For Olingou, it’s college, then boxing

Jeffery Ngayot Olingou rests after a 4-round bout.

By Taylor Gesel and Nathaniel Smith

Bengal News West Reporters

           The first punches boxers see when they begin training come fast and hard, a rite-of-passage that filters out those fighters not yet ready for the big show.  At 13-years-old, in his second week of training, Jeffery Ngayot Olingou felt those punches.  Battling a fighter that had been training over 10 times longer, the defeat was unanimous.           

            Given a second chance at the same fighter, Olingou would prove himself a formidable opponent.  Concussing his former foe, his career as a boxer that would lead to championships, was just beginning  Olingou began his training in 2009 at the West Side Boxing Club at the urge of his uncle, African boxing champion Anges Adjano. The difficulties of training though, came after years of hardship outside of the ring. 

            Born in the Republic of Congo, Olingou lived in the central African city of Brazzaville until the age of 5.  He then was moved to Montreal to live with his aunt and cousins, where he would live for another two years.

                 At the age of 7, Olingou’s family would be deported from Canada, and settle in Buffalo.

           “We didn’t know anybody,” said Olingou, “so we stayed in a shelter for a year, me, my aunt, and my brother.”

            Once his aunt, Peggy, was able to solidify work as a hairdresser, home life in Buffalo was finally stable, but Olingou’s focus was always looking forward.  Not having seen his parents since leaving the Congo, he hopes his careers in either college or boxing give him the ability to help his family back home.

            Rick Diaz, owner of the West Side Boxing Club, who has been training Olingou since he began working at the club, said Olingou’s work ethic sets him apart from other boxers that come through the gym.

            “The same focus he has in the ring, he puts into his school,” said Diaz. “I’m proud of the kid. I’ll never tell it to his face, but I’m proud of him.”

Rick Diaz tightens Olingou's protective gear

            A business major at SUNY Buffalo State with a minor in French, Olingou has put his schooling ahead of his aspirations in the ring.  Instilled by his family as well as his trainers, his desire to find success through education has put a professional career in boxing on hold.

            “One injury can change your whole life,” said Olingou.

            Until graduation, the two-time Buffalo Golden Gloves boxer, as well as 2012 World Ringside Tournament champion leaves the gloves hung up until academic breaks begin, when he can plan his next professional bout. Olingou’s involvement in the Buffalo boxing community is an example of the support that local trainers hope to give any kid that has a desire to box.

            Don Patterson, president of New York State Golden Gloves, says that the lessons he sees young boxers learn in the gym help them find success in other areas outside of the ring. 

            “All the things that can make you successful in life, you can teach through boxing,” said Patterson.  “It could be a slightly different activity, but has the same goal.  You have to guide a young person who is looking for an opportunity and give them a pathway to success.”

Don Patterson, on the benefits of boxing:

            Though Olingou’s pathway has lead him to spend more time in the library than in the ring, he hopes that achieving success in either location will give him the opportunity to make his family’s life back in the Congo better.

            “They wouldn’t like it here it’s way too cold,” said Olingou, “but as long as I can help them out, build a house, put some money in their pockets, I’ll know I did good.”