Last Stand For Sargent
April 9th, 2008
By Jesse Kelley

Heavyweight John Sargent (27-5, 16 ko's) will resurrect his boxing career on April 12th at the Northern Lights Casino in Walker,MN. The 44 year old fighter will return to the ring after more then a three year absence, facing Ritchie Goosehead in the shows headliner. Sargent admits that this will probably be his last run at facing either a top name or getting a title shot. Dedication for the native fighter has been a question in the past but Sargent says his heart is in this final stand more then ever as he has been training in the cities for the last four months with nothing to lose. Perhaps his final comeback will lead to his greatest accomplishment yet.

PART 1
Growing up and Amateur boxing days
John Melvin Sargent was known by many as being a tough fighter who comes right after you. Especially in his days as an amateur and throughout the 90's where he frequently headlined pro boxing cards around the state of Minnesota and across the country. It was a toughness that Sargent credits getting from his mother, who raised a total of eleven kids in a two bedroom house on a reservation in Naytahwaush, MN.
"Growing up, we were poor and didn’t have a lot of money but we were happy with what our mother could provide for us." Says Sargent.
"She raised us mostly by herself. My mom toughed it out though. She did what she could do to raise us right. Well she thought she raised us right anyway (laughing)! She did a good job though and we eventually moved to a bigger house."

Sargent kept himself busy like any other child growing up. Hanging out with friends after school and sports were what he most looked forward to. As he grew older he tried football and basketball but says they didn't interest him much because of the team element.
"I really liked to win at an early age" said Sargent. "Those sports really didn’t interest me though because I liked doing things for myself. When I found boxing, I was hooked because it was just me in there against the other guy."

Sargent says that he first put on a pair of boxing gloves at the age of eight. Again, his mother played a pivotal role in his life.
" My mom used to go to Cass Lake and Red Lake to watch boxing matches. She would come home and brag about some of the Native fighters, guys like Richard Clark, Victor White, Mike Robinson, Scottie Papsadora.
They were all winning and those were the names I heard. It seemed like she would go once or twice a month and she would come bring those stories back to us kids about how cool it looked. They used to have trophies and she would always want one of her kids to come back with one of them. And towards the end of my amateur career I did bring some back!"

In most cases, boxing coaches will tell you that kids frequently show up to boxing gyms with a curious face, wondering what the sport is all about. More times than not, they never show up again. Sargent found himself drawn to the sport and stuck with it. However, it wasn't until he met his first boxing coach, Jerry Roy, that boxing became more then just something to pass time.
"Jerry is the first guy that really started working with me. He is the one that got me seriously into it. Jerry stayed after me and could see the talent I had. He knew I had heart and that I wanted to fight."
Sargent humorously recalls his early days spent in the boxing "gym" during the cold winter months in northern Minnesota; "We used to train in a big building that we had to light the wood stove all winter. By the time we had it warmed up we were done training already! It was cold.

As an amateur boxer, Sargent remains one of the most decorated fighters on a long list of great champions from the midwest region, having won the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves heavyweight division title once and super heavyweight four times.
"When I won the first Upper Midwest Tournament, that really surprised me. I knew I had the heart and the desire to win but the first one was a surprise to me because I had no idea I could win or what to expect. I just went in there and fought. I did what I do best which is use my speed and heart. That is what I used in the first one. I did have a little power but not as much as I would later. After that first night I really wanted it bad. I won the Upper Midwest three times and then got away from boxing for a little bit. I came back and won it two more times in 1988 and 1989.

That final year turned out to be one of the highest points for sargent in the ring as he went on to place second in the National Golden Gloves tournament.
Minnesota boxing icon Terry Marsh spent time with Sargent at Nationals where he describes the final bout against ring legend Larry Donald.
" He (Sargent) was very talented and very deceiving in the ring. Everybody took him lightly before his fights. John is the type of guy that comes at you and Larry was always moving. They made a big deal about the fight on Espn. Donald was being compared to Ali and Sargent was Frazier. John didn’t really get a chance to get close in the first two rounds. He did a little better in the third round. He had to win four times to get to the finals. He beat some very good fighters to get there."

Besides being in the ring with the likes of Donald, Sargent has brushed shoulders during his travels with some of boxing most notable names.
"Going to Nationals was fun because I met Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield In 1983-84. I almost got to fight Tyson a few times. We were in the same bracket but always a fight or two away. Of course I was the one that lost out of the two (laughing)!
In 88 I ran into Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, a lot of the big name guys down there. Basically all of those guys that came out of the 88 Olympics. I was in all of those tournaments they were in twice a year."

STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO WHERE JOHN DISCUSSES HIS PROFESSIONAL BOXING CAREER AND MORE