After nearly a lifetime of honing his skills in the boxing ring, Sgt. Max Ramos has his sights set on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 summer Olympics.
Ramos' journey as a boxer began when he was only 7-years-old.
"I just remember one day we were walking to the park and we stumbled upon a boxing gym and my parents were like 'You're doing it,'" Ramos said.
After that, boxing was not an option for the young Ramos.
"Before school, when I was in elementary, (my dad) would wake me up at four in the morning to go run, then get ready for school. It happened all the way through high school. (My parents) were dedicated to the sport and I just had to do it," he said.
Ramos did not develop a love for boxing at first. In fact, he says he never really enjoyed it as a child.
"It's not until I grew a little older that I grew a passion for it. Now there's just something about the sport. The one-on-one contact, the punching. I just love it," he said. "I'm glad (my parents pushed me). I'm very very glad."
The journey has not been without its obstacles. Several years ago, he quit boxing. He said he just didn't want to do it anymore. Then, he joined the Army.
"One day I went and signed up for the Army and the next thing I know I'm deployed. I'm like whoa, I had it so good back home. I had everything possible and now I'm here," he said.
Ramos said a deployment to Iraq inspired him to take up boxing again, so he became a member of the All-Army boxing team, where he won a gold medal for the Army and then a silver medal as a member of the All Armed Forces team.
"Once I boxed and beat my first opponent, and then a second one and then one of the high ranking boxers, I realized I'm actually pretty good at it," he said.
After that, Ramos developed a new mentality.
"Nothing is going to stop me from doing what I want to do. No one will define me and tell me who and what I will be. I think I could potentially do anything I put my mind to," he said.
It's that mentality that prepares Ramos for the Olympic trials. He eats, sleeps and breathes his training.
Ramos, now 25, is a Combative instructor and team leader with C Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, on Kelley Hill. He wakes up at 3 a.m., runs six miles and then he heads to work where he does PT.
During lunch, he goes to Briant Wells Fieldhouse and hits the bag, swims or works on explosiveness. At the end of the workday, he heads back to the gym and works on sparring and correcting skill deficiencies. He ends the day with a four-mile run. He eats dinner and then goes to sleep. The next day, he does it all over again.
Even with 17 years of boxing experience under his belt, Ramos said he still gets nervous before every match.
"As I step into the ring, my heart is just pounding. Once the bell rings, everything goes blank. Everything quiets down. It's just me and him and I just have to think how can I outdo my opponent. How can I outbox him? It's almost like playing chess," he said.
Though nervous before each match, Ramos says he is never scared of getting hit, and usually doesn't even feel it.
"I'm just having fun. Every now and then you might get a punch that wakes you up, but that's the beauty of it," he said.
Ramos will serve his last day in the Army on Aug. 26. He says this will give him more time to prepare for the two upcoming Olympic trials, one in September, and one at the beginning of 2016.
If he doesn't make it to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, he plans to become a professional boxer.
"If it (doesn't) work out for me, I have no regrets in life at all," he said, adding that if professional boxing doesn't pan out he will open up a gym to teach kids about boxing and keep them off the streets.
While he has multiple back up plans, he keeps high hopes that in 2016 he will become a member of Team USA.
"If I were to make it to the Olympics, of course I'd be happy," he said. "Everything I've done and everything I've worked for is going to come true."
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