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FISTS OF FRIDAY: She's learning the ropes

Teen boxer in Fort Mill aims for ring debut

By Andrew Stark

(Published August 26, 2008)

Alex Friday, 15, makes her amateur boxing debut Sept. 20. The 105-pounder wants "to go all the way. I want to turn pro."

Training has been going on for more than six months in the makeshift gym set up in Ryan Shay's backyard. The teacher and his student spar and practice techniques as they prepare her for the first of what they hope are many fights to come.

Shay, a professional boxer for four years, is a big man, a heavyweight who tips the scales in the 250-pound range. Watching him and his prized student spar, you realize how small Alex Friday really is.
Officially, Friday is a five-foot, three-inch 105-pounder. That may be stretching it a little, but watching her precision and power, it is apparent that her ability is for real. What Friday lacks in physical size, she more than makes up for with potential and a big heart. She wants to be one of the best and Shay thinks she can do it.
"I want to go all the way," Friday said. "I want to turn pro; When the doctors tell me that I have to retire, then I will."
According to Shay, Friday is certainly putting in the work.
"She is 100 percent every day," he said. "She never complains and she never says she can't do it. She sparred with a guy and at first she was nervous about it. I told her not to worry and she got in there and she did real well with him."
Shay, who turned professional after an eight-year amateur career, has been around boxing for a long time. His coach is Shane Benefield, a regional legend in East Coast boxing. The two are working on getting Friday some fights lined up and are quick to recognize her raw talent.
"She has more of a drive and a love for the sport," Shay said. "She is 15, and I haven't seen a 15-year-old female have that kind of drive for boxing in a long time. It is such a contact sport, but she has it. Out of everyone that I have trained she has more talent and more drive; she just loves the sport."
Friday, a sophomore at Fort Mill High School, describes herself as talkative, friendly and outgoing. She had been on the honor roll last year while taking college-level classes.
The friendly demeanor, however, stays outside the ring.
"She is best at moving her opponents backwards," Shay said. "She is aggressive and she is always on the go. She is not afraid to take a punch, but she is a giver, too. She is more of a punch giver than a taker."
Shay said Friday has learned early on how to compartmentalize.
"She is wonderful; very outgoing," Shay said. "She has two different personalities. When we start training and go into sparring sessions it is a totally different mind frame. Her personality is wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better student."
Friday said Shay has been teaching her the ropes and she considers him and his wife Robin as role models. Training with a professional is an advantage and something she appreciates.	Shay has raised her confidence level and taught her the basics of the sport she has loved since childhood.
"He has taught me to do my best out there," Friday said. "If you don't win, you can still learn from your mistakes and do better the next go-around."
While a pro career for Friday is very much the goal, that's still a few years away. In the meantime, Shay will be entering Friday in amateur bouts and preparing her to make a run at the Junior Olympic boxing team.
"I see her going all the way; I see her going pro," Shay said. "We have got a couple of years before she can go pro, but if she continues to keep training, she can do it. Even if her amateur career is not the best, I am going to turn her pro."
While the Junior Olympic site for this year has not been announced, Shay said Friday will have to qualify through a number of local tournaments and outings. It is a prestigious event, and she will have to win several matches to earn her way into the competition.
Friday loves the sport. She had always thought that she would be a boxer, but didn't realize her dream until a friend of hers introduced her to Shay. It turned out that Shay and Friday's father have been friends for years, and he willingly accepted her as a training partner.
The two train in his backyard three times a week. Although Shay himself is in training for his career, he said he loves training other fighters and teaching them the tricks and knowledge that he has picked up along the way, even if that means making his nights longer and more demanding on his family.
"Boxing is a stress reliever and I love the sport," Friday said. "I talked about it when I was little, and I went all out once I started."
Shay said it is Friday's drive and her love of the sport that separates her from other fighters. The motivation is there for Friday and she will do anything to attain her goal, according to her mentor.
Friday will take her next big step on what she hopes is the road to glory when makes her amateur debut Saturday, Sept. 20, in Eutawville before traveling to Columbia Saturday, Oct. 4. Friday will compete in Charlotte one week after that.