Full-time fighter, part-time Soldier

01.28.2005

Courtesy Story

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Story by: Spc. Curt Cashour

For most troops serving in a combat zone, the battles stop once they get back to the United States. But when Staff Sgt. Dennis McKinney gets home, he'll still have to fight for his check.

The 32-year-old reservist makes his living as a professional boxer when he's not deployed. He's fought in bouts around the world and even held the World Boxing Federation championship belt for 10 fights in 2000.

Growing up primarily in Berlin and Columbus, Ga., McKinney had no ambitions of stardom in the boxing ring, despite the fact that his cousin, Kennedy McKinney won a gold medal boxing in the 1988 Olympics.

McKinney, who is deployed to Camp Arifjan with the 175th Maintenance Company from Fort Jackson, S.C., didn't take up the sport until 1993, when he was on active duty at Fort Riley, Kan. He had hoped to become a member of the All-Army Wrestling Team, but an assignment earlier that year to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., caused him to miss the tryout.

A victory in a Riley boxing tournament in 1993 and another one in 1994 at the All-Army boxing competition at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., landed McKinney a spot on the All-Army Boxing Team. He served with the team until 1997, when he separated from the Army to take up boxing in the civilian world.

Something was missing, though, McKinney said. His father and mother had both made careers of the Army, his father in the Special Forces and mother as a civilian finance and accounting worker. After his five-year stint on active duty, McKinney just couldn't get used to life as a civilian, he said.

"Soldiering was my life. I missed the uniform," he said. Instead of serving out the remainder of his initial eight-year contract with the Army on the Individual Ready Reserve, McKinney chose to fulfill his obligation by assuming reserve duty with the 175th. He even reenlisted with the unit for six more years in 2000.

Despite his dedication to the Army, McKinney said that he was a little upset when he first found out his unit would be deploying to Kuwait for a year. After all, the tour in Kuwait would put on hold his matches in front of up to 30,000 people and purses as much as $100,000. But after thinking about the sacrifices of other Soldiers before him, it didn't take McKinney long to put things in perspective.

"I started thinking about Pat Tillman. This man was already a millionaire. [He] turned down a million-dollar contract to come over here, came over here and then lost his life. I started thinking, "I'm still here. I still have the opportunity." Pat didn't have that opportunity," he said.

Though his welding job with the 175th is a world away from the bright lights and big paydays of professional boxing, McKinney said it does have its benefits. The 175th helps up-armor many of the vehicles traveling from Kuwait into Iraq. The 12-hour days McKinney spends cutting and mounting heavy ballistic steel armor plates pay off in the form of stories from servicemembers who report back with tales of how the armor saved lives. And while his Army salary is less than what he earns in the ring, McKinney's deployment has actually made it easier for him to save money.

"In the states, I make big money, but I spend big money. Here, I make enough money, and it goes straight to the bank, and I don't spend it, so I'm able to save money," he said.

McKinney has even managed to work in a fight during his deployment, which started last February. In September, he took leave to travel to Charleston, S.C., to face Mark Miller for the Carolina Boxing Association and Carolina Boxing Organization titles. McKinney trained as hard as he could for the bout, but a sudden increase in his unit's workload prohibited him from training for a two-week period prior to the Sept. 30 match, which he lost in a split decision.

"It wasn't nothing he was doing. It's what I wasn't doing," said McKinney, who also faced the difficulties of preparing for the fight without a sparring partner or coach. Mckinney, whose professional record stands at 28 wins, 29 losses and one draw, came back from the fight disappointed, but determined to get to the gym every night regardless of his daily workload, he said. He found a coach when he ran into Staff Sgt. Leonard Bolanos, of the Area Support Group-Kuwait contract office, at one of Arifjan's gyms in November.

Bolanos, 48, who won a gold medal in the 1976 Pan-American Games and has three New York Gold Glove titles under his belt, said he was immediately impressed by McKinney's skills.

"This is championship material," Bolanos remembered thinking to himself the first time he saw McKinney.

In Bolanos, McKinney said he's found a much-needed training partner and source of motivation for his nightly three-hour workouts. Besides keeping him in shape, McKinney's dedication to training has made an impression on his fellow Soldiers, who affectionately refer to him as Champ.

"There's no quitter in him. He's a warrior to the end," said 175th 1st Sgt. Ronnie Bush Sr.

The 6-foot, 180-pound McKinney is now preparing for his next fight, a rematch with Miller in Charleston, S.C., scheduled for Jan. 27. Because the 175th isn't due to redeploy until February, a waiver, which might not be approved, is needed to allow his early return. Nevertheless, McKinney said he's looking forward to returning home in February so he can catch back up with his boxing peers.

"All these guys I've been in the ring with, they're champions now. They're making millions," he said, adding that he plans on becoming the world cruiserweight or light-heavyweight champion by 2006.

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• Date Taken: 01.28.2005
• Date Posted: 01.28.2005 14:24
• Story ID: 971