โIโVE seen what drugs can do to you and that was enough to keep me away from them,โ Kevin Cunningham says.
Cunninghamโs sole addiction is boxing; the 52-year-old trainerโs idea of a good time is shoving a gumshield in a kidโs mouth after reprimanding them.
For others, however, boxing is a gateway drug.
In January 2012, as Cunningham trained Devon Alexander for the Marcos Maidana bout, a headbutt during sparring caused Alexanderโs nose to swell.
The swelling wasnโt enough to postpone the fight. Alexander won a wide decision, beating Maidana more decisively than anyone before or since. But the swelling remained. Doctors discovered a blood clot and Alexander underwent surgery to remove it.
โI thought that was the end of it,โ Cunningham recalls. โBut his wind and reflexes were off when he returned to the gym. It got really bad and Iโm realising something isnโt right, but he kept telling me everything is fine.โ
An unconvinced Cunningham conferred with Alexander advisor Al Haymon. They sent Devon to the Cleveland Clinic and then the Mayo Clinic to have his heart checked out. Both found nothing wrong.
What ailed Alexander showed in the ring. In December 2013, he lost his IBF welterweight title to a young, upset-minded Shawn Porter. Then Amir Khan outclassed him over 12 rounds. When Alexander lost a decision to 50-1 underdog Aaron Martinez, Cunningham had seen enough.
โI told him, โYouโll never fight with me again until I find out whatโs going on with you.โโ
Two months later, Alexander invited Cunningham to his home. Thatโs when Devon broke down and confessed: He was addicted to painkillers prescribed to him following the nose surgery.
โIt hit me hard,โ Cunningham remembers. โDevon saw what substance abuse did to his former teammate. Heโs never even tasted a beer in his life. Devon was always disciplined โ thatโs what boxing is all about.โ
Cunningham would know. While his older brother battled drug addiction, he used boxing to avoid such pitfalls in St. Louisโ inner-city. He was also a member of the Army boxing team during his stint in the U.S. military. When he came home, he joined the St. Louis police force and worked the notorious Eighth District, a neighborhood hidden behind boarded windows and inhabited by mercenaries on each corner.
โI was a cop for nine years,โ he says. โThe crack epidemic was huge in 1991-92. I was pulling up to scenes where 15-year old kids were lying dead on the streets with bodies riddled with bullets. At some point I asked myself, โWhat can I do to have a positive impact in the community?โ And I remembered that it was sports that kept me out of trouble.โ
Cunningham leveraged his relationship with the cityโs mayor to obtain the use of an old police building basement. He built a gym there and started the St. Louis Police Athletic League (P.A.L.).
โWe started pulling kids off the street using boxing as a hook for them to do something positive,โ he says. โEven if they didnโt go on to be professional boxers, they would learn the moral values, work ethic, discipline, structure and focus that would carry them through life.โ
The students werenโt the only ones learning. Cunningham studied under Ben Stewart, Kenny Adams and others, trainers who taught him old school wrinkles that, according to Cunningham, boxers lack today. Knowing how and when to set up shots, how to turn defence into offense and vice-versa in an instant is a lost art, he says.
โOnly guys today with throwback skills are Andre Ward, Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and Adrien Broner,โ Cunningham says.โ Adrien had it all, plus he knows how to market himself. I really thought he would fill the void Floyd Mayweather left. But when youโre not disciplined outside the ring, it can affect you inside it.
โFloyd was really the last of the Mohicans. He didnโt have all these guys in his camp; the nutrition guy, the โstretch you outโ man, the vitamin man and the Tae-Bo guy. This is boxing. Your main focus should be on your skill, technique and strategy.โ
Southpaw Cory Spinks was one of Cunninghamโs prized pupils at the P.A.L. Following a fine amateur career, Spinks became one of the best pure boxers in the pro game, winning the undisputed welterweight championship and a world junior middleweight title.
Alexander, another lefty, joined the P.A.L. at age seven. Under Cunninghamโs tutelage, he compiled a 300-10 amateur record. As a pro, he won two belts at 140lbs. and one at 147, defeating Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, and other lesser yet reputable names along the way. At one point, none other than Mayweather himself appointed Alexander as heir to his throne. He alluded to a possible showdown, until Devonโs world crumbled.
Upon revealing his addiction, Alexander checked into a rehab, where he remained for eight months. Heโs been out and clean for a year.
His trainer needed a new start too. Cunningham now calls sunny West Palm Beach, Florida home. Heโs built a boxing gym there called Camp Cunningham.
โI always wanted to retire in Florida,โ he explains. โIโm loving it so far. St. Louis is too cold half the time and too hot the other half. Camp Cunningham is the perfect place for world class fighters to hold camp for big fights. Itโs three blocks away from the beach but the gym is private and gated.
โFlorida is the home of fitness because everybody is trying to get a beach body. Iโve got fitness, conditioning and strength trainers. But at Camp Cunningham, weโre all about boxing. We focus on skill, technique, and all things boxing-oriented.โ
Alexander is a regular at Camp Cunningham. He is expected to return this fall. Both are excited about this fresh start.
โDevon went through a lot to overcome that to overcome an addiction thatโs the number one problem in America today,โ Cunningham says. โHeโs still young at 30, but heโs a seasoned professional. So, weโre not coming back to trash-talk or call out opponents. Al just needs to tell us when and where and weโre going to let the performance do the talking.โ