RHS grad finds early success in competitive boxing, embraces new role as mentor

When Gage Cook graduated from Russellville High School in 2019, he was about to embark on a life path he neither wanted or planned.

During high school, Cook played football, regularly worked out and that gave him structure and motivation as part of a team. At least until he walked out the doors of Russellville High School for the last time.

The next several years saw Cook in and out of jail, dealing with addiction and spiraling downward to the point, he said, where most people in his life labeled him a lost cause.

Gage Cook after winning his second career boxing match.

There were fights. There were lost relationships. Cook was living without direction. The young man lacked direction and focus in his life. Something was missing and he knew it.

Seven years later, though, Cook’s life is vastly improved. He’s working in a tree cutting and lawn care business, trains six days a week and has rediscovered how it feels to be part of a team.

And Cook’s still fighting, but this time, it’s as part of the 205 Boxing Club, a gym and fitness center in Hackleburg created to help kids stay active and work together as teammates.

And one of its most successful boxers, and mentors to the younger members, is Gage Cook.

“I’m a better person by 100%,” Cook said. “I’m completely sober, kids look up to me and people count on me. From where I was before I started with 205 Boxing Club, I was doing everything wrong in my life. I decided to give this a shot after someone told me about 205. I’m real thankful they did that.”

The weekend of April 17th-18th saw Cook travel to Meridian, Miss.., to compete in the Mississippi Toughman Tournament. After three fights over two days, Cook won the Light Heavyweight Division Championship in his first competitive event.

After more than five months of training, Cook won a title at one of Mississippi’s most competitive boxing events. But he wasn’t satisfied. And Cook knows how important maintaining that drive and direction is in his life.

“I know I’ve probably been counted out these past couple years, but if I can turn it all the way around when everyone saw me as a lost cause and give back to others that makes it all worthwhile,” Cook said.

Along with fellow 205 Boxing Club members Felipe Alay and Ceejay Long, Cook next competed in Hollywood Hits 5, at Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Tunica, Miss. And he came home with his second win.

That event was sponsored by TCB Fights, a Tupelo-based combat sports promotion company that hosts competitive events in boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts. 

205 Boxing Club fighters are coached by Cody Harris, a former competitive kickboxer who volunteers his time to work with 205’s members.

It’s a family-friendly gym operated by Alay’s parents, Luis Alay and Flora Martin, as a way for young people in the Hackleburg area to gain self-confidence, find a sense of belonging and to experience being part of a team.

Felipe, a 15-year-old Hackleburg High School student, competed in his first event at Hollywood Hits 5, as part of a full slate of fights, in an octagon, in front of several hundred spectators. And, oh yeah, he won.

“When we were in the waiting room before the fight, I was really nervous, but our coaches told me the hard part was over and this is the easy part,” Alay said.

Alay won a unanimous decision, thanks in large part to staying aggressive, rushing his opponent, and landing an impressive amount of his punches.

That success, along with the support of his teammates, is exactly what 205 Boxing Club is all about. Fellow members spar and train together, all with the goal of helping each other grow in their skills and confidence. The club is a supportive community with teamwork at the core.

You might not think a mother would encourage, or help fund, her son’s venture into competitive fighting, but there wasn’t any need to sell Alay’s parents on the idea.

“I’m very happy Felipe is boxing and I started taking him to training. When he had his first fight last month, I was a little nervous but also very excited for him,” she said.

Alay and other 205 Boxing Club members also train at Tupelo UFM, owned by two-time professional MMA champion Grady Sue Hurley, who also coaches young fighters both at his gym in the Tupelo Furniture Market building and during TCB competitive events. The Hackleburg club is now an affiliate of Tupelo UFM.

Alay’s venture into competitive fighting was the result of a broken femur he sustained that ended his football playing days at Hackleburg.

Although the injury was not football related, Alay’s doctors recommended he not return to the gridiron.

Hackleburg student Felipe Alay is announced as a unanimous decision winner in his first-ever boxing match.

“The reason I got into boxing was because of the footwork. With my femur injury, it affected the way I walked and the footwork required in boxing really helped me with that,” Alay said. “That injury was three years ago and it was a long recovery.”

Alay sees his self-confidence growing every day, and like Cook, winning his first fight was a big motivator.

“You get more confidence after winning and the support of my teammates is great and also a big motivator,” Alay said.

His parents run the non-profit 205 Boxing Club at no cost to the kids who participate, although they do ask for $20/month donations to cover utility bill expenses.

“We welcome everyone, whether you make a donation or not,” Flora Martin said. “We’re like a big family with everyone working together as one team. We sometimes do devotionals, too. 

“We see the benefits of kids staying busy and active. And this is another option for some kids who might not want to participate in school sports,” she added.

Local fighters in 205 Boxing Club help pay for travel and competitions through donations. Martin asked for anyone interested in sponsoring local fighters to contact them through the 205 Boxing Club of Hackleburg Facebook page.

You don’t have to fight competitively to join 205 Boxing Club, though. The gym has fitness equipment appropriate for weight training or cardio workouts.

Cook plans to continue in competitive boxing and he wants to be tested more and more each time he fights.

“As I see myself improve from fight to fight, it makes me want to take harder fights. I don’t want easy fights,” Cook said.

“When you do the walkout to a fight, you can feel the adrenaline flowing. It’s the craziest feeling ever, but it’s a good feeling. But if anyone tells you they’re not nervous going out there, they’re lying,” he added.

As Alay prepared for his first competitive event, one of most supportive teammates was Cook.

“I just built him up and told him you’ve got to believe in yourself. So he fought and owned that first fight, got more confidence and started to believe in himself,” Cook said.

And that’s exactly what’s at the heart of the 205 Boxing Club.