SandyMaloneA video of a uniformed police officer participating in a friendly boxing match with a young man in the community has garnered millions of views and positive responses in the first day that it was put on social media (video below.)
The impromptu sparring session featured in the now-viral video took place in what appeared to be the parking lot of an apartment complex.
The officer was not identified in the video, and we have not yet been able to identify his department, which appears to show Texas colors.
The video began with the officer standing patiently while another man laces him into boxing gloves for his bout.
His opponent was standing about 10 feet away with a grin on his face, while onlookers hooted and whooped with enthusiasm. It was obvious in the video that the boxing match was a friendly challenge.
“You better win, that’s all I can say,” someone in the crowd hollered. “Hey hey [name of opponent unclear in the video], you better win!
The officer’s opponent looked toward whoever shouted that comment and nodded acknowledgment.
Then he put his arms up in the arm like a champion and strutted around while the officer grinned at him.
As soon as the officer was laced into his boxing gloves, the two men squared off in their makeshift ring.
The video showed three excited young men standing up on the trunk of a car behind them filming the fight.
The bout started quickly, with the officer landing several blows on his opponent just a few seconds after they fist bumped to start the challenge.
The officer was clearly more skilled to his opponent, and could be seen pulling his punches and going easy on the other man.
“He’s a bad mother**ker. A bad mother**ker,” one bystander yelled with appreciation as the officer worked out his friend.
After the officer had landed several blows on his opponent in a row and a rag tied around the young man’s head went flying, someone shouted out “Aight, aigh, aight!!!” which seemed to signal the end of the match.
Both men stopped fighting and onlookers ran to congratulate them with fist bumps.
In the video, several boys could be seen approaching the officer after the fight with looks of complete adoration.
Although neighborhood boxing matches are not common, there are several programs which pair officers with kids in the community for boxing and mentoring. Normally, they aren’t in parking lots.
Cops4Kids is a boxing program in Colton, California that pairs adults who work in law enforcement with kids who would benefit from the discipline and rigor of boxing training, the Inland Empire Community News reported.
That program was designed to reach out to the local community by having local police officers train with the student boxers.
Watch the video of the match below: