‘Boxing Changed My Life’: Oklahoma Boxing Champ Shares Sport With Tulsa Kids

A Green Country boxing champion is bringing her favorite sport to Tulsa kids. 

She said boxing saved her life, and this is her way of doing something good for the community.

"Boxing changed my life. It kept me out of trouble, and when I listened to coach, he showed me what can happen when you do good, not just in my gym but in life," said Cheyenne McKinney, owner of Cheyenne's Boxing Gym Inc.

Seventeen years young and boxing rampaged into McKinney's life.

"I was in high school. So, at the time I was attending Booker T. Washington here in Tulsa, and I was 17 years old," said McKinney. "I lost my grandfather the summer before school was supposed to start."

Her pops, Marcellus McKinney Sr., along with her mama, Glenda McKinney, raised her. Eventually, boxing coach Keith Reed stepped into her life and boxing came shortly after that.

"If you want to box for me, this is what you have to do for school, for your mom, for home. If not, you can't come to my gym," said McKinney of Reed's expectations. "I loved it! I started going above and beyond."

By the end of her first year, she became a champion boxer.

"I had so much to prove because I am a girl in a boys' sport. I am the only girl on the team," said McKinney.

"What do you see when you look at that picture?" asked News On 6 Reporter Sawyer Buccy. 

"I see someone who is completely dedicated and doesn't completely understand the path she is embarking on," said McKinney. 

In 2019, she opened Cheyenne's Boxing Gym. She travels to gyms across the community, bringing the tools boxing gave to her to Tulsa kids.

"Discipline. Respect. Yes ma'am. No ma'am. Your elders come first. School. These are the things that I preach because I lived by it," said McKinney. 

Once a student comes into McKinney’s path, the student becomes family. There are times her income goes right back to her students, helping them with bills or food which can make finances tight.

She doesn't mind though. Her mission is for her students to put on their gloves and step into their power. 

You can find Cheyenne's Boxing Gym on Facebook here.