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Tinker boxer back on base

  • Published
  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  A Tinker Air Force Base boxer won't be competing in the Olympic Games this summer. Nevertheless, Senior Airman Daniel Logan still harbors a goal of winning a national tournament "within two to three years" and then turning pro.

Logan was the 165-pound All Air Force boxing champ and won the Distinguished All Air Force boxing award at the Air Force Box Off in January. Subsequently, though, he lost twice at the Armed Forces Boxing Championships at Camp Pendleton in early February, to a Marine and a Sailor, and was defeated soon after arriving in late February at the USA Boxing National Championships in Colorado.

Airman Logan, a member of the 32nd Combat Communications Squadron, still remains cheerful, upbeat and confident. "I've been boxing for only a couple of years," he said recently. "I still have a lot to learn, and this has been good experience for me."

Now back at Tinker, Logan has resumed his training regimen with former Tinker boxing coach Lavell Sims, who owns and operates a local gym.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 4:30 to 6:30 a.m., he undergoes strength-and-conditioning training at the Sims gym that includes sprints, myriad exercises, and "bag and mitt work." Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6 to 8 p.m., he runs for about 40 minutes and spars against other boxers.

Besides the physical activity, the Airman watches his waistline closely. His diet is "mainly fruits and vegetables," he has a salad practically every day, and when he eats meat, it's chicken or fish. "I haven't had a burger in about two years."

Logan, 21, a native of Danville, Va., said he ran track in high school -- winning a state championship -- and played "some" football, but wasn't introduced to boxing until he arrived at Tinker two and a half years ago.

One day he struck up a conversation with Pat Griffin, sports director at the Gerrity Sports and Fitness Center, he recalled. She mentioned Coach Sims and his boxing program; the Airman was intrigued, checked it out, and was instantly hooked on the sport.

Logan -- nicknamed "The Machine" by his fellow Airmen -- said his mother, Peggy Logan, "doesn't like me to box," but his father, Jeffrey Logan, "doesn't mind it at all" and offers encouragement.