A Journey from the Office to the Boxing Ring

The story of two working professionals who tested their mettle at the Dreamland Masters Boxing Championship

Commenting on a recent story about a professional boxer who overcame heartbreaking socioeconomic hardships, former boxing world champion and commentator, Paulie Malignaggi, tweeted that “boxing has always been a sport for the downtrodden.” 

Very accurate words indeed, but what if you are a hard working professional who, like many, grind through the daily commute, eat lunch at the desk, and log late-night and weekend hours to meet deadlines? Could you muster the energy, discipline, and bravery required to climb into the squared circle to fight an unknown opponent in front of a sold-out crowd? 

That’s exactly what happened on Sunday, September 23 at the Dreamland Masters Boxing Championship in San Jose, CA. Where 37-year-old project manager, Jessica Streit, and 55-year-old investment advisor, Matt Eccles left their safe, corporate surroundings and entered a crowded boxing gym with the sole intention of earning their first “W” in the one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports around—and fought as if their futures depended on it. 

The Masters Boxing Championship Tournament

Masters Boxing is a fast-growing amateur division of USA Boxing designed for women and men age 35 and above who are looking to test themselves in a sanctioned competition. The Masters tournaments take place across the country throughout the year, and boxers travel far and wide to win a coveted belt in their respective weight and age divisions. The fighters in each contest must be within 10 years and 10 pounds of each other, and the age odometer at the Dreamland event ranged from 35 to, get this, 70 years old! 

Most of the fighters competing were accompanied by coaches from their home gyms who provided animated instructions throughout each of the three, 90-second rounds, which is 90-seconds less than Golden Gloves amateur tournaments or professional bouts. Each boxer wears 16 oz gloves and tournament-specified head and groin protectors to guard against injury. 

Meet the Professional Amateurs

Let's explore what compelled two successful professionals to become budding pugilists and go beyond their fitness routines to risk black eyes and bruised ribs in the heat of competition, and then return to the office the next day. 

Meet Matt and Jessica, two of the nicest people you’ll ever come across, who stared down the unknown and poured every ounce of their respective 10-week training camps into an exhilarating four and a half minutes of fistic fury.

Matt Eccles, 55, Masters Boxing Champion (1-0)

Matt Eccles at his day job

It was the Friday before the tournament, and I sat with Matt, a senior vice president of a well-known investment firm, at a trendy Chinese restaurant near Union Square in San Francisco. This married father-of-three’s age is hard to gauge at first site, because while his hair is graying as per custom for men in their mid 50’s, he carries a youthful energy and instinctively flashes a welcoming smile to friends and strangers alike; not to mention that he now walks around at a weight not visited since his 30s, which adds pep to his step. “I’ve lost an inch off my waist, and now all of my pants are super baggy,” he says while rifling down a duck salad. 

It is a warm mid-September day, and Matt’s clothing selection looks like it came from the Nordstrom’s winter catalog: collared shirt, black sweater, and wool blazer. His cold-weather attire brings back personal memories of shivering at room temperatures after losing significant weight in the boxing gym, and remembering that the loss of one’s “winter coat” from rigorous training can result in the need for an actual winter coat to keep warm in a lightly air-conditioned office.

Matt enjoys the outdoors with his family, keeps an active social calendar, and has access to any sport one desires to stay fit in the heath-conscious Bay Area. So why then, when most men his age see combat sports as an activity for the young, did he choose the punishing discipline of boxing? 

The answer goes beyond fitness. While on a date night with his wife in May of 2017, he had a near confrontation with a group of men acting inappropriately, and later pondered over the incident. 

“I'm in shape, but do I really know how to handle myself?” Matt says. “So I looked into boxing gyms, found Pacific Ring Sports in Oakland, and haven’t stopped since. But the more I trained, the more I saw boxing as a very disciplined and highly-skilled sport, and I forgot about what brought me here in the first place.” 

Jessica Streit, 37, Masters Boxing Champion (1-0)

Jessica Streit in civilian attire

I had the good fortune of meeting Jessica, an effervescent clinical research project manager from Redondo Beach, CA. She had, in my opinion, the fight of the day against a very tough and determined opponent from Canada, and was kind enough to let me interrupt her celebratory meal of tacos and a beer to answer a few questions. 

Sitting at the table across from me, Jessica is dressed in black boxing gear representing the Hill Street Boxing Gym in Long Beach, CA where she trains. Her outfit is complimented by a Long Beach baseball cap that hides braided blonde hair. She jokingly explains that the intimidating braids were part of her “psychological warfare,” and goes on to say: “or the only way I knew to keep this mane tamed all weekend!” 

In reality, Jessica embodies the sun-kissed coolness of the SoCal beach town where she resides; and any person running into Jessica on Sunday who did not attend her match would have guessed she just finished a leisurely run on the beach, instead of a scorching three-round battle complete with grappling, head butt warnings, and explosive right crosses. 

