'In the Clearing Stands a Boxer...'
The two boxers go around in the ring, feeling each other out with their fists. Bobby Aucoin takes a surprising stiff shot from his younger, less experienced adversary before unloading a flurry of punches that almost knocks his opponent out of the ring. The pounding continues until the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the match.
As the bell rings on his professional career, Bobby Aucoin comes out swinging - and on top.
They head to the ropes to have their gloves and headgear removed by Aucoin's manager Kerry Daigle and his trainer John Stutes Sr. As they rest on the ropes, Nathan David Carmichael eagerly says, "I was ready to get back in there for you to beat up some more."
To which Aucoin replies, "I didn't beat you up," like a child caught battering his little brother.
"Whew, what a relief!" says the 154-pound rookie.
The sparring match is one of the three that Aucoin will participate in during the week. Aucoin is the 26-year-old Scott native - known as the Bayou Bomber - who made his pro debut on Oct. 15, as part of New Orleans' newly formed Kingfish Boxing Promotion. This sparring match was part of the three or four hours Aucoin spends training daily. Aucoin's day starts with a 4:30 a.m., two-mile run, and his afternoons are polished off with a light weight-lifting workout, 50 pushups and 200 sit-ups. The end result is a trimly muscled, 140-pound, 5'10" boxer with about 3 percent body fat.
When he was 5 or 6, Aucoin became engrossed in boxing because his father, who also trained with Stutes, was a pugilist. While most kids were glued to Sesame Street or The Electric Company, the youngster often watched boxing on television. Despite his father's disapproval, when he was 14 he went to train with Stutes at his boxing club in Carencro, where he has trained for the last 11 years. When he was 15, he had his first amateur match against a boxer from Gonzales. Aucoin won it in less than one minute.
At the end of his amateur career, he had racked up a record of 85-14 and won numerous championships and awards, including Golden Gloves, Mid-South Boxer of the Year accolades in 1996, Southern Association champ and an honor for maintaining a good attitude outside of the ring. He was even awarded the key to the city of Scott and had Sept. 17, 2002, declared Bobby Aucoin Day in Scott by Mayor Hazel Myers.
His record is on a par with Stutes' reputation as a legend in the training game, having produced more national champions than nearly anyone and known as the "Trainer of Champions." Among the boxers that have come under his tutelage are Sugar Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and local Shelton Leblanc, who was ranked as one of the world's top 10 lightweights.
Stutes himself was once quite the boxer, competing in high school and holding championships while stationed at the Army's Fort Benning in the early '40s. He is also a Golden Gloves Hall-of-Famer, which is almost unheard of in the South. Surprisingly, the 79-year-old is still active in the fight game, currently training about 20 boxers.
When the Bomber works out on the heavy bag, Stutes clings to it, barking out combinations like a cheerleader. "Fake left. Gimme a right, then jab. Right to the body and hook, two jabs." As Aucoin follows through, Stutes exclaims, "That's the way."
The gym, a two-room building behind Stutes' house, is a testament to the bygone days of pugilism. The chipboard walls are nearly plastered with old event posters and pinups of the champions of yesteryear. Tacked to one wall is a sign of another time: "Boxing is a dangerous sport. Box at own risk. Thank you, Mr. Stutes."
Asked about Aucoin's style, Stutes says, "I don't believe in a slugger. I had Shelton Leblanc for 32 years. He has won two national titles by boxing, not slugging. And that is what I am doing with Bobby. You don't go anywhere as a slugger - you don't last long."
Despite his lightweight size and non-slugger style, Aucoin packs quite a punch. According to him, the hardest punch he has ever thrown landed his opponent flat on his face. And that was when Aucoin was sick with the flu. In his first professional match, which lasted all of 39 seconds, Aucoin knocked his opponent, Brad Lodrigue, out with one devastating shot.
Asked about wining, Aucoin shrugs off worry. "I feel confident. I am not going to underestimate him," he says of one past bout. "I need some competition. So, I have to fight guys with more experience." He's quiet and quite confident - confident and not cocky because he backs up his no-sweat attitude with killer punches. These punches and Aucoin's boxing style are what led him to the pros.
After six months of deliberation, Aucoin's team decided to make the move to pro based on his fighting style. In the amateur ranks, scoring is based on how many hits you land and not the impact of your hits. Also, body shots, which Aucoin uses heavily, are not given the credence that they are in the pro ranks.
"That's why the pros is such a different game altogether. The way he fights, he is so much more adaptable to the pros than the amateurs," says Daigle. "In the amateur, if I just come in and kind of slap you I gain the points. Bobby's kind of a more take-your-time guy, but he is a puncher. So, Bobby would drop someone, and that counts no more than one little punch on the shoulder. In the pros, you get a 10-8 round. That's like winning two rounds in a row.
"Plus, he has more rounds and in the amateurs; again, he is fighting for two minutes (rounds). Well, Bobby is just starting to feel this guy out, and if they come around and are just kind of slapping him, he (Aucoin's opponent) can win a decision. But in the pros, he has got three minutes to figure this guy out and land his shot. So he is much more adaptable to the pros," reasons Daigle.
"So he was at a big disadvantage. He was dropping guys and losing decisions," Daigle concludes.
So far, the move has been a furtive one. On Nov. 2, Aucoin had his second professional fight. His opponent was Ricky Dinkins, a pro with 36 professional fights under his belt. The fight went the full four rounds, with Aucoin dropping Dinkins thrice with body shots before winning the decision. His next opponent will once again be a more experienced boxer, but this time he will also be bigger than Aucoin.
Normally campaigning as a lightweight, the Bomber will fight as a welterweight in an over-the-weight contest at Argosy Casino Thursday, Nov. 21, against Lenzell Harris of New Orleans. The fight will be his second in a month, an almost unheard of task for a professional fighter. But the cool and confident Aucoin is not sweating it.
"I will have to be really careful early, as I know Harris will come bombing as he is the bigger guy, but I do have a battle plan to box him for four rounds unless he makes a technical mistake ... then we'll go home early, " he said in a recent interview.