Richard Lord began boxing at the age of 5 and quickly fell in love with the sport. After years of training and fighting in 119 amateur fights and 27 pro fights, he decided to open his own gym where aspiring boxers could make a name for themselves. Lord’s Gym has been a staple of the boxing community in Austin since the 1980s and continues to be a space for boxers to learn lessons in and out of the ring. 

Growing up, Lord played several other sports but ultimately decided that boxing was the best choice for him.

“My love of the sport kept me in [boxing],” Lord said. “I played basketball, and I played from third to seventh grade but by eighth everyone was two feet taller than me. So in boxing, you can use your size.”

Today, Lord’s Gym and its members are very active in the boxing community. Members of the gym often participate in boxing competitions. One of these competitions is the Golden Gloves tournament, an event where the gym has enjoyed much success over the past few years.

“[Lord’s Gym] is the most active boxing gym in Austin,” Lord said. “We won the San Antonio Golden Gloves novice team trophy in 2023 and then in 2024 we had Golden Gloves in Austin, and we won the novice team trophy again.”

Boxing, however, isn’t only about competitions. It’s a sport in which athletes can learn more about themselves and the world around them. Johnny McGowan, a longtime member of the gym, explains that the skills one learns in the ring can also be used in your day-to-day life.

“A really good aspect about boxing is that it’s not about controlling somebody else, it’s about controlling oneself, not allowing myself to get runaway emotions, but thinking about the problem at hand, only focusing on things in the ring,” McGowan said. “We can transfer that to everyday life, not worrying about what is outside the classroom in the hallways, but what’s inside the classroom that I need to take care of right now.”

In 2010, director Frederick Wiseman made a documentary about the gym. The documentary detailed the daily life of athletes and trainers at the gym and covered their routines and training regimes. The film, Boxing Gym, was highly successful and went to several film festivals across the country.

“That documentary gave me a recording of what my gym was and is,” Lord said. “I got to go to the Cannes Film Festival with the director Frederick Wiseman. I also got to go to the Sundance Film Festival and New York Film Festival. The director put it together in a way that was very identifiable to all the other boxing gyms around.”

For McGowan, boxing isn’t only about fighting but rather a way in which people can build perseverance, determination and confidence.

“I say this to as many people as I can: it’s not about harming somebody else; it’s about building confidence within oneself,” McGowan said. “Getting in the ring, getting in the fire, staying in the fire and coming out of the ring builds confidence.”

Over the years, many members of the McCallum community have trained at Lord’s Gym. Logan Potts is a current student and sophomore at McCallum who recently began boxing at Lord’s Gym. Potts explained that he has learned a lot about the sport in his short time training at the gym.

“At Lord’s, I learned that boxing combines rigorous technique and mental toughness,” Potts said. “[I also learned that] discipline and sportsmanship are also required to excel in the sport.”

Potts explained that he was drawn to the sport of boxing because of its high physical demands.

“I [was] drawn to boxing because it has lots of physically and mentally tough challenges that I can improve on to better my physical well-being,” Potts said.

Lord believes that anyone who wants to learn more about boxing and may want to start training should know that the training can be very rigorous.

“They should know that they have to be in really good shape and be very fit,” he said. “Mentally you have to be strong to get in there and have somebody throwing punches at you and trying to knock you out.”

McGowan is confident in the fact that learning to box would be a tremendous benefit for anybody. 

“I would suggest that everybody come check out Lord’s Boxing Gym it’s going to build strength, it’s going to build conditioning, and it’s going to build character,” McGowan said. “If you can come here and get inside the ring with somebody else, go through the fire, and come out the other side, you’re going to do better in every other aspect of life.”