How did this friendly and accomplished Angelino find her way to the land of hurt instead of surfing or beach volleyball? To be fair, Jessica is a former volleyball player and is no novice to combat sports. She began kickboxing during graduate school to stay in shape, but immediately made boxing her top sport after “stumbling” into the Hill Street Gym where she has graduated from fitness boxing to the grueling training regiment essential for a sanctioned event.

“It’s incredible how much there is to learn! When your’e in basic training, it’s straight forward, but when you’re training to fight, there’s a lot of nitty gritty details. You’re forever a student in this sport.” 

Jessica also appreciates strong sense of community and accountability that came with the close ties she’s developed in her gym. 

“The support system there is incredibly important, and I don’t think I could have done the tournament without having a group who knows what you’re going through.”

Fight Day Has Arrived

Matt breaking a sweat before his match

Anyone who’s attended a championship boxing match in Las Vegas, New York, or LA will agree that there’s nothing more exciting or electric in sports than the strike of an opening bell. Located in a utilitarian gym within a bare-bones strip mall, the Dreamland Masters Boxing World Championship is far from the flash and glitz of a star studded Vegas event, but still possessed much of the audience energy and anticipation found at the MGM Grand. 

“I had moments of calmness, and moments of nervousness. I was nervous that I was calm, and asked myself “what’s happening?” Says Jessica. 

Jessica's spirit AND hair are ready for battle

The sold-out room of friends, families, and boxing enthusiasts filled the space with cheers, oohs and aahs, and big rounds of applause during each bout. At least 40 people on the waiting list buzzed around the sidewalk outside, and throughout the day you could hear the constant chatter of watchers commenting on the highlights of the previous bout and sharing whatever information they had on the next. It was clear that each attendee had a personal stake worth far more than the $20 entrance fee.

Fight #3: Jessica Streit vs Dayna Bernier

Jessica (in black head gear) awaiting the bell

There is an old boxing adage "styles make fights," and this adage was particularly prescient in what was arguably the fight of the day. Jessica, the taller, longer boxer, matched up well against a 44-year-old Boxing Masters’ veteran and pressure fighter from Canada named Dayna Bernier. The contrast in physical attributes and experience was promising on paper and proved itself out within seconds of the opening frame.

The boxers' opposing techniques immediately clashed at the center of the ring, where Jessica applied a piston-like jab and parallel movement to try to quell the relentless attack of her opponent, who seemed to have a battle-tested game plan against such a strategy. They fought at a blistering pace partly due to the condensed time of the round, which eliminates the feeling-out process and forces fighters to keep their hands moving to impress the judges. The common goal being…to hit and not get hit.

“She was ducking under my jab and landing some shots that caused my head to fly back, and that can have a big impact on the judges.” Jessica says.

Because the majority of fighters in Masters Boxing events know little-to-nothing about their opponents before they fight, they are required to make on-the-fly adjustments to their own game plans and competitor's style. This was evident during in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of this bout when Jessica deserted the jab and began using a right hook and uppercut to thwart the head-down attack of her opponent. 

“My corner was instructing me to throw all rights, not just hooks. She was relentless with coming forward, and they were hoping if I landed some good power shots she’d back off. I remember my coach yelling ‘power’ through the 2nd and 3rd. Not sure it worked, as she was still coming forward a lot, but I tried to at least slow her down!”  

Jessica recounts some additional, sage instruction from her corner between rounds. 

“To breath! The most basic function of life, but you forget to do it and I needed that reminder…and to have fun. My coach said ‘you’ve worked hard and you need to enjoy today.’”

When the final bell sounded, the gym filled with applause and whoops of approval, as it was an all-action bout with each fighter punching through the reverberations of the final bell. And one would be hard pressed to find anyone in the audience who did not want a Round 4. “She was tough! I knew it was going to be a brawl.”Jessica says.

After congratulatory hugs with one another and a couple of tense minutes waiting for the verdict, Jessica’s corner (the red one) was announced the winner and her hand was raised in victory. 

“Oh my gosh that felt amazing.” Jessica says. “I was relieved that it was done, but to accomplish it with a win was great.” 

Jessica acknowledges the personal fortitude it took to push herself daily to be ready for this competition, as well as, the feeling of achievement that comes with reaching the pinnacle of physical condition, but still, she candidly admits that a loss would have been disheartening. 

“I would’ve been very disappointed to be honest. Knowing how much effort I put into training and not coming away with the win would have been hard.” 

Those who take on boxing as a training routine often acknowledge that the sport has an addictive quality; therefore, winning a sanctioned match must make it exponentially so, and Jessica is now targeting the Sonny’s Masters Boxing Championship in Goodyear, AZ this November to protect her well-earned “0”.

Fight #7: Matt Eccles vs Guy Botham

Matt (in blue gloves) bringing the ruckus

This 195-pound fight was as evenly matched on paper as you could hope, with only one year and one pound separating Matt from his slightly younger, lighter foe of the same height from Hollywood, CA. Knowing little about his opponent prior to the bout, Matt confides that his fight plan is not precise, and intends to follow his coach’s guidance. 

