HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a quiet alley under a bridge in Harrisburg, you will find Capital Punishment Boxing Gym.
Inside, you can expect to hear the familiar sound of gloves popping against strike pads.
This is where Harrisburg's Rishon Sims loves to be, throwing his long jabs in the ring as he rises up the ranks of amateur boxing.
Outside the ring is another place of comfort for Sims, the classroom, or shop at Dauphin County Technical School's Collision Repair program. This is where Sims loves to be and competes with the same tenacity that he does in the ring.
The only difference is the ambient sounds of a fan, sander, and paint spray gun.
"It's been a lot of hard work and training but it has paid off and I am blessed," Sims told FOX43, standing in the ring at Capital Punishment.
A journey that started over four years ago has begun to take shape. Recently, Sims has been on a tear.
In December, he won the National Championships in Lubbock, Texas. He also claimed first at the Detroit Nationals in mid-March for the Youth Division 203-pound class.
It's been a wild ride, one that has included a two-week camp at USA Boxing headquarters in Colorado Springs from March 5 to 18. It was there that Sims went through USA Boxing's selection process and was selected for Team USA's international team.
"To be able to be a part of a set team, it feels great," Sims said while flashing a smile, leaning on the ropes. "To be able to interact and get close to the team and just fight together. I had a big smile on my face and it is just a memory to [tell] to my kids in the future."
USA Boxing's National Developmental Coach Chadrick Wigle believes Sims is on the correct path to big things in his future.
“He earned his spot, he is tall strong, aggressive. He is always smiling, like when he is in the ring he is mean and ugly but when he is outside the ring he is full of smiles. He is a great role model and he has a bright future ahead of him," Wigle told FOX43.
The thrill of the red, white, and blue on his son's chest is something Rishon's dad, Richard, never imagined when he laced up his first boxing gloves at age 13.
“His work ethic is crazy," Richard confirmed. "That’s all he does, school and work out. Not too much of a social life, [boxing] is his social life.”
This recent three-week journey crisscrossing the country for Rishon comes with just one stipulation, all school work must be done.
“Being in the hotel room and just trying to teach myself by watching videos makes an hour-long class into a two-hour class teaching myself... but I have to sacrifice," said Rishon.
"He gets very good grades and works hard every time he is in the program he helps others. He won Student of the Month at the beginning of the year," said Dauphin County Technical Collision Repair and Technology Program instructor Aaron Dressler. "He knows that he is out weeks at a time, he works ahead and when he comes back he works hard to get caught back up.”
In fact, Rishon isn’t just one of the best in the ring but one of the best in the collision and refinishing garage.
"[He's] definitely one of my model students, he’s taken initiative to compete at our skills USA competition [and] Rishon got first place at districts … so he is moving on to the state level right now," said Dressler.
“It's amazing being in the classroom, the ability to be in here and do something I love with others who love doing it," Rishon told FOX43.
The ability to compete and win both in the ring and in the classroom comes down to one thing for the Sims family.
"He has faith, he believes in whatever he is doing at the moment auto body or boxing he is faith-based and he is very strong," said Richard.
"I don’t have a set plan I just give my plan to Jesus and just go with the flow and he has been providing. I just continue to have my faith and put his name on the map," Rishon added.