Fighting for a Dream
Eight years ago, Ray Stallings was one of the state's most promising boxers. He had a new wife and their first child together was on the way. Then Stallings discovered a lump on his neck that would be diagnosed as thyroid cancer. It took almost four years to pull his life back together... to recover his strength. Stallings has rededicated himself to boxing with one goal: to make the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In a boxing gym that sits above a children's gymnastics school, Ray Stallings straightens his head gear between sparring rounds surrounded by past boxing greats such as Jake LaMotta, Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Two fights in a weekend can wear out even the most stout of men, but upon his return home from Canada, Ray Stallings found time to spend some quiet time with his family. Later he would return to Princeton to continue to train for the biggest tournament of his life... the U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Three-year-old Elias Stallings bobs his way out of the jab of his dad, Ray Stallings, at Rockem Sockem Boxing Gym in Evansville. Stallings was readying for his first fight in eight years at the Indiana Golden Gloves competition in Indianapolis. It was also the first boxing match for Stallings after he was forced to hang up his gloves after being diagnosed with cancer.
Andrea Stallings offers her husband a massage as he prepares mentally for his Golden Gloves fight at the Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis.
The Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis offers a no-frills, meat-and-potatoes-type venue for the Indiana Golden Gloves competition.
Danny Thomas, Ray Stallings' trainer, hollers out instructions during Stallings' 2007 Golden Gloves championship fight. Thomas was also an amateur champion who nearly made the 1984 Olympic Boxing Team and eventually went on to fight professionally.
Ray Stallings came out quickly in his match against William Lee of Muncie, Ind., in the Indiana Golden Gloves Championship fight at the Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis.
Sensing a victory for her husband, Andrea Stallings ran ringside to watch the final moments of his championship bout at the Tyndall Armory.
Ray Stallings was too much for William Lee to handle and Stallings won by TKO at the 1:55 minute mark of the first round.
After completing his quest for another Indiana Golden Gloves championship, Ray Stallings finds his wife, Andrea, for a celebratory hug moments after the fight.
Life goes on for Ray Stallings' even though his Olympic boxing hopes came to a quick end after a loss in his first fight at the Olympic boxing trials. The grass continues to grow as does the cancer survivor's responsibilities as father and husband.