The road warrior: Lorenzo Powell’s drive to reach the top

Lorenzo Powell has a unique sparring regimen. On Mondays and Fridays, the lightweight spends 18 hours – 12 of them driving – devoted to boxing. Powell and his coach Marty Chima travel from Sacramento, California, to Los Angeles at 2am, reaching the boxing gym he will spar at early in the morning while training for four to six hours, and then return home.

Powell, 21 and of Sacramento, will compete for the second time as a professional on Saturday at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California, against Ethan Rowan.

He has taken an unconventional path, reflecting on the grueling morning routine that he believes will propel him to future success as a main-event fighter. For this training camp, he dedicated significant time sparring at the revered Wild Card Boxing Club – even declining hotel offers – as coaches recognized his commitment to securing world-class sparring partners.

“So what we did all of our sparring in LA?” the 1-0 Powell explained to BoxingScene. “I’m still sleeping in the car. I don’t drive on the way there, but coach wakes me up around 9am, and then we go upstairs, I’m getting wrapped up, and by 10am or 10:30am, I’m sparring the current, former, or future world champion.

“A lot of people call us crazy for it, but it’s like, that’s what it takes, and that’s what made me who I am today.”

It is clear Powell goes the extra mile. He has sparred, among others, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Shakur Stevenson, Viktor Postol, Elvis Rodriguez, and his stablemate, Gabriel Flores Jr. Powell smiles when recounting his experiences with them.

It wasn’t until Powell was 16 or 17 that Chima began taking him to spar in places like Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Before that, he only sparred regionally

“We have to enjoy the journey along the way,” Powell remarked. “A lot of people don’t know we do DoorDash just to cover our gas and food expenses, because things get expensive – especially trying to get a hotel room every week.

“This is what I have to enjoy to reach the destination I want to reach.”

In 2017 Powell won his first national tournament by defeating Stacey Selby. His next national victory wouldn’t come until 2022 – a significant gap. Following a loss in the semi-finals of the US Boxing National Championship in Lubbock, Texas, he opted to pursue a professional career.

After considering various offers, Powell and Chima decided to align with local promoter Gabe Flores Sr’s G-Squad Entertainment to build his career.

Powell recounted a pivotal moment when everyone else left his coach, leaving just the two of them.

“We made a contract when everyone left the gym,” he said. “Coach said it’s just me and you, kid, what’s our plan with this? And I said, my plan is to go as far as we can in this sport, like I said, leave the biggest imprint.

“He took out a $1 bill. We split it in half. He signed one half, and I signed the other. He gave me the half he signed, and I gave him the half I signed. That was our contract to stay committed and take this as far as we can.”

That journey continues on Saturday when Powell faces Rowan (0-1), 27, of Minnesota, in his second professional bout.