that passion made manifest.

In 2005, Locke ran into his brother-in-law, who was into boxing, and the pair began boxing that summer.

"I was shown the ropes in the garage and [boxing] kind of just started bringing out something in me and filled my confidence," said Locke.

Locke moved to Kansas and joined a boxing gym where he learned more about the sport. However, Locke wasn't into the competing scene and instead had a desire to coach. After moving to Arkansas in 2012 and finding a gym there, Locke made the decision he wanted to own a gym.

He moved to Ponca City eight years ago and started finding boxing equipment until he had a large enough collection. Five years ago, he rented a building on Emporia and ran a fitness class to gauge interest for boxing.

After some time, people began to approach Locke asking him a bout competing and he began to take on some people and building the pieces to start competing.

The first of these competitions was the Oklahoma Golden Gloves in 2018. Locke entered it himself and won the competition. Three months later, he faced the Kansas champion and took the regional title.

Locke had tried to open a bigger location on Brookfield but it didn’t end up working due to another coach stealing money and Locke was forced to shut down.

The City of Ponca City reached out to Locke and wanted to keep him going by setting him up to teach classes at the RecPlex where he taught fitness classes and a boxing class.

Locke was unable to find room for a boxing ring and began looking for a location, eventually finding one at 214 W. Cleveland.

Locke finds that his favorite aspect of boxing is the change he sees it make in the lives of people.

“To see the change in some of these guys, see some kids come in angry or shy or because they’re bullied and watching them build bonds and carry themselves. You find words don’t mean anything to them anymore. They know they’re strong, they know what they’re capable of and they just live life,” said Locke. “I love to see they have so much confidence in themselves now, they just turn the cheek and walk away. That’s what I love about boxing, how it changes yourself and the confidence you have in yourself.”

Renovations will be made to the location at 214 W Cleveland including fixing water lines and adding paint, plus moving in equipment, bags, treadmills, exercise bikes and the addition of a 14x14 boxing ring.

Locke is planning to open the doors of The Last Round in May and will have fitness classes, youth boxing classes and all ages boxing. Youth classes are divided up into ages 6 to 10 and ages 11 and up.

Information about The Last Round can be found on Facebook and Instagram, with early enrollment on Facebook. The first class is free to try so that participants can see how they feel about the course.

“Boxing is a fun workout, a lot of fun, but it is a lot of work,” said Locke.

With the pieces falling into place, Locke is excited to have his own space for his classes and his boxing team.

“[Having my own space] that means the world to me, having been able to come and go, be open more hours and having a ring up is a big deal for us,” said Locke. “Being able to put their ring up and have space to come in when they want, work out when they want and get that feel, it’s a big deal for the boxing team.”

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Get in the ring with The Last Round
Get in the ring with The Last Round