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Guyon leads Miami boxing to national victories

By Jordan Rinard, Senior Staff Writer

Thanks to the efforts of sophomore Rahsaan Guyon, the Miami University boxing club finished in the top ten in the National Collegiate Boxing Association's national tournament April 12. Guyon won the silver medal in the 147-lb weight class and was named NCBA All-American.

For the Cleveland native, the victory is recompense for years of hard work.

Guyon tried out for the Miami boxing club after picking up some mixed martial arts experience in high school.

He used this experience to capture a gold medal at the regionals competition in spring 2014. Guyon continued to the quarterfinals of the national tournament, where he fell to the eventual overall runner-up.

In summer 2014, Guyon suffered through an eye surgery that kept him stuck at home and away from boxing in the fall semester.

Despite not returning to Withrow Court until January, Guyon resumed where he left off and reached nationals again. He defeated boxers from Shippensburg University and the University of California-Davis before falling to a foe from University of Washington.

"At Nationals this year, he fought an attacking style in the quarterfinals that completely dominated his opponent," Buller said. "However, in the semi-finals, he switched to a counter-punching style that surprised his opponent who had prepared for Rah's attacking style. In fact, after the bout, the opposing coach indicated it took his boxer by surprise and led to a slow start from which they never really recovered."

The southpaw psychology major was elected president of the club in the spring 2014 and has been an ambassador for the club since arriving in Oxford.

"The amazing thing about Rah as a boxer is his ability to fight any style," head coach Eric Buller said. "Though he prefers to sit back and use his natural quickness as a counter-puncher, he also is able to be very aggressive and attack his opponent if the styles dictate such. He is a very strong puncher and prefers to attack the body first to slow down his opponent, then mixes in punching combinations to both the body and head."

Despite his own progress, Guyon is dissatisfied with his second place finish and seeks improvement.

"Nationals went well enough," Guyon said. "I came in second of the top eight guys from around the nation and earned All-American honors. Obviously, second place just means I'm the best of the losers, so I'm not satisfied with that. It was a three-day tournament and on the first day I felt great, but as the days progressed and the third fight rolled around, I was so tense and didn't perform how I should have and overthought the punches entirely too much, costing me the fight."

Buller believes Guyon and his leadership can carry the boxing club to further success.

"The next step for Rah is to continue his leadership in the club and serve as a role model for other members," Buller said. "Not only has he excelled in boxing, he also has worked hard in a business venture and attended LeaderShape, a six-day leadership retreat offered through the Wilks Leadership Institute. Ultimately, Rah's goal is to return to the NCBA National Championships and win the gold medal next year. He will accomplish this the same way that led to his current success: hard work, dedication and focus."

Indeed, Guyon has high hopes for himself and the club in 2016.

"The biggest thing I need to work on next year is dealing with longer opponents and realizing I can't counter-punch everything," he said. "At Nationals, you had clubs that were like a second family to their boxers. Everyone was committed and had the same goal in mind. In the future, I'd like to see our club get a higher member return rate going and establish a competitive mentality in the club of wanting to get to Nationals and win a championship. Not just come for the shirt and we never see you again."

The competitive season resumes in October.