Welterweight Mykal Fox believes he found what was missing in his professional boxing career.
Fox, a 29-year-old who is tentatively scheduled to return in March, is a seasoned veteran best known for losing an egregious unanimous decision to Gabriel Maestre. Fox knocked down the Olympian in their August 2021 bout but didn’t get the win.
That fight was sandwiched in a career-worst three-fight losing streak. Fox, from Forestville, Maryland, returned after a 22-month break from the sport in July. He noted that he is now focusing on his mind – unlike his previous training regimen.
“I started listening to audiobooks,” Fox said. “In fact, before my last fight I listened to Tim Grover’s book about Michael Jordan on the day of the fight, and it helped me.”
Fox (24-4, 5 KOs) says he is learning to take control of his career and speak more carefully. Though he wouldn’t go into detail, he believes that has held him back in the past.
He wasn’t a fan of audiobooks at first, but they grew on him. Now he can list all the books he has enjoyed, mentioning works by rappers 50 Cent and Jeezy and boxer Chris Algieri, among his favorites, which now occupy his stereo system on trips to and from the gym instead of music.
“I really like listening to these stories,” said Fox, who has won two in a row. “The big thing is hearing about other people’s stories. It helps me with my own life, and how to move forward.”
His friend Cornelius McDonald, an activist in the community, was shot on December 2 outside a restaurant in Lake Arbor, Maryland. Fox had helped bury him the day before this interview was conducted.
Not unlike his fighting career, nothing comes easy to Fox, who now trains at Sugar Ray Leonard’s gym in Landover, Maryland, with his father, Troy Fox.
“I feel like I have grown a lot and I have learned to focus on my mental health as much as the physical,” Fox said. “I feel in the past I didn’t pay attention to that, and that is what held me back.”
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