Boxell using downtime to heal up for MMA’s return

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on June 5, 2020.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

Colton Boxell is still finding ways to keep himself sharp.

The local mixed martial artist spent the month of May completing a gruelling 30-day test of his mettle, and even with a few injuries, the 28-year-old welterweight came out on top.

“I kind of worked through it,” said Boxell, who completed 30 Murphy workouts in 30 consecutive days at Rotary Track while battling knee, elbow and toe injuries. “It was a twisting (knee) injury … it was actually one of the worst ones that I’ve had … and my elbows, they’ve got quite a bit of wear and tear on them so they end up popping all the time.”

A Murphy consists of a 1,600-metre run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and then another 1,600-metre run to close it all out. Boxell says he was inspired to take one on each day for 30 consecutive days after seeing someone complete the task on YouTube.

“It was quite a few workouts that I did there,” said Boxell, adding his knee benefitted from the experience. “Knee injuries don’t heal because there’s a lack of blood flow to the joint. If you work out and you do your squats and everything, you wind up increasing the blood flow and keeping mobile – and the muscles will know how to protect themselves throughout the knee – so that was how I kind of worked my way through that part of the injury.”

Boxell moved to Ottawa to further his MMA career last year, and returned to Medicine Hat hoping to compete at Fight Night 14 this spring. The event was initially slated for May 2 at the Canalta Centre, but got pushed back to June 13, then again into fall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That would be the plan, to fight for them,” said Boxell, who picked up his inaugural professional victory with a first-round heel hook submission on Jeremiah Curtwright at BTC 7 in Ottawa last August. “I feel complete as a fighter. I spent nine months working my striking very diligently. I took a pretty bad loss to kind of expose some holes in my game, so I moved to Ottawa … and I was training with the head coach for Canada Muay Thai (Jeff Harrison). It was an incredible training environment – lots of technique, so much understanding of the system and the way it all works together.”

A release on Fight Night’s Facebook page from May says the organization has been informed that “no event permits will be issued (at the Canalta Centre) until after August 31” due to the City of Medicine Hat taking over the facility’s operation.

“The city will need a few months to sort out the details of the acquisition but assured us that we are first event on list in the fall,” reads the release. “(Fight Night) has explored the possibility of other provinces to host this event, but as all provinces are in various stages of lockdown or re-opening we could not secure a location.”

One benefit of the predicament however, is that the pandemic has provided Boxell with the opportunity to spend some quality time with his parents, Coleen and Stewart.

“Dad is working from home for a while, which is good because usually he’s on the road,” he said. “My mom’s always at home, we bought her some flowers for her birthday that she planted in the back yard so it’s all spruced up and looking nice.”

Boxell added he will be aiming to keep his mind fit through June by rebuilding an engine, and he’s applied for a Master’s degree in electrical engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa. If that doesn’t pan out, he says he’ll look to close out his education here in Alberta.

“If I don’t find something through them, I’m probably going to figure out what to do for another year, then I might go to Lethbridge and do a psych degree,” he said. “There are so many opportunities in life and ways of going forward, just do the things that compel you. Do the things that are enjoyable, and always seek to be really good at things – that’s super important. Always try to be your best at whatever it is you’re going to set your mind to.”

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