“My coach, Robert Garcia, told me to not get too excited in the first round and to be properly aggressive…he wants me to be relaxed and to save energy, so that’s what I’m going to do.” 

When the initial bell sounded, however, Matt left that strategy at the door of the Dreamland Boxing Gym and pounced on his opponent with a series of combination hooks to the head and body—almost punching himself out within the first 30 seconds. “I’ll confess, I was trying to knock him out,” he laughingly admits. 

Once Matt’s opponent regained his bearings from the initial onslaught, the Hollywood fighter began snapping an effective jab and found some success throwing a 1-2 combination, making the round more competitive and ending it in a heated exchange. The intensity of the round encapsulates the difference between sparring and competitive boxing. 

“You dance more when sparring, throw one or two punches and get out." Matt says, "Masters felt more like a street fight with a lot of aggression.” 

In the second frame, ring generalship made a brief appearance with more parity between the boxers who moved around the ring and flipped out jabs to set up stiff right crosses. It appeared that Matt edged out his doppelgänger by staying busier with a creative selection of punches to the head and body, and concluded the round with a big left hook at the bell. Another good round, but what did the judges see? 

The 3rd stanza was fought at a slightly slower pace with the punches becoming less crisp and taking a rounder trajectory towards their intended target. There was much more holding, and it was abundantly clear why Matt trained 3-4 hours a day, six days a week for this event, as each gladiator had to dig deep to finish the round. In the final 30 seconds, his rival swallowed a big gulp of air as if he were about to dive for abalone. What followed resembled a late-night bar brawl with Matt pressing his opponent against the ropes and--to quote the great boxing commentator, Mauro Ranallo--attacked the body like it was filled with candy.

“At about 1:10, I was thinking where the f#%! is that ten second warning?” Matt says, “but when the warning clap sounds, there’s still a fair amount of time to do some work.”

As the two mid-50-year-olds awaited their fates with the referee at the center of the ring, it seemed unfortunate for either to lose such hard-fought bout, but neither of them would want it any other way. Matt’s hand (the blue corner) was raised in victory to the applauds of benign spectators and shouts from his wife, Cheryl and son, Eli. Matt was confident that he won the fight, but humble in the actual victory. 

“Having my hand raised almost made me cry. Learning a new skill at an old age gave me a great sense of pride and relief, and I want to do it again.”

You’ve Won Your Fight, Now Back to Work!

One can only assume that no fighter in Sunday’s tournament left the ring unscathed, and the day after their respectively scrappy wins, both Jessica and Matt returned to their daytime jobs in a collectively good mood, if not a little sore. 

AND NEW!...Matt shown wearing a timeless piece of pugilist fashion

Matt suffered from strains and pulls, as well as a sore sternum caused by a punch, as can be expected from a winner-take-all contest.

The champion enjoying what might have been the best beer ever

Jessica actually hopped on a 6-hour flight to Boston the day after her rough and tumble bout and also had her share of aches and pains. 

“My neck wasn’t too happy with me not keeping my chin down, and I had a small bruise on my upper lip.” She says.

Jessica also shared a comical anecdote involving a co-worker who commented on how "bruise free" she was after the event, but retracted his comment when she informed him that the color around her lips wasn’t actually lip liner. 

Advice to the Next Generation of Professional Amateurs

After persevering through the rigors of a 10-week training camp, overcoming nerves leading up to the event, and achieving bruising, yet fulfilling victories…what advice do Matt and Jessica give to women and men considering boxing?

“I think it’s a really fun sport to do,” Matt says. “Training is hard but very manageable and a person can have a fulfilling 5 to 10 years of workouts without stepping into the ring, but if you have it in your heart to spar, you should do it.” 

“This might sound cliche, but getting out of your comfort zone is so well worth it,” Jessica explains. “At first I thought, ‘I can never spar,’ then I sparred, and then thought ‘but never in front of people,’ then Sunday happened!  If you don’t try you’ll never know the feeling of actually doing something that you didn’t think you’d be able to do.”

A True Challenge is When Victory is Far from Certain

Seeing a good friend go through the training process and actually winning a sanctioned boxing competition was both eye opening and inspirational; however, I will conclude with what I feel was the purest form of courage I witnessed that day. It was the 9th match, and Annette Raible, a 60-year-old from California stepped into the ring to face an opponent who was a full ten-years younger, a head higher, and hungry for a win after dropping a close decision the previous day. 

It was the toughest draw Annette could have anticipated, but this sexagenarian charged out of the corner with the same fervor and determination as anyone in the tournament. She threw upward punches at her taller opponent and did not give up even as the referee called an early stoppage to the one-sided affair. If I could paint a portrait of what bravery looks like in today’s world, she would be the model, and I want to thank this incredible lady for exemplifying true grit. 

So regardless of whether you're one of the downtrodden fighting their way out of a rough existence, or, a corporate professional digging deep to engage in the violent give-and-take of The Sweet Science, courage is required in either scenario. And I believe what is written on the graffitied wall inside the Dreamland Boxing Gym states it best: “Feel the fear, and do it anyway.”