After four years of rigorous training, Isaac Milton got his chance to step into the boxing ring and fight to take home a championship belt. 

The Detroit-based maintenance supervisor recently competed in the Las Vegas International Masters – a competition featuring fighters from the United States, Canada, and Argentina. 

Isaac has been passionate about boxing since a young age, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he started to take training and competing seriously. He added hours in the gym and maintains a strict diet of being vegan, cutting out all starches when a competition is approaching. 

“Training can be brutal and time consuming since it’s in addition to all other things in my life,” Isaac said. “I leave the hangar after working 3^rd shift to teach at MIAT College of Technology. From there, I head home to spend time with my children, and it is all while I’m trying to stay in shape and complete my necessary workouts. There is joy in the effort and work I put into my training, but it requires discipline.” 

Isaac has built up his boxing resume competing in fights like the Golden Gloves — a boxing competition where the winner will move on through the local, state, and to the national level — and a previous International Masters. However, this was Isaac’s first time traveling to the Neon City to compete. 

“The competition had its difficulties,” Isaac said. “I was nervous, and while I have two coaches, neither of them were able to make this fight. To help stay in the right mindset, I honed in on my training and kept telling myself two things: ‘Make weight and stay focused.’” 

At the amateur level, there are always three rounds for each fight. Isaac competed in back-to-back days of competition, six rounds of boxing, and beat two other fighters to take home the championship belt — his first championship win. 

“Winning the championship was one of the greatest feelings in the world,” Isaac said. “The greatest thing I’ll ever do is be a father, but this was a lifelong dream of mine. As a boxer, fighting in Las Vegas on pay-per-view for a world title is the end goal for most, if not all, boxers. So, to fight, win a title, and win in front of my children, it was a great achievement.” 

After flying home with his children, Isaac was welcomed back to his gym as a champion.  

“Walking back into my home gym with the belt, everyone was telling me great job and congratulations,” Isaac said. “After winning the championship belt, there will be more to come. However, winning in Vegas was and always will be the ‘Coup de Grace’.”