Rutgers—Newark student Keith Colon rises in boxing ring

Family shaped Keith Colon Rodriguez's interest in boxing. As a small child, his father taught him self-defense after watching his son fend off his older cousin. After his father was incarcerated when he was 7 years old, Keith Colon paused his boxing pursuits. His dad insisted that he wanted to be there if his son were to box.

"Once (my dad) came home when I was 12, we ended up going to a fight on a Saturday and then a Monday. The next Monday, I was just in the gym," said Keith Colon, now a 22-year-old boxer known as Keith "Tsunami" Colon, who is also a student at Rutgers University—Newark.

Keith Colon, a home-grown Newarker with a bright smile and a bantamweight frame, is on his way professionally. After his first-round knockout victory this past summer against an older boxer from Memphis, Tennessee, Keith Colon won his highly anticipated second match, which took place on October 12 at the Prudential Center.

He faced Robert Munn, a 37-year-old from Katy, Texas. Keith Colon landed a right uppercut and won in a TKO. The match lasted just 1 minute and 57 seconds.

"It's all about just being disciplined, doing everything the right way," Keith Colon explained.

That includes getting an education as he prepares for a boxing career. Between practices and matches, Keith Colon is a junior majoring in psychology at Rutgers—Newark, focusing on sports psychology.

"He's been on the honor roll ever since grammar school, and in the midst of that, he still managed how to box," his proud father, Keith R. Colon, said.

As a quiet kid, Keith Colon observed his father build a relationship with "IRON" Mike Steadman, a three-time National Collegiate Boxing Champion who attended the U.S. Naval Academy and is a former teacher at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark.

As Keith Colon got older, Steadman encouraged him to attend St. Benedict's and helped him get accepted. Steadman also wanted to open a gym but needed more connections. Steadman, Keith Colon's father, and Gary Bloore eventually partnered to form the Ironbound Boxing Gym in 2017.

"A lot of these kids were having problems in school and failing and all that," Keith R. Colon said. "But through boxing, they create discipline, so they don't all get into trouble."

Ironbound Boxing Gym's nonprofit program has trained dozens of young amateur fighters to compete at the highest level of the sport.

For Keith Colon, the gym has become a second home.

Through amateur matches, Keith Colon has excelled and is currently ranked No. 4 in the U.S. for amateur fighting in the male featherweight category. He was named a national champion and New Jersey Amateur Boxer of the Year in 2021.

Keith Colon and his team aimed for the 2024 Olympics and planned to attend a qualification tournament in Thailand. But he saw on social media that fellow Newark pro-boxer Shakur Stevenson posted that he would be fighting in Newark.

Keith Colon doubted that Stevenson, an Olympic silver medalist and world champion in two weight classes, would return to New Jersey again, given where he was in his career. But here he was, making a homecoming.

Keith Colon said, "There's no better way to start off a pro career than that, coming out on a big platform under somebody that's from the same city as you."

Keith Colon talked to his father about this big opportunity with Stevenson.

"What do you think about me fighting on 'Kur's card?" Keith Colon asked his father.

"Nah, we worried about the Olympics," his father replied.

The next morning, his father made a couple of phone calls, and it happened. The turnaround for Keith Colon's decision to turn pro was quick and unexpected.

"In life, everybody got a plan, but it's all about adjustments," the young boxer said. "You got to make certain pivots. It’s never going to go how you dream about it (going)."

Other kids recognize Keith Colon, and some students on campus also train at his gym. He often stays late after workouts to see the children rush in after school. Keith Colon believes that it is a blessing to be an inspiration for them, and it motivates him to work harder.

"I'll be able to touch people in a different way than just a doctor may be touching (people) because 9 times out of 10, a doctor never steps foot in the ring," Keith Colon said. "A doctor can't tell a fighter how to be a strong person when they come from poverty, when they come from low-income homes, and dad being incarcerated, brother being locked up, not too many prominent figures around that just keep telling them, keep them motivated that there's still a way out."