WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A 16-year-old boxer from Warner Robins is getting ready to represent the southeast as she goes for a national title.
Boxing is a sport of mental and physical dedication.
"We start off, we run like 2 miles down the road and back and we come back and jump rope and do ladder drills, and lots of times, we'll do stairs, like sprinting up and down stairs," Addie Gunter explained.
It wasn't something Addie Gunter planned to stick with.
"It was really because my older sister wanted to do it and I was like, I'd just tag along, and I stuck with it ever since, so that's how I got into it," she said.
Two years and a lot of training and passion later, Addie is headed to represent Region 3 at the Silver Gloves national tournament in Missouri.
"There's a lot of nerves with it, obviously, but I think once I get in the ring and the bells go off, usually all my nerves go away and it’s just, I can put down everything I've been working towards, and I really just realize my goal with it,” she explained.
The teen boxer says she didn't do it alone and credits her coaches at Kingdom Boxing Gym in Warner Robins.
Those coaches are proud of the work she and others do in their gym.
"Everyone here at the gym really gives 100% effort, and Addie is representing not only this gym, but the entire region moving on now to these nationals," George Hayes said.
As she prepares to head to the Midwest, she's taking with her the support from Central Georgia.
"It’s really nice how people can leave notes like, 'You got this, Addie,' and that really just, like, helps me to realize my goals and what I'm fighting for to get up here," she said.
Nationals begin Feb. 8.
Addie and her coaches are looking to raise $1,250 for the cost of travel to Missouri.