By Margaret Hicks
Eagle Staff Writer
mhicks@theoklahomaeagle.net
One of the first things you’ll notice when you enter the Reed Foundation Community Gym (Foundation), is the degree of respect that the children, youth, and adults who patronize the gyms, or work there, have for its visitors and their coach, Keith Reed.
The Foundation has been in operation since 2006, and its programming includes a boot camp and an out of school lunch program, physical training, exercise, core work, plyometrics, aerobics, hand and eye coordination exercises, exercises for obese children, and weight loss for women. Children as young as age 3 participate in the program to adults who are even seniors.
Within the past year the Foundation opened a second gym, Reed Foundation Community Gym II, which is located at 2219 N. Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, just north of the first gym that is at 1731 N. Lewis Avenue.
Recently, The Oklahoma Eagle (TOE) visited with Coach Reed at the new location and met with its trainer, and four boxers. One of the boxers is Nick Jones, the Oklahoma heavyweight champion.
About Coach Keith Reed
Reed, or Keith “Flash” Reed as he was called back in the day, began boxing at age 9. He said boxing was his “way out.” Out of what? Out of trouble, out of a bad life, and out of an uncontrolled temper. Through boxing, Reed has learned respect and that he is “not the toughest guy in the world…there is always somebody tougher than you.” Of his clientele, he said they learn respect, and they give respect and “they give it every day, everywhere.”
Reed, a tough but humble man, does not talk about himself. He is not hung up on “who he used to be.” Reed was a Golden Gloves winner when he was 17. He took third place in Hawaii but did not pursue a professional career in boxing but rather chose to become a husband and father.
About Nick Jones, Oklahoma’s Heavyweight Champ
On November 12, 2016, Nick Jones, by a unanimous vote of 6-0, won the USA Boxing-sanctioned Oklahoma heavyweight title. He defeated the previously unbeaten Wayne Heath of McLoud, Okla. He also won the HD Boxing Knockout of the Year trophy.
HD Promotion and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) had this to say to Jones about his victory; “In our eight years there have been few if any KOs that violent, brutal or sudden. Wayne Heath is a good fighter who had never even been knocked down in a fight prior to that punch. That left hook you threw will be remembered for many years to come! For those reasons, you are the unanimous choice to receive this trophy.” This 22-minute fight can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKkaNRAUIaU.
Jones, who is from Mississippi, said that when he finished college at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, where he played football, he moved to Bristow for a while. When his coached passed away, he moved to Oklahoma City for a while, where he found he was not “getting the results that he needed.” Jones said he remembered Coach Reed’s voice from a tournament and looked him up. The rest is history.
Jones said he has been boxing for “five or six years” and have “been pro for about two and a half years.”
Jones said he did amateur boxing with Coach Reed, and that experience took him to “some of the biggest tournaments in the world.” He said that experience helped build his character and caused him to be the champion that he is today.
Jones’ next boxing match will be on March 3, in Okmulgee at the Ringside World Championship.
