Senior pre-law Darrell Pierce practices Tuesday night at Pound-4-Pound boxing gym in Ravenna. Pierce, a former Kent State football player, took up boxing after a shoulder injury. Gavin Jackson | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: Ron Soltys

As members of the Pound-4-Pound boxing club in Ravenna, Kent State students Darrell Pierce and Monique Mullet know how to pack a punch that would have a person crying until next week.

Tonight at 7 p.m., Mullett and Pierce, just two of five members of the club, will compete at the West Park Party Center in Cleveland. They will go head-to-head with Westside, and Pound-4-Pound owner and trainer, Charlie Duniser expects they will do well.

Mullet will fight for a belt in her first match. Being one of only two female boxers in the club, Mullet feels that she has the upper hand going into the fight.

“I spar with guys,” Mullet said. “Girl boxers tend to just stand there and fight each other, while guys move around, so I have learned to move a lot. I am not going to stand there, I am going to hit.”

Pierce, a junior, balances his pursuit in pre-law with being a father, and is a good enough boxer that his trainer thinks he has what it takes to go professional in the sport. Pierce has fought and won twice now — the first match by a first-round knockout.

Despite the success, Pierce hasn’t lost sight of his initial dream of becoming a lawyer, saying that becoming a professional in anything is an honor.

Being both academically and athletically talented hasn’t gone to his head, and Pierce says he tries to stay focused.

“I’m as good as I make myself,” he said. “I don’t usually worry about somebody else beating me individually, it’s usually more so on how I perform that indicates how the turnout is.”

The Pound-4-Pound boxing club tries to do more than make good fighters.

“I am like everyone’s little sister,” Mullet said. “It is just like family.”

Pierce feels the same way.

“That is my downfall, especially when I am sparring with club-mates,” he said. “I really try to take it easy on them.”

Unfortunately, their opponents don’t get the same treatment.

Contact sports reporter Kristen Stewart at [email protected].