Heavyweight boxer Darlington Agha has seen his ups and downs. A promising college football career at Oregon State was cut short after a car accident. So to stay in shape, he started to box and got really good, but had to stop when his daughter was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia.
"She was so young and I was worried about infections. Couldn't have the time and dedication for boxing. I thought it was the right call to be there for my daughter," he said.
Agha is now back in the ring because his daughters health improved. Plus during the day, he is teacher, a behavioral specialist.
"I've been working with autistic children, children that are ED and ADHD, and I come up with behavioral plans, and I work with the families," he said.
Now this is something you don't hear everyday, Agha says, because he is a fighter, it has made him a better educator because it's all about patience.
"Boxing has taught me to not lose my cool. You have to come with different strategies, and as an educator, you have to be the same way. You have to be resourceful and make adjustments," he said.
"We call him the cerebral assassin sometimes, so definitely think before you punch and that's the thing about boxing, you have to plan your attack," manager J Johns said.
He'll take that approach Friday into the ring as he tries to go to 8-0 in his pro career.
"We have a motto in our house, 'It is not a sin to get knocked down, it's a sin to stay down.' We continue to get up even if life deals us the playing cards we may not like, we just have to play them," Agha said.
___________________________________________________________
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices
